herbal help or homeopathic cure?

[Firethorn]

For some time I have been haveing problems with my kidneys.infections for several years and more resently stones. I have had sergery to remove a stone and some tissue last summer. lately I have verry bothersome pain. Im getting worried. My youngest child is 7 months. so I know it is not related to that pregnancy. Could I still have pain from the sergery or is there some other thing I should be awear of? I know there are several people here who are knowledgable in natural medicine. I was hopeing someone could help. I have already been to the dr, we all know where that got me. Meds for pain. I can live with the pain. At least it tells me something is not right.

[amarillo]

I have a friend who has a history of kidney stones, and since she has increased her intake of water, cut out drinking sodas, and started drinking cranberry juice she has not had any stones.

[Mastiff]

While I am all for homeopathic cures.
Pain is an indication there is something wrong and not to be treated lightly. I urge you to get to a doctor to be evaluated as well as looking into possible diet changes.

[MicheleMomof4]

First of all do NOT drink Cranberry juice, the extremely high amounts of sugar in that will do more damage than good and the percentage of pure juice is very low. Most cranberry juice from the store is cocktail, not whole juice.
Wal Mart sells cranberry tablets that are good for a infection. I have used them with good results, but I have also never had a kidney stone either.

[Alice In TX/MO]

You can get cranberry juice that isn't so sugared, but it would take a trip to the health food store.

Also try cherries. Fresh or canned pie cherries, no sugar.

Yes increase water consumption. NO soft drinks. Ever.

What kind of stone was it? Calcium or uric acid? This is important info.

Go to the doc and make sure you aren't forming another one.

[BCR]

Medical doctors are great for a crisis and this kind of severe pain can be or lead to a crisis very fast. And this pain may have nothing to do with kidney stones. After finding out from a doctor what this is...and what type of stone, evaluate the treatment options. Treat the crisis and then begin prevention for the future.

Because our bodies are all different, I would need to know a lot more before planning a detailed treatment plan for you. Thats what I do as an herbalist. Everyone has a different medical history and bad habits that need addressed, so I wouldn't presume to offer an exact prescription without knowing more.

That said, do a search on the type of stone you had and add the word 'diet' and you will get recommendations for prevention.

[OD]

It could be an adhesion. I had them for years after having surgery in 1984. They were very painful, but eventually, they all broke, & I haven't had any for a few years now. I could tell when one would break by the sharp pain & small bruise that would appear the next day.

[Firethorn]

It looks like I need to call the dr that did the first extraction to see what kind of stone it was. The second one was broke up so it would pass but there was so much blood i did not catch it to have it evaluated. (one in each side)

I always felt like sodas were to evil culprit. I was off them for a long time buuuuut.
In truth I do feel better when I force lots of fluid.
I have been to the dr. they dont know why I have the pain.
The pain is not the sharp pain of a passing stone.(been there :waa: )
It is more of a throb, like it is swolen and I am always aware of its presance.
I do drink quite a bit of cranberry juice. 100% with no added sugar.
Could a diet to high in sugar cause such a symptom?

[HilltopDaisy]

I would suggest trying to eat a diet of little or no processed foods--that means anything that comes from a can or box. And nothing white!! No sugar or white flour or white rice. I believe that we cause ourselves so many health problems by the way we eat.

I've had headaches for the past 30 years. I just accepted the fact that some folks get them and some don't. About 5 years ago I put together an association for myself between chocolate and my headaches. OK, so I knew if I wanted to feel better I would have to leave chocolate alone. It helped quite a bit. Headaches didn't stop but they eased up. About a month ago I had the flu, and I felt so awful that I stayed in bed for the first few days. Once I was up and about, I realized I had not had a cup of coffee in 4 days. I know that if I tried to quit coffee on my own, I would likely fail. (I've tried and failed a couple times). So I stayed off coffee. Well, I can tell you this: I've not had a headache in all that time! That is unbelievable to someone who never could go 3 days without a severe headache. Makes me look pretty dumb, doesn't it?

My point is that we are all different. Something you are ingesting is causing your body to form these stones, but what? Meat is high in uric acid. Sugar is terrible for everyone, period. Soda is loaded with nasty stuff! Maybe you could adopt a clean diet for a month and see how you feel. I agree that if you are in pain now, you need to see a doctor, but ask yourself what can you do to help yourself.

[quietstar]

We Texans love our ice tea but there is an acid therein that often causes the formation of kidney stones. Please ask your doctor about this and good health....Glen

[katlupe]

My husband and I do not believe in allopathic medicine and we manage our own health with herbal remedies. Here is a link for one that is very educational, as well as high quality formulas. I use others also. http://www.herbalhealer.com/drchi.html

This chinese formula has been used for centuries and it flushes out the kidneys and will also lower high blood pressure. It is asparagus - no side effects from that! I drink the 4 herb tea from that site also (not on that page though) which is also known as Essiac. And that tea is the best there is! Cures all kinds of things! But it also flushes out the toxins in the kidneys and liver. You have to get the liver and kidneys working and that will get the rest of your body in good health.

We only use allopaths for broken bones or things like that. Never use their medicine - it's like poison! Just look at all the side effects. I give these things to my cats and the tea saved my one cat's life two years ago. It's better for you and doesn't just mask the symptons it usually cures the problems. Allopaths don't want you to do that - they want you to keep coming back.

[3girls]

My husband had kidney stones. He would do anything to avoid another.

His stone was calcium oxylate, which I understand is the usual. I reasoned that magnesium would knock out the calcium and suggested he take a daily dose of mag. So long as he does, he is OK. Another thing that seemed to cause the pain was Vit C. He cut that out. The third thing was the oxylates. Spinach is a big source of ox. Other dark greens, also have varying amounts. He cut back on most and won't eat spinach. Might be worth a search to determine what's safe. Also, try some experimentation.

I understand that brown sodas are also a no-no. Another person was told by his Dr. that he was to cut out brown drinks and green veggies. I think that advice is way too general. Peas, for instance don't have the oxylate. Is it the caffeine in the brown driinks that cause the problem? I'd like to know. My former husband has continued drinking coffee and tea for years now without a problem.

[Mudwoman]

Docs in our area are now testing kidney stones in order to help people with foods to avoid. Stones that are made of calcium indicate that a person needs more acid in their diet. Stones that are acidic need additional calcium.

If you are in pain, then you are beyond natural homeopathic remedies right now. You need to get back with your doc and see what is going on and get it corrected. THEN you do natural homeopathic remedies to make sure you stay well.

[Firethorn]

I know I need to see the dr again. But I dont like it. Thanks for the web site. I realy enjoy learning what I can do for myself for our childern.

I do not drink caffinated drinks at all. Havent for about 7 years. Gives me head aches. Also makes me verry sick when I am pregnate(which is alot)

I do love my chocolate . But havent you heard it is healthy for you. I will swear it has saved me from going off the deep end.

Im still thinking sodas. I have heard it said that the carbon inhibits the absorbsion of calciium in the body. If so than maybe it is deposited in the kiddneys forming stones? Or maybe that is just to simple.

[Marilyn in CO]

Chocolate is also bad for the kidneys and "could" be part of the problem. Anything with caffeine is hard on them and the liver too. My hubby has had kidney stones as well as prostate stones. After controlling them quite well for 10 years with simply drinking lots of water and avoiding all caffeine products he still managed to get a kidney stone attack last spring(I think he was cheating on the pop and he did stick himself with a cattle syringe so suspect it didn't do the kidneys any good) After a trip to the doctor plus one to the ER for pain.... It was then that I got out the big guns.......hydrangea root, marshmallow root and gravel root. There is a receipe for this concoction on Hulda Clarkes website as kidney cleanse. Hubby will swear by it. He was on this homemade brew for 6 weeks and followed it to the "T". It dissolved his stones and he was free of pain about 12 hours into it. Gads, he was a new man. I have recommended this formula to many desperate people whom have now named their children after me. Marilyn, the farmer's wife....CNHP, MH

[southerngurl]

www.800herbdoc.com

Dr. Richard Schulze has a Kidney cleanse for sale there. All of his herbal remedies are strong and effective.

You should really do the colon cleanse before anything else though. You need to be clean for other things to work properly.

[deedler]

I hope this will help. I'm not a sickly person and I hate being sick, so I read up
on lots of stuff. That being said...

In the Dec. issue of Nutrition Action they cited studies that had shown signifigant changes in the occurrence of kidney stones. The answer seems to
be potasswium intake,NOT supplements, but food sources. If you are interested
pm me and I'll give more info. I've never had a kidney stone, but I hear that they're worse than childbirth.

Dee

[Mrs_stuart]

my hubby too has had 3 stones...so far, he has not had to have surgery, he seems to develop these stones when he does not watch what he eats and drinks. His dr. says, low protein, low calcium, low/no salt, NO tea, no drinks that you cant see through and to drink lots of powered lemonaid drinks. he said that there is something in the powered lemonaid that helps the stones to not form...(i dont know if he is right but we do it) When hubby falls off the wagon and drinks too much soda and quits his lemonaid, he developes another stone...we see the patterns. We have also added a good water filter at the kitchen for him. (Dr. said this would help if we have high minerals and such in our area)
If you are having pain, that is a sure sigh that you need to see a dr. My hubby "feels" bad for a few weeks before he has a real "attach" then the pain is so bad that he cant stand it. We go to a really good urilogist (sp)...if you are not seeing a urilogist, i would suggest switching to one soon. I dont think regular dr.'s do this problem justice. Good luck. hope you feel better soon.

Belinda

[Alice In TX/MO]

Here's a good summary with references:

http://www.doctoryourself.com/kidney.html

[Firethorn]

Well, dr office finaly called me back with the results of the test run about 4 weeks ago.

A stone! :waa: On the oposite side of the nasty pain. Go figure. I dont know if I should hit something or cry.
Well pray for me cuz i have given up sodas. Again. Sometimes i can hear them call to me. I still feel something like a detox needs to be done. With all of your wonderfull advice at least I am learning. And it seems I am not alone.

I am otherwise healthy. Any little thing (or big thing) Im right on top of it. I have a family to raise. They need me to be all I can be. This one I just cant seem to get away from. I cant say I realy trust the western medicine. We give them to much power, I think.

The more info we have , not just in health but gov., schooling, well anything ; the better to make our own decisions. what is best for ourselves, our families. Not what society says we should do. Ie: vaccinations. (but that is for another discusion)

Im not an idiot, Im just one of those geniuses who cant spell worth a flip. :haha: any way thank you guys so much for all the help.

Mrs C.