How Family Members Can Help:

Recommendations for Kidney Stone 

Recovery & Prevention

How to help? 

If your loved one has kidney stones you can offer support and assistance in helping them plan appropriate meals for their condition.  This means  eliminating foods such as sweet potatoes, spinach and chocolate if they have been diagnosed with calcium oxalate stones.  Cut down on the use of salt in their diet and reduce protein intake that comes from animal sources.  Make sure they have sufficient fluid and water intake each day to flush through the kidneys and renal system.

Truths about Kidney Stones

According to the National Kidney Foundation, there are many misconceptions about kidney stones and their chances of recurrence.  Here are some tips to help your loved one make some lifestyle changes to avoid going through this painful process again:

1. Watch your sweat! The more you sweat the less you pass urine, so replenish fluids frequently.
2. Do not decrease the Calcium, pair it with oxalate rich foods so they bind during digestion and are less likely to form stones.
3. Take your medicine! Kidney stones have a recurrence rate of 15% when medicine isn't taken as prescribed.
4. Make nutritional changes!  Kidney stones reoccur 41% of the time when dietary and nutritional changes are not made. 
5. Watch the animal protein intake!  Animal protein such as beef , organ meats or seafood  contributes to the body's production of uric acid which  increases the likelihood of uric acid stone due to a high purine content.  Purines make the urine too acidic and makes it ideal for kidney stone formation.
6. Monitor for symptoms of a kidney stone: pain in the back or side that will not go away, blood in urine, fever/chills, vomiting, bad smelling or cloudy urine, burning on urination. 

Also, it may be helpful to join a Support Group, online or through a local chapter of the Kidney Foundation.  

, 

Managing Kidney Stones

Managing Your Kidney Stone

Once a person has been diagnosed with kidney stones, the conditions must be managed daily. This may involve changes to ones diet, medications, fluid intake.

The American Urological Association recommends that patients with kidney stones:

• increase their fluids up to 2500L/day
• limit their sodium (salt) intake
• limit protein intake
• avoid foods rich in oxalate
• limit non-dairy animal protein
  
• be evaluated by their physician for prescription diuretics
• be evaluated by their physician for the use of allopurinol
  

• be evaluated by their physician for the use of potassium citrate 

Additionally follow up care is very important in managing the kidney stones. Repeat urine and blood testing is needed to check the status of the stones.  XRAYS may be needed to assess the size and shape of the stones periodically.