# The one thing kidney stone doctors get wrong Source: https://kidneystonediet.com/ep/the-one-thing-kidney-stone-doctors-get-wrong/ Published: 2026-07-28 --- [![Kidney Stone Diet Podcast](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Kidney-Stone-Diet-Podcast-1-1024x1024.jpg)](https://kidneystonediet.com/podcast/) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFXw8A-3S5U)[Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-thing-kidney-stone-doctors-get-wrong/id1528474326?i=1000778713107&uo=4)[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4FEHdeVYY71lO9DPx5UcTt)[Amazon Music](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/0868148d-adfd-411d-b3f2-71a0ad1461ec) July 28, 2026 --- ![Jeff Sarris](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Jeff-Sarris-150x150.jpg) Jeff Sarris Host ![Jill Harris](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Kidney-Stone-Diet-Jill-Harris-150x150.jpg) Jill Harris Host Too many doctors tell patients they are just kidney stone formers. They say nothing can be done. That is simply not true. There is always a reason why your body makes stones. We explain why surgeons often miss prevention steps. We talk about the single most important test you need: a 24-hour urine collection. You will learn what to say if your doctor refuses to order it. We also cover other health workers who can order this lab test for you. You do not have to live with stones for decades or risk losing a kidney. The right treatment plan can lower your stone risk by up to 80 percent. You will walk away ready to get real answers based on your actual lab results. **Get Featured!\**Leave us a voice message at [call.show/kidneystonediet](https://call.show/kidneystonediet) to be featured on the show! ## Chapters - 00:00:00 Challenging the Untreatable Kidney Stone Myth - 00:03:30 Importance of 24 Hour Urine Collection Tests - 00:05:36 How to Request Urine Testing From Doctors - 00:06:53 Why Urologists Focus on Surgery Over Prevention ## Transcript ### Challenging the Untreatable Kidney Stone Myth 00:00:00 Jeff Sarris The one thing that kidney stone doctors get wrong is what we're talking about today on the show. 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. 00:00:22 Jill Harris And I'm Nurse Jill, your kidney stone prevention expert. And, you know, people are like, "Oh, so you're an expert." I'm like, look, I'm good at two things. I'm okay at being a mother, and I'm good at this. That's it. Everything else I suck at. So, I'm going with expert here. I've done it for 30 years, I better be good at it. Anyway, go ahead. 00:00:41 Jeff Sarris Oh, yeah. You've helped thousands and thousands of people directly and indirectly through this platform, but thousands of patients. You've worked with thousands over the years, which is- 00:00:51 Jill Harris I'm so lucky. 00:00:51 Jeff Sarris Yeah, unfathomable, I think, just to everyone. 'Cause it doesn't feel real. When we say thousands of people, it just doesn't make sense. 00:00:58 Jill Harris It doesn't feel real. No. 00:01:00 Jeff Sarris But, what is the thing then? So, we're talking doctors. We don't go against doctors' orders. We're always, we're very pro doctor here, but there is something we need to address because there is something that some doctors do get wrong that can steer patients, slightly astray. 00:01:15 Jill Harris I'm going to wipe that smile right off my face, too, because it's something that, it really disheartens me. And, more so from Less about because of the work I do, I mean, obviously, but, also, from Being a patient myself with my cancer stuff, it's like, you just don't tell somebody, "Well, that, we can't do nothing for you. You're just fill in the blank." And, in this case, You're just a stone former. Doctors, many doctors will tell patients, "Look, you're just a kidney stone former." So, what happens with those people? What happens when you are told as a patient, no matter what you're dealing with, and, honestly, folks, I don't see that in any sector of medicine. Nobody ever says, "Well, you're just a cancer patient, nothing to do. Well, you just have diabetes, nothing to do. Well, you just have hyperparathyroidism, there's nothing we can do." I don't understand! Where is this coming from? There are no medical diseases where there's nothing we can do. Yes, if you're dying from a disease, then you have done all the treatment and now there's hospice, okay? But, how are you telling kidney stone formers, "You're simply just a kidney stone former, and there's nothing we can do."? Why do I get mad? Because what I hear Is somebody that calls me, "Jill, I've been making kidney stones for 20 years." Why are you just calling now, Frankie? "Well, I was told I was just a stone former." So, how else would me, Jill, know that this is going on? Because patients tell me week after week, "My doctor just said I'm a stone former, so I just thought I had to deal with this for the rest of my life." And then, they started Googling or AIing, and then they're like, "Oh! There's help here. Look at that lab mouth in Chicago. I'll talk to her. I'll go on her YouTube. Jeff, that handsome man's with her, too. Let's see what they're talking about." So, finally, There's somebody saying, "You're not just a stone former!" There's always a reason, even if it's genetics. There's a reason. ### Importance of 24 Hour Urine Collection Tests 00:03:30 Jill Harris So, again, why I get mad, that patient never got help. "You're just a stone former." No 24-hour urine collection was ordered. If the doctor said, "Hey, look, you're making a lot of stones. Let's figure out why. First thing to do is get a 24-hour urine collection ordered. You get the results. Looking at the results, This is a problem, this is a problem, this is a problem. Let's fix it, so you're not just a stone former." Now, some patients, a very low percentage, by the way, some patients will always make kidney stones. Well, that stinks, Jill. But, we can, because they have other medical things going on. If you've had a bariatric surgery and you have malabsorption issues, if you have Crohn's and colitis, I have dealt with all of these patients. They have issues. Many of them, instead of having stones every six months, every year, they now have them every 5 years. So, even with the patients that still will make stones, boy, can we slow that progression down! You are not just a stone maker. So, as, as a patient, myself, with my disease, if somebody were to ever say, "There's nothing left that we can do," when they didn't try to do anything, well, that's the most disheartening thing I've ever heard. So, I just go nuts with it. If you're watching this and you have made kidney stones your entire life, I promise you, I don't make many promises, 'cause you can't in life, but I promise you, you can be helped. The first thing you must do is get a 24-hour urine collection, end of story. "My doctor won't order it, Jill." If you have more than one doctor, ask another doctor. "Well, how are they going to help me?" You're going to say, "Well, of course, you're drumming up business." But, I'm really good at understanding the report, so I can teach you what it means, and then you can talk to the doctor about that. Okay? ### How to Request Urine Testing From Doctors 00:05:36 Jill Harris But, if you are a stone maker, you definitely have a urologist, get them to order it. If they say no, here's what you say. This doesn't typically fail: "Dear doctor, I understand that you don't think it's necessary, but I can't keep living like this. And so, I really want you to order me the 24-hour urine collection, So I can see what's going on in my urine, and then we can build a treatment plan from that. Because, Doctor, I am going to do everything I can On my side to prevent these going forward." You need to be adamant. I can't be this passionate for you. You got to be this passionate. Okay? Doesn't matter if I'm about to cry, or my heart's coming out of my sleeve, or I'm spitting on Jeff's face here, none of that's going to matter if you don't care enough. And I know you do. I'd say once every 2 weeks, I have a patient that lost a kidney due to kidney stones. And those patients were told, "There's nothing you could do, you just make them." Bull do. You don't just make kidney stones, there's always a reason. So, there's that. But, you know, a lot of you believe that because your doctor's telling you that. ### Why Urologists Focus on Surgery Over Prevention 00:06:53 Jill Harris Is the doctor lying to you? No, that's what the doctor thinks. Many of the doctors who are telling you that are urologists, and they're surgeons, and they're not maybe as well versed on the diet or prevention or other things. Their job, Where they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars going to school, was to be the best surgeon for you. That's what they do. Okay? So, you may have to push a little bit more for a 24-hour urine collection. I've had patients say, "Well, my primary ordered it." And they did a consult with me, and I said, "Here are the issues, talk to your doctor about that, blah, blah, blah." And their primary was able to help that, or their endocrinologist helped them, or their OB-GYN helped them, Or their, physician's assistant helped them. There's other ways to get around this. So, All I have to say about that is You have to Understand that there's reasons why you're making kidney stones. Nobody just makes them for no reason. If you get the 24-hour urine collection, You can figure that out, Get on a treatment plan, and at the very least, Lower your risk and make less stones. But up to 80% Recurrence goes bye-bye by just getting on the right treatment plan. And it cannot be generic, it has to be Based upon What your lab results say. Nobody for my tumors is just saying, "Well, let's just, let's just throw out this chemo or this radiation." No! I got my tumor tested, they said, "This is going to work best for this." Everything's tested, and that's what treatment and prevention is based upon. Not special horsetail teas and drinking parsley water and this crap on the internet. You get a test, you get treated based upon those results, the end. All right, Jeff, that's what I got to say about that. I get, I get real upset. 00:08:57 Jeff Sarris No, that's so important. Yeah, so at kidneystonediet.com, Jill can help you 1-on-1 understand that urine collection. She does this all day with patients, every day of the week. She is constantly working with patients, breaking down exactly what the urine collection means, so you can have the best possible results, and you don't have to accept sort of the false, Not promise, but the false expectation that you are just a kidney stone former. So, head on over to kidneystonediet.com, where you can work directly with Jill, or you can find all the other free resources to help you prevent kidney stones. 00:09:30 Jill Harris Yes. Right. 00:09:39 Jeff Sarris I think with that, we'll wrap. Thanks, everyone, for tuning in, and we'll see you next week. 00:09:42 Jill Harris Have a great week, everybody. Bye.