I consulted the doctor to find out what causes kidney stones in my body, which type of food is allowed to me or what should I avoid to ease the symptoms of kidney stones. Doctor asked me to stay away from caffeinated and carbonated foods, the foods which have the high amount of salt, sugar and fats.
For more precise prescription, he asked me to collect my urine for 24 hours after passing the stone out. He gave me a large container to store my urine and asked me to refrigerate the urine in between the trips to the washroom.
The doctor used my urine sample to check the real cause of the formation of kidney stones so that he could specify more precise diet and medication. The type of stone may determine the real cause of kidney stone.
There may be the following case:
Found the presence of high amount of calcium and oxalate
In most of the cases, calcium stone is found in the form of calcium oxalate. This calcium oxalate found in our food and our liver also produce oxalate on daily basis. Some reasons for the high amount of calcium and oxalate in our urine:
- Some dietary habits
- High intake of Vitamin D
- Intestinal bypass surgery
- many more metabolic disorders like Hyperoxaluria, Hypercalciuria
Hyperoxaluria is an inherited metabolic disorder in which body starts producing so much salt such as oxalate. This way the high amount of oxalate could not be dissolved in urine and lead to the formation of stone.
Hypercalciuria is also an inherited metabolic disorder in which body starts absorbing the excess amount of calcium from the foods and lose it during urination. This way excess amount of calcium in the urine become the reason of crystal formation in the form of calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate.
Foods and drinks that contain the high amount of oxalate are black Indian tea, sweet potatoes, spinach, beets, peanuts, okra, wheat germ, soybean crackers, Swiss chard. Please completely avoid these foods and drinks.
Foods that contains a medium amount of oxalate are marmalade, liver, green pepper, red raspberries, grits, Grapes, strawberries, fruit cake, and celery. These foods should be taken in very low amount.
Found the presence of high amount of uric acid
- Generally, uric acid stone is found in those people
- whose intake of fluids is very less
- who drink very less quantity of water
- who lose fluids at a very high rate
- who are suffering from gout
- who takes a highly protein rich diet
- Genetic factors are also responsible for this.
Found infection in the urinary tract
Struvite stone also called an infection stone, is also a type of stone found in those people who are suffering from the kidney stone. This stone is produced due to the infection in the urinary tract. This type of stone is rarely found but grow very quickly without a sign of noticeable symptoms.
Found the presence of high levels of acidity
Cystinuria is a hereditary disorder in which kidney starts excreting high level of amino acids results in the formation of cystine stones.
Want to know how kidney stones are treated?
You need not go for surgery in most of the cases. Small stones can be treated by:
- Drinking water: Doctors recommend drinking of almost 1.9 to 2.8 litres of water on a daily basis may push the stone out of your urinary system.
- Pain relieving medicine: You may have discomfort, abdominal pain due to the presence of kidney stone. Doctors recommend pain-relieving medicines such as ibuprofen, naproxen sodium etc.
- Medication: Doctors provide you with a medication to ease the passage of the stone.
- Alpha blocker is a process in which doctor ensure that muscles of ureter remain to relax so that kidney stone may pass easily through it.
However, for the larger stone, above process could not work effectively as due to their size they could not pass by their own. Large stones may cause bleeding, damage to your kidney, infections in urinary tract. Following procedures are available to cure your large kidney stone:
- Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL):
In this procedure, sound waves are used to create strong vibrations to break down the large kidney stones into small or tiny pieces so that they could easily pass out from the urinary tract. This procedure takes almost 45 to 60 minutes and can cause pain to you. So you may be given anaesthesia for your comfort.
Side effects of this procedure:
- Bleeding in the urine or around the kidney
- You may get bruise on your back or abdomen
- Discomfort
2. Surgical Treatment:
If ESWL fails, doctors recommend surgical treatment. In this small telescopes and instruments are inserted in your back to find out the location and size of the kidney stone.
And then they (doctors) remove the kidney stone surgically. You may have to under medication for one or two days in the hospital.
3. Ureteroscope:
In this procedure, doctors use Ureteroscope to locate the stone. After locating the stone, doctors use special tools to snare the stone so that it may pass through the urinary tract.
Your doctor may fix small tube in the ureter to provide you with relief in swelling and promote in healing.
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