Kidney Stone Prevention

[Bangyai]

Ever owned a kidney stone ? Thinking of buying one ? Well.....maybe not , especially if you have heard how painful they are from someone who has had one. Last year when I was banged up in the Bangkok Hospital , about to kick the galamang with an ' Amoebic Liver Abscess ' ( see seperate thread ) the doctor cheerfully told me I also had a pin head size kidney stone which had shown up on the CT scan. It wasn't yet a problem and to prevent it ever becoming one he prescribed me ROWATINEX capsules. In each capsule is a mixture of oils ( they smell like a Bangkoks Chinatown ) which slowly dissolve the stone before it can grow. This worked for me and mine disappeared. However, once you have had a kidney stone you are likely to get more and unless you have regular CT scans the first you are likely to know about it is when you are doubled up in pain. Therefore, the docter said it would be o.k for me to consume a box every now and then to keep the wolf from the door. I now take one box of 50 capsules every 3 months at 250 baht a box. They are quiet safe and you can check them out on google or wikipedia. I am passing this on in the hope that it might save someone a lot of agony and more expense.

[Ijustwannateach]

Thanks for the tip, Bangyai. It's cheaper and possibly less risky than getting a lot of CT scans.

[londonthai]

drinking a lot of water, soft one (if you have hard you can boil it) flushes out the minerals, preventing their cristalisation. Avoid tea, citrus juices, sugar, alcohol, beer, salt and sodium, meat and proteins, spinach, rhubarb

[russianrobert]

.........................Avoid tea, citrus juices, sugar, alcohol, beer, salt and sodium, meat and proteins, spinach, rhubarb

Why don't we all just top ourselves.

[Ulysses G.]

I am quite prone to them and have passed quite a few after screaming in pain for hours. I read somewhere that the water from one coconut every day will prevent them from forming in the kidney as well as lower blood pressure and prevent dehydration. All I can say is that I do it and it seems to work.

Edited August 16, 2008 by Ulysses G.

[Ulysses G.]

Natural Apple cider vinegar will help a lot to dissolve kidney stones - especially if the stone is close to coming out. You need to mix some with liquid so that it is not too acidic to drink. Maybe a teaspoon or two with natural apple juice - no sugar added - tastes pretty good, dissolves the kidney stones and replaces potassium and electrolytes in the body.

If I feel tiny pinpricks in my kidney, I keep a bottle in the fridge and drink gulps of it all day on an empty stomach and it is very refreshing. The apple cider vinegar has many other health benefits also.

[Bangyai]

Natural Apple cider vinegar will help a lot to dissolve kidney stones - especially if the stone is close to coming out. You need to mix some with liquid so that it is not too acidic to drink. Maybe a teaspoon or two with natural apple juice - no sugar added - tastes pretty good, dissolves the kidney stones and replaces potassium and electrolytes in the body.

If I feel tiny pinpricks in my kidney, I keep a bottle in the fridge and drink gulps of it all day on an empty stomach and it is very refreshing. The apple cider vinegar has many other health benefits also.

Thanks for the suggestions. This being Thailand the coconut water seems a good idea, especially as it is a preventative rather than a cure. Don't know if apple cider vinegar would be that easy to find here. O.K you say the coconut water works for you , does that mean you haven't had a recurrance since you started drinking it.? How does that

compare to when you were'nt drinking it ? To be honest, I an guesstimating the dosage of the Rowatinex, and naturally I am drinking more water than before. So far so good but its only been just over a year so its early days yet.

[Ulysses G.]

http://books.google.co.th/books?id=w85IJeG...=result#PPA1,M1

Paul Bragg Brand apple cider vinegar is easily available in Chiang Mai in health food stores and Rimping supermarket, so I doubt if it is difficult to get in other areas of Thailand with many farangs. It is organic and unfiltered and you can't get a better brand. Also, you use it very slowly, so not expensive.

I have been drinking coconut water almost every day for about 5 years and have not developed any kidney stones although when I feel small pricks of pain in my kidneys I immediately start drinking apple cider vinegar and it goes away within a few days. Before I heard about the coconut water, I got small kidney stones about every 2-3 years and I always let them pass naturally.

Edited August 16, 2008 by Ulysses G.

[Sheryl]

Ensuring enough fluid intake at all times -- whether coconut juice or other fluids --- in itself is quite helpful. We see more of this in the tropics because it is harder to stay hydrated here.

[Ulysses G.]

Coconuts and apple cider vinegar also provide natural electrolytes which can be diluted by too much plain water.

[Bangyai]

Coconuts and apple cider vinegar also provide natural electrolytes which can be diluted by too much plain water.

O.k. then ,thanks again. If I ever do get a full blown stone, I'll only have myself to blame as there's plenty here to be going on with.

[Ulysses G.]

The last time that I passed a kidney stone was when I was doing a fresh juice fast which I believe dislodged it. It came out very easily and didn't hurt.

[vagabond48]

I have never passed any stones so I don't know if I have had or currently have any inside me. I've been told that living in Thailand raises your chances of developing stones because of the water and local diet.

Any truth to this?

[Ulysses G.]

Yes, but none of my friends who have been here for years have them. There is no reason why you should.

[Lopburi99]

Coconuts and apple cider vinegar also provide natural electrolytes which can be diluted by too much plain water.

O.k. then ,thanks again. If I ever do get a full blown stone, I'll only have myself to blame as there's plenty here to be going on with.

I've just retired to Thailand from the USA. I am 61. I have had at least one kidney stone attack per year since I have been 23. Yes, probably more than 50. Little ones, big ones (the size of a pea), oxalate, crystalline, black, clear, round, jagged, with or without bleeding, you name it. My doctor referred to my kidneys as "my rock garden". My father had one or two and each of my two brothers had one but nowhere as many as I have had. I've passed most of them at home, with pain medication, but I have had at least a dozen hospitalizations. When the pain gets so bad at home that vomiting begins, that's when I go into emergency and beg for a shot (usually morphine is needed, Demerol for me has no effect). I've had about four stones too large to pass which had to be removed by catheterization followed up with a stent left in place for a month. After a month my Urologist "enters" me with a gizmo to remove the stent which hurts so much I would see the face of God. After the 3rd stent episode, I demanded a general anesthetic rather than be subject to Urologist abuse again!

So folks, don't feel too sorry for yourselves, it could be a lot lot worse!

I am currently seeking health/hospitalization insurance to prepare me for inevitable next stone here in Thailand. Not sure how much a 2 or 3 day hospitalization, complete with IV pyelogram or CT scan would cost - could anybody hazard a guess? I need to be sure my insurance has adequate coverage limits.

Drinking quantities of water is highly beneficial, but isn't a 100% preventative as discussed in this thread. I never heard about coconut water, so it makes sense to try especially if it helps renew electrolytes in my body because I drink gallons of water daily here. Thank you very much for that information!

If any Urologists are reading, please provide us with the latest preventative insights/treatments if not already mentioned here. Are any foods strictly verbotten? (I was told to avoid shellfish and dark leafy vegetables in the past). Also, stress has definitely caused a stone to break loose for me in the past. I am hoping my new, stress-free living in Thailand and especially the excellent fruits and foods I now eat daily will limit or hopefully end my lifelong problem. We'll see. I am optimistic!

Edited September 5, 2008 by Lopburi99

[stickman]

I am currently seeking health/hospitalization insurance to prepare me for inevitable next stone here in Thailand. Not sure how much a 2 or 3 day hospitalization, complete with IV pyelogram or CT scan would cost - could anybody hazard a guess? I need to be sure my insurance has adequate coverage limits.

A friend had the nasty treatment to have a kidney stone removed in BNH hospital several months back. He had a stent inserted for a period and yeah, the pain as he described it bordered on unbearable. I seem to recall the cost of all of the procedures, time in hospital and follow up visits was about 200,000 baht.

[Bangyai]

Try this link www.hospitalthailand.com for a list of Bangkok hospitals. Some hospital shave more specialists for urology than others. Worth phoning around and if possible checking out your shortlist before the pain hits. You might try the apple cider vinigar recommendation first though as a delying agent. Good luck.

[benjamat]

From nowhere I started to suffer from kidney stones for 2 years and had several lithotripsy sessions to clear the stones.

I was going through a hard and stressfull time and after some quiet thought I decided to implement a regiment of drinking (not Alcohol) I soon realised that I simply had not been drinking enough and after I started increasing my fluid intake I never had another stone. This is especially relevant in the heat of thailand. It seems not to matter much what you drink except large quantities of alcohol and in spite of what has been written earlier my solution was large quantities of tea.

Downside is that if you drink sugery drinks you will gain weight.

So, drink drink and drink more if you have a problem with stones.

[Lopburi99]

"I am currently seeking health/hospitalization insurance to prepare me for inevitable next stone here in Thailand. Not sure how much a 2 or 3 day hospitalization, complete with IV pyelogram or CT scan would cost - could anybody hazard a guess? I need to be sure my insurance has adequate coverage limits."

A friend had the nasty treatment to have a kidney stone removed in BNH hospital several months back. He had a stent inserted for a period and yeah, the pain as he described it bordered on unbearable. I seem to recall the cost of all of the procedures, time in hospital and follow up visits was about 200,000 baht.

Thanks stickman, that is exactly the information I needed! Less than I expected. The insurance I was ready to purchase would cover this if it happens to me again in the future. BTW, as I research health insurance here on TV, I am pleasantly surprised to see it is quite affordable.

[angsila]

Lopburi,

Bad news is I can match you stone for stone plus some. The good news is I retired here 5 years ago and no stones.

[Lopburi99]

Lopburi,

Bad news is I can match you stone for stone plus some. The good news is I retired here 5 years ago and no stones.

REALLY? Excellent! Please speak, what words of wisdom do you have? Wow! Very happy for you angsila! Please share with us any advice/opinions/suggestions you may have regarding your life style/diet here in Thailand!

[Pakboong]

Just completed my first bout of Renal Colic, I had previously passed a stone but this renal colic stuff was pretty bad. Couldn't do much of anything until IV drugs were administered. Went to Bangkok Pattaya hospital and was given drugs, had a catheter inserted and follow up x-rays, ultrasound, etc. found 2 stones the largest at 4cm. Urologists says the largest one was close to passing and gave me medication in anticipation. About a four hour process that cost me 13,000 baht. I don't recall a worse pain. Some pretty bad stuff. The one experience with passing a stone was painful but nothing like the renal colic. Needless to say, I have a bottle of water in each hand and a stack of pills in front of me.

[SCARLETIBIS1]

Ever owned a kidney stone ? Thinking of buying one ? Well.....maybe not , especially if you have heard how painful they are from someone who has had one. Last year when I was banged up in the Bangkok Hospital , about to kick the galamang with an ' Amoebic Liver Abscess ' ( see seperate thread ) the doctor cheerfully told me I also had a pin head size kidney stone which had shown up on the CT scan. It wasn't yet a problem and to prevent it ever becoming one he prescribed me ROWATINEX capsules. In each capsule is a mixture of oils ( they smell like a Bangkoks Chinatown ) which slowly dissolve the stone before it can grow. This worked for me and mine disappeared. However, once you have had a kidney stone you are likely to get more and unless you have regular CT scans the first you are likely to know about it is when you are doubled up in pain. Therefore, the docter said it would be o.k for me to consume a box every now and then to keep the wolf from the door. I now take one box of 50 capsules every 3 months at 250 baht a box. They are quiet safe and you can check them out on google or wikipedia. I am passing this on in the hope that it might save someone a lot of agony and more expense.

Do you eat the whole box at one setting??

[SCARLETIBIS1]

http://books.google.co.th/books?id=w85IJeG...=result#PPA1,M1

Paul Bragg Brand apple cider vinegar is easily available in Chiang Mai in health food stores and Rimping supermarket, so I doubt if it is difficult to get in other areas of Thailand with many farangs. It is organic and unfiltered and you can't get a better brand. Also, you use it very slowly, so not expensive.

I have been drinking coconut water almost every day for about 5 years and have not developed any kidney stones although when I feel small pricks of pain in my kidneys I immediately start drinking apple cider vinegar and it goes away within a few days. Before I heard about the coconut water, I got small kidney stones about every 2-3 years and I always let them pass naturally.

Do you buy the coconut water seperately from the coconut or are you talking about drinking the coconut juice inside the coconut?? Thanks.