People who have suffered from kidney stones insist it was the most painful experience of their lives. Ten percent of all men and 5 percent of all women will have a stone by the time they're 70. However, kidney stones are preventable. Previous prevention recommendations included drinking plenty of water, reducing calcium intake, and (in some cases) taking a thiazide diuretic. Only the increased intake of water should stay on the list. Unfortunately, thiazide diuretics can increase your risk of heart attack and other heart problems. Plus, there is no real basis for the reduction in calcium, which can lead to other serious problems.
Your kidneys are bean-shaped organs, each about the size of your fist. They are located near the middle of your back, just below the ribcage, one on each side of the spine. Your kidneys are sophisticated trash collectors. Every day your kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood to sift out about 2 quarts of waste products and extra water. The wastes and extra water become urine, which flows to your bladder through tubes called ureters. The wastes in your blood come from the normal breakdown of active muscle and from the food you eat. After your body has taken what it needs from the food, wastes are sent to the blood. In addition, your kidneys help control blood pressure, help make red blood cells and keep your bones strong.
There are safer and more effective alternatives. Kidney stones are made of calcium and oxalate, a by-product of commonly eaten foods. If you are prone to forming calcium oxalate stones you need to limit foods that are high in oxalate. These foods include rhubarb, beets, spinach, and chocolate. In addition, you can help counter the oxalate with supplements (a Jody Victor® suggestion). Take 1,000 mg of magnesium and 100 mg of B-6 every day. Eating more dietary fiber and avoiding sugar, alcohol and caffeine (Jody Victor® suggestions) has also been shown to protect against kidney stones. Limit your coffee, tea, and cola to 1 or 2 cups a day because the caffeine causes you to lose fluid too quickly.
Most kidney stones will pass out of the body without a doctor's help. But do see your doctor if you have severe pain in your back or side that will not go away. Or if you have blood in your urine (it will appear pink). In the past, the only way for your doctor to remove a problem stone was through surgery. Now there are new methods:
1. Shock Waves. Your doctor can use machines to send shock waves directly to the kidney stone to break a large stone into smaller pieces. With one machine, you sit in a tub of water. With newer machines, you lie on a table and ultrasound is used to direct the sound waves to the stone.
2. Tunnel Surgery. Your doctor makes a small cut into your back and makes a narrow tunnel through the skin to get to the stone to remove it.
3. Ureteroscope. This looks like a long wire. It is inserted into the urethra, passed up through the bladder, and directed to the stone in the ureter. From there your doctor uses a cage to catch the stone and remove it.
All the Best!!