Kidney stone warning

[music1618 879]

Just came back from having a kidney stone removed and the doctor told me something interesting that I wanted to pass on.

I asked him about how to avoid stones in the past and he said ice tea. He said ice tea could cause a relapse in the stone. My rny doctor recommended ice tea to replace soft drinks for the caffeine properties. I have had my fair share of ice tea in the last couple years. I then asked him what can I drink other than Water and he said lemonade.

[terry1118 1,274]

Yuck! I hate lemonade! I never had a kidney stone but I had gall stones and that was a pain I don't want again! Did he say anything about green tea? And I Water mine down quite a bit because I prefer a subtle, barely there flavor. Do you suppose that helps?

[KittyKat848 93]

No offense, but I can't find any peer reviewed research that shows what your doctor told you is correct. Of course, you should listen to your dr rather than some random internet poster, but here are some sites to ponder...

http://www.kidneystoners.org/information/does-drinking-iced-tea-really-cause-kidney-stones/

http://www.taylorkubota.net/1/post/2012/08/making-studies-out-of-nothing-at-all.html

Take home points from Kidneystoners.org

• For better or worse, drinking iced tea probably did not “cause” your stone. Cutting out iced tea will probably not make your stones go away but neither do you have to swear off drinking it either.
• If you like iced tea and you are a stone former, drinking a moderate amount is unlikely to cause you to develop more stones. Based on the available research, it may actually decrease your risk of stones.
• If in doubt, ask your doctor for a 24-hour urine test to measure your urinary oxalate levels. If you have normal urinary oxalate, you don’t have to worry much about restricting the amount of oxalate you eat or drink. If however you have high urinary oxalate, work with your doctor to develop a plan to lower your oxalate intake.
• Realize that no one (including us) can really tell you for sure sure whether tea is good or bad for kidney stone patients until a well designed study is done in which a large amount of individuals are randomly assigned into tea drinking and non-tea drinking groups and then followed for many years to see which group develops more stones. This study is unfortunately unlikely to happen.
• In the end, most stone formers might do better for themselves by keeping things simple. Focus instead on the three basic dietary recommendations given below. There is less controversy about the benefits of these recommendations in reducing your risk of stones and as a bonus they will also help to improve your overall health.

1) Increase your overall Fluid intake to keep your urine dilute and close to colorless

2) Watch your salt intake- try to keep it at 2300 mg a day or lower*

3) Watch your animal meat intake- try to keep it less than 6oz a day and instead eat more fruits and vegetables*

[music1618 879]

<p>No offense, but I can't find any peer reviewed research that shows what your doctor told you is correct. Of course, you should listen to your dr rather than some random internet poster, but here are some sites to ponder...</p> <p> </p> <p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.kidneystoners.org/information/does-drinking-iced-tea-really-cause-kidney-stones/'>http://www.kidneystoners.org/information/does-drinking-iced-tea-really-cause-kidney-stones/</a></p> <p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.taylorkubota.net/1/post/2012/08/making-studies-out-of-nothing-at-all.html'>http://www.taylorkubota.net/1/post/2012/08/making-studies-out-of-nothing-at-all.html</a></p> <p> </p> <p>Take home points from Kidneystoners.org </p> <p> </p> <ul><li>For better or worse, drinking iced tea probably did not “cause” your stone. Cutting out iced tea will probably not make your stones go away but neither do you have to swear off drinking it either.</li> <li>If you like iced tea and you are a stone former, drinking a moderate amount is unlikely to cause you to develop more stones. Based on the available research, it may actually decrease your risk of stones.</li> <li>If in doubt, ask your doctor for a 24-hour urine test to measure your urinary oxalate levels. If you have normal urinary oxalate, you don’t have to worry much about restricting the amount of oxalate you eat or drink. If however you have high urinary oxalate, work with your doctor to develop a plan to lower your oxalate intake.</li> <li>Realize that no one (including us) can really tell you for sure sure whether tea is good or bad for kidney stone patients until a well designed study is done in which a large amount of individuals are randomly assigned into tea drinking and non-tea drinking groups and then followed for many years to see which group develops more stones. This study is unfortunately unlikely to happen.</li> <li>In the end, most stone formers might do better for themselves by keeping things simple. Focus instead on the three basic dietary recommendations given below. There is less controversy about the benefits of these recommendations in reducing your risk of stones and as a bonus they will also help to improve your overall health.</li> </ul><p style="background-color:rgb(241,241,241);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif;font-size:16px;">1) Increase your overall Fluid intake to keep your urine dilute and close to colorless</p> <p style="background-color:rgb(241,241,241);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif;font-size:16px;">2) Watch your salt intake- try to keep it at 2300 mg a day or lower*</p> <p style="background-color:rgb(241,241,241);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif;font-size:16px;">3) Watch your animal meat intake- try to keep it less than 6oz a day and instead eat more fruits and vegetables*</p>

While I understand where you coming from please understand that I NEVER want to go through the pain of a kidney stone again. I spoke to my doctor again today during my follow up appointment and he said the key to ensuring that I do not get another stone is drinking plenty of Water. However he also said to stay away from food high in Calcium oxalate. Ice tea is one of those foods. Since my bypass I have increased my consumption of ice tea and although I do not believe that it is the only reason I got a stone I do believe it contributed to it. He also said that Citric acid found in lemonade is good for the kidneys and can be a substitute for water. He said I should drink enough water to make 2.5L of urine a day.

Kidney stone is not something I would wish on my enemies. It is extremely painful and I hope to never go through it again.

[KittyKat848 93]

I can certainly understand. I've had them, too. They're miserable. I wish you luck in never having them again. :-)

[CrisG 70]

Hi! I have been battling kidney issues since January. Of course I have friends and family that right away blame my RNY. After much testing, many procedures, and surgery found out it wasn't a stone but a birth defect that was previously undiagnosed. My urologist said this he see allot of people with kidney stones after surgery. He thinks it's lack of Water. Even though I didn't have a stone, when they removed one of the stent it had allot of crystallization. I thought I was getting plenty of Water so I need to remain vigilant with that. It's been the worse 4 months for me. I need to get back on track with my habits. I can barely eat and I am sick all the time I eat whatever I think I can hold down. So I am definitely not getting enough Protein.

Thanks for listening!!