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Help in preventing repeated bouts with kidney stones

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Monday, September 26, 2022
Help in preventing repeated bouts with kidney stones
Obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome factor into kidney stones, and anyone with those should talk about prevention with their doctor.

PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. (WPVI) -- Nearly everyone knows somebody who has had a kidney stone. But some get them more than once.

It took a Phoenixville man years to find the doctor who could tell him why, and help him lower his chances.

"I had my first kidney stone when I was 24," remembers Kevin Pomian.

And he's had that same painful experience often in the 32 years since.

"52 known ones. I could have more that I just ended up passing," says Kevin.

Like many kidney stone patients, Kevin was told to avoid a list of foods and drinks that encourage their formation.

But when stones kept forming, doctors didn't offer Kevin much more, till he saw Dr. Justin Friedlander, a Temple Health urologist.

Dr. Friedlander found that Kevin's basic body chemistry needed adjustment with medications.

For most people, however, there are usually key factors at work:

First, what's your fluid intake?

"We probably, as a whole, don't drink enough water," says Dr. Friedlander.

Sodas or other sugar-sweetened beverages are a problem. Coffee isn't.

Next, how much calcium do you get?

"Too little calcium is a problem. Too much calcium is a problem," he notes.

Aim for two to three servings a day.

Also, lower the salt in your diet, There's a lot of it in pre-packaged foods and restaurant dishes.

On the flip side, get more citrus fruits and juices -- they have a compound that discourages kidney stones.

Many stones will pass on their own, but if not, the primary treatment involves passing a tiny camera through the urinary tract.

"Then either the stones are removed with a small basket or grasper, or fragmented into, fragmented into smaller pieces with a laser," says Dr. Friedlander.

Kevin has had at least 15 or 16 procedures.

But with Dr. Friedlander's adjustments, and constantly drinking water, he's been stone-free for 15 months. That's his longest stretch in 25 years.

"I'd rather go to the bathroom three times a night than go to the emergency room at 3 in the morning with pain," Kevin notes

Dr. Friedlander says obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome also factor into kidney stones, and anyone with those should talk about prevention with their doctor.