Tea Time: Kidney Stones
- Symptoms
- Severe pain in the side and back, below the ribs
- Pain that radiates to the lower abdomen and groin
- Pain that comes in waves and fluctuates in intensity
- Pain on urination
- Pink, red or brown urine
- Cloudy or foul-smelling urine
- Nausea and vomiting
- Persistent need to urinate
- Urinating more often than usual
- Fever and chills if an infection is present
- Urinating small amounts
- Types of stones
- Calcium
- Oxalate (most common)
- Phosphate
- Uric Acid (from gout or uncontrolled diabetes)
- Struvite (from infection, like UTI)
- Cystine
- Calcium
- Risk factors
- Medications
- protease inhibitors
- antibiotics
- some diuretics
- seizure meds
- IBD (crohn’s, ulcerative colitis)
- Gastric Bypass
- Hyperparathyroidism
- Renal Tubular Acidosis
- Medications
- Treatment
- Small stones – increased fluids, pain relievers, meds
- large stones – sound waves, surgery, scope, parathyroid surgery
- Dietary interventions for prevention
- General recommendations
- Increase water intake (and decrease sugar-sweetened beverages and alcohol)
- Follow DASH diet (increased fruits, veggies, legumes)
- Use caution with weight loss (high protein diet, laxatives, loss of lean body mass, dehydration could increase risk of stones)
- Calcium Oxalate stones
- Decrease sodium
- Get enough calcium from foods
- Limit animal protein intake
- Avoid vitamin C supplements
- Decrease high-oxalate foods (spinach, beets, swiss chard, nuts, peanuts, soy foods, sesame seeds, wheat bran, chocolate)
- Eating high-oxalate foods with a calcium source can help
- Calcium Phosphate stones
- Decrease sodium
- Get enough calcium from foods
- Limit animal protein
- Limit phosphorus additives (preservatives)
- fast food, ready-to-eat foods, canned and bottled drinks, processed foods
- Cranberry juice to lower pH of urine
- Uric Acid stones
- Limit animal protein
- Cystine stones
- Increase water intake
- General recommendations