What To Do When You Have A Kidney Stone?

January 21, 2009

in General Health

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According to urologists, the number of people getting excruciating kidney stones is on the rise. Men are 3 times more prone to developing them then women, and if women consider childbirth as the ultimate in the pain scale, then expelling a kidney stone from the body stands right below. This is how an “ attack” feels like: There’s sudden onslaught akin to having a pickaxe  thrust into your lower back, as muscles there contract, trying to move the snagged stone along. You can cruel into a ball, jump up and down, or lie still, but nothing eases the radiating pain, which can persist off and on again for days, accompanied my fever, nausea, and blood in the urine. Some experts describe the process as “forcing a bowling ball down a cocktail straw.” Expert say the  high protein-low carbohydrate diets currently popular almost certainly increase the risk of stones for some people, most of whom won’t know they’re susceptible until their first attack. You may initially suspect appendicitis but blood and urine tests usually reveal the source of the trouble. And then it’s a matter of deciding whether the stone needs to be removed surgically or allowed to work  its way out spontaneously. (Rest assured you’ll be prescribed pair relievers to get through the latter ordeal, which may take days before it’s over.) But squelching an attack is only half the battle. Once you’ve had one stone, you’re likely to get more. The chances of recurrence generally averages 75 per cent over 15-20 years. Which is why you should do everything you can to prevent another episode. A kidney  stone is a hard mass that builds up gradually when various salt or mineral crystals deposit common  the kidney stone contains calcium combined with either oxalate or phosphate. While doctors can’t say why some people will develop kidney stones, they have  identified a few triggers to different sorts of stones among the susceptible and come up with specific drugs that can help. The strongest predisposing influence a family history of the disorder triples your risk and can’t be altered.  If you need to look better at an older age the best option is tripeptinon. But under the wrong conditions, anyone can from a stone. By following some key precautions, you may be able to avoid that first attack altogether, whatever your genes.

GO EASY ON THE MEAT Epidemiologists have long recognized that the more meat, fish, poultry, or eggs a nation consumes, the higher its incidence of kidney stones, the higher its incidence of kidney stones. The most dramatic evidence comes from Japan: 30 years ago, when meat and fish  were considered flavorings, not entrees, kidney stones were almost unheard of. Today the Japanese eat much more and area nearly as likely to get stones. A few studies from England and Italy also suggest a decade-long increase in the prevalence of kidney stones, and a bump in meat consumption seems the likeliest  explanation. A diet high in animal protein and low in fruits and vegetables alters kidney chemistry  in several ways. First, extra  calcium is drawn from bone into the blood and eventually the urine. Meat consumption also cuts the body’s production of urinary citrate, a natural inhibitor of stones. Lastly, animal protein ups production of uric to from a urinary pebble. The health kidney is wondrous filter, and individuals vary widely in the amount of meat they can handle. But be warned: Experts say the high protein-low carbohydrate diets currently popular almost certainly increase the risk of stones fro some people, most of stones for some people, most of whom won’t know they’re susceptible until their first attack. To be safe, urologists urge carnivorous moderation for everyone: For  your kidney’s sake, restrict the meat or fish in your diet to 50 gms daily.

CUT BACK ON SALT Since sodium increases calcium excretion, too, ease up on salt. Stay away from obviously salty foods Kurkires, crackers, cold cuts, pickles, readymade soup powders. Don’t use slat at the table or while cooking. Be careful, too, regarding salt substitutes. Most contain some sodium.

WATCH THE CHOCOLATE What do chocolate, leafy greens, vegetables, lady finger (okra), beets, nuts, beans, tofu and strawberries have in common? All contain high amounts of plant compounds known as oxalates that can aggravate a tendency to develop calcium oxalate stones. (Paradoxically, tea and coffee, also high in oxalates, seem to curb stone formation. Go figure.) Because oxalates are so prevalent, doctors don’t recommend that you eliminate them from your diet completely. If you did, you might not meet your body’s nutritional needs, because the vast majority of us need to gobble more servings of fruit and vegetables, not fewer. (And at least one study in Great Britain found that about a third as many vegetarians as meat eaters had stones.) Still, stone sufferers should be selective. If you’ve had an attack and the doctor tells you oxalates are to blame, you’ll probably want to go easy on spinach chocolate, and  the like. Also, oxalates are a by product of vitamin C metabolism, which is why some kidney experts now urge their patients who get calcium oxalate stones to skip vitamin C supplements, or at least to take no more than 500 or 1,000 mg daily.

DON’T IGNORE INFECTIONS So –called struvite stones account fore only about 10 per cent of  all stones. But they’re much more common among women than men, in part because they’re triggered by urinary tract infections. Get thee to a doctor at the firs sing of a UTI ;  a simple prescription for antibiotics could save you days of agony.

DRINK MORE WATER This sounds too simple to be true: Dehydration fosters stones. Doctors throughout the world see more kidney stones in the hot seasons. Athletes, outdoor workers, and others who perspire profusely are especially vulnerable, as are teacher, assembly line workers, and anyone else who puts off drinking water because they don’t have time for a bathroom break. But the consequences are too great to ignore. One study showed that women who drink 11  glasses of liquid a day were 38 per cent less likely than women who drank half that amount to develop stones. The goal for some one with kidney stones is to produce two or more litres of urine daily. To do that, most people need to drink approximately two litres of fluid daily, more if you’re living or working in a hot environment or regularly exercising to the point of excessive sweating.

GET PLENTY OF CALCIUM, BUT….. Some doctors still advise people who have had kidney stone episodes to avoid dairy products, but experts say that’s a bad idea. Although 70 per cent of kidney stones are caused by excessive calcium I the urine, dietary calcium is not the predominant reason for the higher levels. (Calcium poses a kidney stone risk only when daily intake exceeds 2500 mg.) Studies published in the last two decades by Gary Curhan at Harvard University School of Medicine and William Robertson at the Institute of Urology and Nephrology in London have shown that a diet low in calcium actually boosts the likelihood of  stone formation, perhaps because it saps calcium from the skeleton and sends it into he urine. Weak bones and even more stones? No thank you. Restricting dietary calcium is generally not recommended, nor is discontinuation of a calcium supplement. The daily goal for calcium for adults is 1,000-1,200 mg. This can generally be obtained from three or four servings of dairy products or calcium-fortified such as soy milk, orange juice, some breakfast cereals and rice. Calcium supplements, as mentioned earlier, are safe so long as you take them with  meals and drink plenty of water.

GET SOME SOUR POWER If despite your best efforts, you wind up in the emergency room one day with a stone, once the crisis has passed make sure that you follow up with a sympathetic urologist to determine the cause. Low levels of urinary citrate, a natural inhibitor of stones (it bonds with calcium, preventing oxalates from doing so), may require a daily potassium citrate supplement, something similar to concentrated lemonade. A simple way of getting more citrate? Drink plenty of fresh (sugar free ) lemon juice. FACT: Women with kidney stones may be at higher risk for certain urological cancers, and as they age, the frequency at which they develop stones goes up.

STRUCK NY A STONE? Grab a litre of water and head to the emergency room for a doctor’s confirmation. Drinking plenty of water will help move the stone along. Over-the-counter ibuprofen will relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and help calm spasms of the ureter allowing the stone to pass more easily. Alternating 200 to 250 ml or water with cranberry juice, is believed to reduce the risk of infection. Beta-carotene from yellow and orange frit and vegetables or from supplements for up to a week after your stone has passed, may help  heal damage to kidney tissue.

GETTING STONED The  most frequently used method of removal is lithotripsy, formally called extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). This is an outpatient procedure that uses high-energy shock waves to break the kidney stone into tiny fragments that are then eliminated through urine. Kidney stones very in size. Depending on the size and location of the stone, other procedures may be used. Ureteroscopy breaks up  the stone with a leaser passed into the ureter through a special endoscope (a flexible, lighted tube with a camera). Percutaneous  nephrolithotomy is  done if a stone is very large or in a location that cannot e treated with lithotripsy. The surgeon makes a small incision in the patient’s back and guides a nephroscope into  the kidney to break up the stone with either ultrasound or laser energy.

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