A Complete Book On Herbal Remedies. A Directory
I remember the night I woke up with kidney stones. A twinge ran down through my urethra and penis. It jolted me awake from a sound sleep. I felt a demanding sensation to urinate. However, not much would come out. Not knowing what the problem was I did immediately start drinking as much water as I could handle. Finally, after about an hour of freaking out, the two Extra Strength Tylenol I took knocked me out.
Of course, at the time this happened I did not know that I had kidney stones. That took about a week or two later after a bunch of visits to various doctors, tests and finally an X-ray. Now 26 years later I still have bouts with these demon stones. Luckily, I only get stones now about once every 10 years or so compared to every three years.
The pain and what I call "stone sign" has been different on each occasion. Just over 11 years ago, it was so bad I had to go to the emergency room where they gave me something like Demerol to ease the pain. On this occasion, the pain literally made me sick to my stomach. Two weeks later, I passed the stone, which did not hurt. It just felt odd.
More recently, my latest kidney stone just made me uncomfortable enough to curl up into a ball on the floor and try to pass out for a couple hours. After that, the pain was gone but I had a reoccurring odd feeling when I urinated. This lasted for over a month before the stone finally passed. A stone had never lingered like this before and this was the largest stone I have passed so far at a quarter inch long.
I have yet to find a doctor who conveys to me that they knew much about these stones or how to get them to stop. Their suggestions were suspect or too extreme for something that only happens to me once every 10 years or so. It turns out that not much research is definite on kidney stones. My stones are the common calcium based variety, which means my calcium to phosphorus balance is off. My body is running slightly more acidic than alkaline and that is where my problem lies. If your body runs acidic, you probably will create kidney stones.
Since no doctors were very helpful, I decided to try a nutritionist. I found a nutritionist who claimed to have luck with several of her clients as well as some close friends. I am trying her suggestions and if you suffer from kidney stones, you might be interested in trying them too. She swears by them and since these guidelines were reasonable, I felt it worth a try for me.
The main idea of the guidelines is to try to drink lots of water, keep acidic foods to a minimum, and take a few supplements to keep urine from clumping or increase a more alkaline state in the body. In addition, work on keeping stress down too. Exercise is essential to keep a balance and working that stress out.
I must drink at least six glasses of water a day. Staying hydrated is critical for people who form stones. It is one of our main concerns. Drinks I try to avoid are most teas, soft drinks, alcohol, and coffee. These are all high in acid. It is okay to drink electrolyte drinks such as cranberry juice, Performance, peppermint ginger tea, and alfalfa tea.
The idea is to stay away from acid forming foods and try for a 70% alkaline forming food base. The foods I try to keep to a minimum are red meat, spinach, parsley, asparagus, anything with sugar because this increases acid production, chocolate, rhubarb, chard, beet greens, dairy products, and especially cheese. The problem is many of these offer valuable nutrition and minerals you need. Therefore, I still eat these but I regulate my intake. Many of the vegetables when cooked create a less acidic state. Dairy products are high in calcium, which is important as well. Therefore, there is some give and take here.
I now take various supplements to help keep the stones at bay and they are as follows:
To keep urine more fluid I take Calcium Magnesium. This is also helps with keeping my calcium to phosphorus level balanced. Magnesium also works in helping keep calcium depletion at a minimum.
I also take a B Complex supplement because this helps keep a balance of oxalate acid which tends to encourage stone formation. Oxalate acid can interfere with calcium absorption. When you have too much oxalate in your system, it may combine with calcium and this is a common method of kidney stone formation.
I take some Vitamin C to aid in heading off infections. Occasionally stones are found to be associated with chronic infections. I do not have that condition but a little extra help in the form of Vitamin C seems like a good idea. On top of this, I drink a glass of water with half a lemon squeezed into it. This is supposed to help with breaking stones down and keeping your system alkaline based. It must be taken after you have chewed some food though to let the proper enzymes start working. Lemon water on its own can be acidic. However, if you drink it while eating, the enzymes keep it alkaline.
Trying to keep my body more alkaline is a challenge. Many of the foods that are acidic I enjoy. To boost my alkaline level I take alfalfa tablets. You have to research alfalfa tablets because some are not good. I am currently taking alfalfa tablets made by Shaklee, which I feel are very good. I am sure there are others that are just as good. Do your research to know which are best.
Exercise must be performed daily. This is so important and yet so many people have difficulty fitting it into their schedules. Exercise is a vital balancing factor. Have you ever thought about how you take care of your stress? If you have not, you should. One key to keeping your stress level properly balanced is getting out there and moving everything. This helps with internal organ work as well as muscle function. Do whatever you can to fit it in at least a little every day.
As you can see, there is a difficult to uphold balance your body needs to hold to keep your kidneys functioning right if you have a tendency to get stones. Tipping the scales too much one side or the other can cause stones. However, if you have an inclination towards getting kidney stones, you need to try to compensate for that lack of balance by doing things to fix the problem. I personally never want to experience a stone so big it has be surgically removed.
While I cannot guarantee the guidelines above will work for everyone, I am trying them myself. They seem as good as anything else I have heard and my nutritionist swears by them. If you have questions, always ask your doctor. It is better to get several opinions before making big changes in your routine. Everyone is different and your specific conditions could be unusual. Therefore, do check with a doctor first.
| Tim Willis enjoys freshwater fishing and camping. He escapes to the wild anytime he can. Most of his writing deals outdoor life or health issues. Lately his wife has got him interested in writing for her site about fat baby boots and Ariat boots for women. He does whatever it takes to make his wife happy or he sleeps on the couch. Recommended Reading Herbal Remedy Cures. Catalogue Of Herbal Remedies For Ailments A-z A Complete Book On Herbal Remedies. A Directory | |
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