Are you dealing with recurring kidney stones? It can be annoying, even excruciating dealing with kidney stones. For some people, kidney stones will pass in a short amount of time. However, even if they pass, 50% of those who experience a kidney stone will experience a kidney stone recurrence within five years or less. Here are some of the things you can do to stop the recurrence of kidney stones:
1. Educate Yourself
The first step is to educate yourself if you want to stop kidney stones. You want to know what kind of kidney stones you have. There isn't a universal solution for every type of kidney stone. The most common type of kidney stones are calcium oxalate stones.
The second most common are uric acid stones. These stones, while similar in symptoms, need to be addressed differently. The same treatment and management strategies for calcium oxalate will not work for uric acid stones.
Struvite stones can actually be caused by constant urinary infections, requiring a unique solution compared to the other two types of stones mentioned above.
2. Change Your Diet
Certain diets can make kidney stones worse. If you're dealing with calcium oxalate stones, then you want to alter your diet by reducing high oxalate food consumption and drinking at least six 8oz glasses of water throughout the day. Some high oxalate foods include spinach, beans, chocolate, nuts, and more.
Uric acid stones are actually caused by overconsumption of animal protein. This means you'll have to cut down on beef, chicken, pork, and shellfish.
3. Home Remedies and Supplements Can Help
A good way to help stop kidney stones is to try various home remedies and supplements. One of the most effective and easiest things you can do is to drink fluids with citrate. The list includes lime, lemon, and orange juice. The citrate can help break down the stones and more importantly help prevent the formation of new stones and existing stones from growing.
There are supplements out there that can help prevent the crystal build-up that leads to stones and help pass them through your system. One of the more popular supplements is a medicinal plant called chanca piedra (a.k.a. Stone Breaker). There is positive sentiment about this ingredient when it comes to kidney stones though clinical trials are not conclusive.
Chanca piedra is relatively safe but should not be taken longer then 90 days (three months) so this makes this option for prevention very limited. But there are other supplements that can be just as helpful or even more effective than supplements made with chanca piedra. A patented supplement called Kidney C.O.P. Calcium Oxalate Protector that has shown in laboratory studies to be five time more powerful at inhibiting the rate of calcium oxalate crystal growth than chanca piedra and it can be taken safely on-going. You'll want to do your research and evaluate the various supplements that are out there.
These are just a few of the things you can do to stop getting kidney stones. The most important point is to educate yourself. Go see your doctor and figure out what kind of stones you have. Then take the appropriate measures to treat that specific type of kidney stone.
