Kidney Stone Update

[TopazForests]

A few folks said they were following my kidney stone story, so I thought I'd share the most recent. Things get interesting when you add a new doctor to the mix.

The urologist said that because the u/s and CT images show the kidney stones and the X-ray did not show kidney stones, that the stones were made from uric acid. He has me on potassium citrate to dissolve the kidney stones. I go back in 6 months for repeat labs to see if the stones are still here.

My nephrologist had me do a 24 hour urine collection and she found a lot of oxalate and wants me to follow a low oxalate diet and repeat the labs in 4 to 5 weeks.

Normally I'd message the nephrologist through the online portal, unfortunately that system has been down for a week and I can't do that. I'll just have to wait to find out what the two varying opinions mean.

The bottom line is that I am hoping that the garden of kidney stones stays put and do not try to leave the kidney and causes pain. I do hope they can be dissolved, I don't like the alternative.

[KidneyCoach NKF Ambassador]

from 1987 through 1995 I had around 50 kidney stones. Mine were also uric acid. I went through lithotripsy for several unsuccessfully. I was prescribed sodium bicarbonate which successfully softened the stones for a much lowered painful passing and higher reduction of blockages and other complications.

Blessings

[TopazForests in reply to KidneyCoach]

50 kidney stones? at one time or a different times? I think my "garden of kidney stones" has 6 on one side and 8 on the other, scary but not nearly as bad as 50! I'm glad the sodium bicarbonate helped soften them and reduce the pain level.

[KidneyCoach NKF Ambassador in reply to TopazForests]

i passed them 1-3 at a time over a period of 8 years. My first few passed I was pregnant. My last few were after all my kids were born. Eventually my kidneys were removed. I had PKD. One of the best decisions I made.

[TopazForests in reply to KidneyCoach]

I've passed 2 kidney stones in 35 years, well one had to be removed, the urologist went in and pulled it out, which is all I want to know about the process. The second one was about 20 years later. I can't imagine passing kidney stones when pregnant, ouch, ouch.

Do you have a good resource for what is allowed on a low oxalate diet? I am amazed about how varying the information is. The patient portal for my doctor is offline due to a ransomware attack, which makes it very difficult for her to answer questions. The nutritionist is with the same hospital system, so I can't ask her. I heard a rumor today that everything might be back up by Wednesday.

[KidneyCoach NKF Ambassador in reply to TopazForests]

I can't help much with low oxalate diet. My stones were all uric acid so I had to reduce protein, cut out organ meats etc. I had several blockages and my then urologist ended up pushing them back up into the kidneys 🙄. Mine were painful, caused much vomiting, fevers and more. I was fortunate to be able to pass them all eventually.

Blessings