Living with Kidney Stones

I have had kidney stones since I was 13 years old, now in my early 20s they’ve just become a way of life. Most people pass a stone or two and never pass one again, unfortunately that is not my case. I have been hospitalized for them at least a dozen times. I have some tips to help prevent the stones that seem to have worked for me a bit and some tips for helping w/ the pain of passing one.

I have found that reducing caffeine such as soda and increasing my intake of plain old water has helped immensely, citrus juices such as orange, grapefruit and lemonade (from real lemons) help to break the stones up. (I am not a doctor, but have been told this by one). I was also told that though cranberry juice helps reduce the risk of kidney infections it can make the stones worse. I tried these things without changing my diet and the results have been obvious. I went from passing multiple stones in a month to only between 2-4 a year.

I drink twice as much fluid as I used to and watch what kind of fluid goes in. As for the pain, other than going to your local e.r. and being hooked up on an iv w/ some kind of pain killer and fluid, there is little you can do. I have found however that you can either use your fist or a small towel, ball it up and place on your abdomen where the pain is and bend over it, the pressure helps to reduce the pain immensely in my situation, I use that technique along w/ 800 mg of ibuprofen and A LOT of water to avoid going to the e.r.. I would say during a stone if I’m self managing it, I drink a glass of water every 15 minutes, drinking it at room temp makes it go down easier. (make sure you are urinating a lot as well, if your output isn’t reasonable to your input, you may need to go to the e.r. anyways) the ibuprofen helps reduce inflammation in the ureter, the water helps flush it and the pressure helps w/ the pain.

Again, I’m not a doctor and my advice should not be taken over the advice of a trained professional. I just hope this helps someone out there, I know how much these hurt and interrupt daily living. good luck 8^)