Kidney Stones--They Just Feel Like the End of the World

My oldest son was ill for several years, and while two trips to the Mayo Clinic helped solve a few mysteries, Jared's still suffers occasionally with kidney stones.  His are pretty tiny, about the size of a grain of sand, but they still dish up a whole heapin' helpin' of pain.

Fortunately for him, kind of, he knows what they feel like, and a lot of the time when we are experiencing excruciating pain, one thing that makes the pain worse is not knowing the reason.   Not knowing when the pain will pass.  If it will pass.

Kidney stones can be differentiated from a urinary tract infection in that the onset of pain from a kidney stone is very sudden, while the onset of pain from a urinary tract infection is much more gradual.

There are two bits of good news when it comes to kidney stones.  The first is that kidney stones are usually not associated with an infection.  The second is that 95-99% of stones pass without needing surgery.  The bad news is that if you've had one, there's a 50%  chance you'll have another within the next ten years.  Men are more likely to suffer from kidney stones than women, especially between the ages of 20 and 50.  Genetics also plays a role, so if a close relative has suffered, it wouldn't hurt to be a little more cautious.  And kidney stones are more common in the southeastern part of the US.  In general, 10% of Americans will experience at least one kidney stone in their lifetime. 

While kidney stones are formed in the kidneys (shocker, I know), they usually don't cause pain until they start moving down the ureters, the tubes that carry urine to the bladder.  The pain can be absolutely excruciating due not only to the urine backing up into the kidneys, but also due to the stone (some of them look like little spiked balls) traveling through the ureter.  The pain is usually felt on only one side of the back, right or left, and is often accompanied by abnormal urination.  Tapping on the flank at the level of the lowest rib on the same side the stone is on will cause significant pain in a patient with kidney stones.  Also, as the stones travel down the ureter, so does the pain.

Other symptoms include:

• blood in the urine (the stone scrapes the ureter as it travels)
• strong urge to urinate frequently
• inability to urinate
• nausea and vomiting
• sweating

The pain may subside when the stone reaches the bladder and then resume as it travels from the bladder through the urethra and out.  Though pain is usually not relieved by changing position,  patients are often restless and prefer to move around.  Pain may come in waves or be quite constant.

If the stone is too large (patients have passed stones up to 5 mm in size, and yes, I double- and triple-checked that--that seems HUGE) and doesn't pass, it will cause pressure to build on the kidney.  Without a functioning medical system, there is absolutely nothing we can do to intervene.  The kidney will be permanently damaged, but the pain will eventually subside.  However, if an infection develops in the blocked kidney, that may be fatal.

The biggest single factor contributing to kidney stones is dehydration.  It's really a basic chemistry lesson:  the crystals (sounds nicer than stones, doesn't it?) form when there is not enough water to keep them dissolved. While everyone is supposed to be drinking 64 ounces of water per day, people who have had kidney stones should be drinking a little bit more to prevent recurrences.

Other than staying very well hydrated, what can people with a history of kidney stones do to prevent having more?  Post-collapse, there probably won't be a laboratory that can tell you what kind of stones you make.  However, the most common type of kidney stone is the calcium oxalate form.  Studies have shown that supplementing the diet with 400 mg of magnesium and 50 mg of vitamin B6 helps prevent the formation of kidney stones.  

Next, there are several adjustments that can be made in the diet.

1. Avoid spinach, rhubarb, chocolate, parsley, and beets, and reduce dairy consumption.   
2. Avoid vitamin C supplements.  People who consumed a gram or more per day were 40% more likely to get kidney stones.
3. Reduce sodium consumption.
4. Keep protein intake moderate, around 50 grams per day.  
5. Get adequate vitamin D, either from the sun or through a supplement.
6. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
7. Dietary calcium does not need to be reduced; calcium binds the oxalate and phosphate normally found in kidney stones and helps remove them from the body before the kidneys have to.  

Conventional Management
The following suggestions come from Dr. Joseph Alton, author of The Survival Medicine Handbook and Dr. Cynthia Koelker, author of Armageddon Medicine.  The medications should only be taken if you are sure of the diagnosis.

Stronger pain medications are acceptable to use, if you can get them.  Otherwise, ibuprofen (600-800 mg, every 4-6 hours) may be alternated with Tylenol (500-1000 mg, every 4-8 hours).  Tramadol, which is available by prescription only, in a dosage of 50-100 mg every 3-6 hours is another option.

If the pain is not too intense and the patient needs help sleeping, Benadryl may be used.

If nausea and/or vomiting is a problem, meclizine may be taken, 25 mg, every 6-12 hours.

Dr. Koelker also suggests that in patients with a prior history of infection or considerable bleeding, an oral antibiotic may be used for 1-3 days.  Either ciprofloxacin, 250-500 mg twice per day or nitrofurantoin, 50-100 mg twice per day, or trimethoprim sulfa DS, twice per day, would be acceptable. 

Herbal Management
The following home remedy comes from Dr. Alton:  Drink 2 ounces lemon juice and 2 ounces olive oil. Follow this one hour later with 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar and 2 ounces lemon juice. Repeat this treatment every 1-2 hours for the duration of the pain.

Herbal teas recommended for kidney stones:  horsetail tea, dandelion root tea, celery tea, basil tea.  Pomegranate juice is also good.

Dr. Patrick Jones, author of The HomeGrown Herbalist, recommends a tea of equal parts of parsley, uva ursi, juniper, mallow or hollyhock root, and lobelia in distilled water, every four hours.

Two other options:

• Watermelon seed tea.  1 tablespoon of chopped watermelon seeds boiled in 2 cups of water for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and let steep 5 minutes.  Strain and drink as hot as possible.  
• Corn silk and slippery elm tea.  Use the corn silk tea often throughout the day.  Add 1 teaspoon slippery elm powder to 1/2 cup warm water, three times per day.  

Links to related posts:
Meclizine
Benadryl
OTC Pain Relievers

For further reading:
Armageddon Medicine
The Survival Medicine Handbook
The HomeGrown Herbalist
https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/home-remedies/home-remedies-for-kidney-stones.htm
https://www.top10homeremedies.com/home-remedies/home-remedies-for-kidney-stones.html
https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/remedies-for-kidney-stones/

 4 september 2019