5 things you get wrong about kidney stones

There are five things that you get wrong about kidney stones. Let's get to it.

Welcome back to the Kidney Stone Diet podcast. The show about reducing your kidney stone risk and living your best life. I'm your host and fellow student, Jeff Sarris.

And I'm Jill Harris, your kidney stone prevention nurse, and we're live in person.

And we're here for number 200, which is wild. Like I can't believe that it's been this many episodes. Like we sat here for 100 as well, and it doesn't feel like that long ago, but it is.

It's kind of wild.

I mean, it really doesn't feel like that long ago. And, you know, people, as we all know, time goes fast. It's like crazy.

I'm really proud of us because we've never missed a week.

And that's not easy to do with everyone's schedule, especially with you guys traveling so much, so kudos to us. But I have to say this to the patients and students out there. It's

So amazing, all the support that you give us, and we don't take it ever for granted. So thank you for trusting us. You know, when you're dealing with your health, it's super important to choose people that are going to take it seriously, number one, have a lot of compassion and empathy, but also, most importantly, give you the correct information.

So thank you so much for supporting us, and being here with us, and, more than anything, trusting us. So.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, right?

Yeah, so…

Cheers to 200.

Cheers to 200.

Cheers to 200, people. It's exciting for us. I know we need to get out more, but it really is exciting for us.

It's something, it is an accomplishment.

It is, it's huge, it's a huge accomplishment. But yeah, so today we're doing an episode all about the five things that you get wrong about kidney stones.

Yeah, five things. Five things. Okay, so I have—mama has some notes here.

You know, mama has ADHD, so sometimes I have notes, people. 'Cause Jeff just comes in here, and he says, "This is what I think we're going to do." I'm like, "Okay, holy shit. Let me think about that for a second.

Let me get my notebook out."

So, five things—what is it? Yeah, five things you get wrong about kidney stones.

Yes, five things you get wrong. So here's what I came up with. This number one is what happens here.

So the number one thing people get wrong when they're trying to prevent kidney stones is they think there is nothing to eat. They have not given the right information, they have not been given the right information, so they just think there's nothing left for them to eat, especially vegetarians, especially vegans, people who are quote unquote "healthy," they think there's absolutely nothing left to eat for them, and it's

The most erroneous piece of information. Everything is still on your plate. There are a few foods like almonds, and spinach, and cashews that are super high in oxalate.

We have a high oxalate food list at kidneystonediet.com, so you can see which ones are the highest. And so, it's a handful, folks. That's it.

Everything else—what shirt am I wearing? Is portion, not perfection. Okay?

So you can eat even foods that say on the Harvard list that, you know, they are—they may have 28 mg of oxalate in it, but if you pair it with some calcium, it's absolutely fine. So you have 100 mg of oxalate to have every day, that's in your bank account.

Start subtracting, look at the Harvard list at kidneystonediet.com, and everything's basically on your plate except just a handful of foods: spinach, and almonds, and cashews, and a few more, but otherwise, people, that's the first myth, honestly.

The other thing, a lot of people think they can't go out to eat anymore, Jeff. They think they can't go on vacation, they think they can't go out to eat, they think they're just isolated in their home eating cotton. It's not true, folks.

You can do that. Again, portion, not perfection. I didn't plan this shirt, by the way.

But it always comes down to this. If you go out to eat, people will say, "But Jill, the salt." Yes, it's going to be salty. But that's okay.

You can still go out to eat. Just get right back on track tomorrow. No harm done.

You'll be a little thirsty 'cause you ate extra salt, but you didn't make a kidney stone with one meal. There's also some other things you can do. Maybe you don't have the wine.

Maybe you have dessert instead of the wine. Maybe you have an appetizer, not an entree. Maybe you share an entree with your spouse, your partner, your friend, whatever.

You don't have to eat the whole thing. Take some home. There's half the salt right there.

So you always have a choice. You can tell the server, "Look, if you extra salt my food, I—I could die right at the table. You don't want that." Be dramatic so they don't forget.

That's supposed to be funny, but seriously, ask your server to tell the chef not to give you extra sodium on the way out. So you always have choices. I think one of the biggest things about our show is to show you with this illness you're not doomed, you still have choices.

There's always something you can do. There's always something you can do, always. That's number two.

You can still go out to eat and live your life. Just get right back on track.

Number three: there's no solution, folks, that's going to dissolve kidney stones. Uric acid stones are—the comp—the composition is such that you can break them up with alkalizing drugs or products. Lemons can help break down uric acid stones.

Potassium citrate can help break down kidney stones. So, there are things that can break down—oh,

Uric acid stones, not kidney stones! Uric acid stones. The only stone that can be broken up is a uric acid stone.

As I've said many times before, calcium oxalate stones, calcium phosphate stones, they're very tough to break up, sometimes even with the lasers. So stop drinking all that parsley juice, stop sucking down lemons where you're losing your teeth enamel. It's—it's

Just not going to happen. If you have a uric acid stone, you may be able to dissolve that a little so it could pass. The other stones, no.

Believe me or not, do what you're going to do. Everyone's a grown person, you will make your own decision decisions about that.

And I think it was last week we talked all about passing stones, too. So if you do want to sort of dive deep into that, it's one of the past couple weeks, but you can just go back in this in this feed on the podcast or the videos and talk all about that.

Yes, and I'm glad you brought that up because it's very important. There—there are ways you can help pass a stone. Are they guaranteed?

No, but check out that video, how to pass a kidney stone. Number four, a lot of doctors still today will tell you, "Hey, your stone's made up of calcium." They'll just say you're making a calcium stone. There's no such thing as just a calcium stone.

It's either bound with calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate,

But the doctor may tell you, "Get rid of all calcium." First of all, most of you are not even having enough calcium a day. The average person gets a couple hundred milligrams just from 'cause it's in an English muffin or in some of the vegetables you're eating. But I've never worked with anybody that gets enough calcium every day, so you don't have to give up calcium.

Don't. As a matter of fact, you need to get your recommended daily allowance of it.

Men: up to 1,000 mg a day. Women who still get their period: up to, up to, not over, 1,000 mg a day. And postmenopausal women: up to 1,200 mg a day.

You get it spread out throughout the day. You can look at the calcium videos on this channel to get the specifics. But do not lower your calcium.

If your doctor has asked you to lower your calcium,

Tell them what I just said. Don't say, "Jill, the—said it, the nurse," 'cause they're like, "Who cares what that nurse says?" Not really, a lot of doctors tell people to come to me. But I'm just saying, you can put it in a way where you're like, "Doctor, I know that I make calcium oxalate stones, but I don't even get any calcium, and I am worried about my bones.

I need it for I don't want to get osteoporosis. So what other things can I do?"

Okay, so talk about it that way.

Yeah, and I find that really fascinating, too, because you think it's like too much calcium, but like you said, it leaches from the bones, it binds with it, so it's going to bind with it in some form. So, like, if we get the diet—the dietary—I don't know why I emphasized it like that, but if we get the dietary version of it, then it's able to pass like it should.

Absolutely. Well, it also helps lower oxalate, and this is why some people, right, have higher oxalate amounts, because the only way oxalate can leave the body is to bind with calcium. So we need calcium, and that's going to help your kidney stones and lower your chances for bone disease.

Go ahead.

Oh, no, that was all. Yeah, m-.

Yeah, right. Yeah, so it's really important. That's really a—that's a very, very common thing that you shouldn't do.

What's the title of this again?

The things that you do wrong or don't know about kidney stones.

Yeah, that's—that's very common that people do wrong. They'll say, "My doctor told me not to have calcium," or "My doctor told me to take calcium supplements." Please don't do that, same thing. It's not helping.

We don't absorb them as well. So don't do that either.

And number five: this one always gets my heart, always gets my heart. I find nothing funny about this. The doctor says or the patient feels, "Well, I am just a stone maker.

There's nothing I can do about this." That is not true, folks. You can stop making kidney stones. The number one thing you have to do is get a urine collection so you can see why you're making the kidney stone.

There's many reasons why, not just about spinach, not just about oxalate. But don't you dare fall for, "You're just a stone maker." Do you know how many patients I've seen over the years where they have said that to me?

When the doctor said that to them, they'll say to me, "Jill, I didn't call you years ago because my doctor just said I'm a stone maker, so I just—I just gave up. I was like, 'What the hell? I'm going to continue eating how I want to eat.' It's just hopeless." And that always breaks my heart because we can get up to 80% reduction in new stone formation.

That's a lot, folks. Some of you have medical conditions that we can lower the rate of the production, but you may not be able to completely stop making stones. But I promise you, I promise you, with all the years I have behind me, my patients, even the ones that have medical conditions—bariatric surgeries, malabsorption issues, Crohn's, colitis, all these things—they at least—MSK—they at least have a lower rate of production.

They don't make as many stones as they used to. I promise, do not give up. And, you know, myself as a patient with stage four cancer in remission, if I gave up, I wouldn't be here today.

So that one hits me really hard.

Because when healthcare professionals tell us, "Well, what are you going to do?" No! You fight, man, because it's your health. You can't be going to the every month because you're making stones and getting sick and having surgeries, losing a kidney because of this, being septic?

Are you kidding? You always have a chance, and I'm living proof of that. So don't ever let anyone tell you're just a stone maker.

It's simply not true. I have so much free—I mean, Jeff, how much free information can we give away? We have everything you need here on this YouTube channel.

We have everything you need on our blog at kidneystonediet.com. Yes, we have paid services if you want to get there a hell of a lot faster. Have one call with me, you'll know what's going on.

Take the course, you'll know what's going on. Or if you don't have that nickel, then you go dive into our—all of our free information. We spend more time doing free stuff than we do paid stuff, quite frankly.

So utilize it, right?

Yeah, and then the only thing is you have your group calls. That's the big thing that is regular every week, always working with groups of people. Also much more affordable, so yeah.

Much more affordable. It's $24 a month at the time of this recording. You're meeting with me three times a week, and come and go.

You don't have to do the three times. And usually those calls are up to two hours. You have two hours of my time with other people, and we are a family in there, we support each other.

You're never going to find anybody on the internet that's giving that much time away for $24 a month. But I believe in this that much because I come to this much more as a patient who's been sick and continues to be sick than I do a nurse. So, it's all of it, right?

So this is—it's just important work to me, for me, for you. So utilize the really cheap services I have because you're going to be shocked on what you get for your money.

Yeah, so you can find all that at kidneystonediet.com. And again, cheers to 200!

Cheers to 200, Jeff! I love you so much. Amara's in the background, Amara, thank you, Amara, for everything you do.

We even have a crowd. But yeah, so we will see you next week.

Bye guys, thank you. Thanks for your support.