# DO THIS after kidney stone surgery Source: https://kidneystonediet.com/preview/ep/do-this-after-kidney-stone-surgery/ Published: 2026-03-31 --- [Embedded content](https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/0k4fI7h7nxipUliVJJwaYK) [![Kidney Stone Diet Podcast](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Kidney-Stone-Diet-Podcast-1-1024x1024.jpg)](https://kidneystonediet.com/preview/podcast/) [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-this-after-kidney-stone-surgery/id1528474326?i=1000758435168&uo=4)[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0k4fI7h7nxipUliVJJwaYK)[Amazon Music](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/0868148d-adfd-411d-b3f2-71a0ad1461ec) March 31, 2026 --- ![Jill Harris](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Kidney-Stone-Diet-Jill-Harris-150x150.jpg) Jill Harris Host You just had kidney stone surgery and you’re terrified you’re going to make another one. You’re not alone, and what you do next matters more than you think. In this episode, kidney stone nurse Jill Harris walks you through everything you need to know after surgery: the one test you should be asking your doctor for, the diet changes that actually matter, why you still need calcium, and the common mistakes that land people right back in the operating room. Whether this was your first stone or you’ve been through it before, understanding your next steps is the difference between prevention and another surgery. ## Chapters - 00:00:00 Essential Post Surgery Steps and Diet Changes - 00:00:56 Requesting a 24 Hour Urine Test - 00:01:51 Increasing Fluid Intake to Flush Out Crystals - 00:02:36 Common Post Surgery Mistakes Stone Formers Make ## Transcript ### Essential Post Surgery Steps and Diet Changes 00:00:00 Jill Harris You just had your kidney stone surgery and you are terrified you're going to make another kidney stone. I'm Nurse Jill and I've been helping people prevent kidney stones since 1998. The first thing you should do after you've had a surgery is make sure you're getting a follow-up, because you want to see if there's any stones left. But as far as diet goes, you want to make sure you're drinking enough fluids. You want to make sure you're lowering your salt and added sugar, and you're not getting rid of a lot of plant foods. You're getting rid of spinach and almonds and cashews, the things that you're overeating the most that you've heard have high oxalate. But, of course, we have a list at Kidney Stone Diet. You also need to get your calcium needs met, and most of you don't know that. And most of you will think that you're supposed to get rid of calcium if you're even getting it anyway because you made a calcium oxalate stone. And then, also, you can't be doing things like keto and carnivore and overeating meat all the time, because that's also part of the Kidney Stone Diet goals. Surgery fixed your stone, but here are our next steps in preventing another. ### Requesting a 24 Hour Urine Test 00:00:56 Jill Harris So, now that you've had your stone, you got to figure out why you made it, so you don't make it again. The first thing you need to ask your doctor is "Can I get a 24-hour urine collection done?" It's going to tell the doctor exactly why you made a kidney stone. Now, here's the pain in the neck of this: a lot of doctors will say "Let's wait till the second stone." Well, why would we wait for a second stone before we started on a prevention plan so we don't get that stone? You want that test done. Well, he said "No, Jill. What do I do?" You tell the doctor "I want to do everything I can, and I've heard that the first thing I need to do is do a 24-hour urine collection so we can see what my urine chemistry says, and then I can start fixing things." When you tell your doctor that you're a proactive, want to get this done kind of patient, they'll order it for you. So, once you get that completed, that urine collection is going to tell the doctor and you what is going on in your diet that you need to change so you don't continue making stones. And you're going to be shocked at what you see. ### Increasing Fluid Intake to Flush Out Crystals 00:01:51 Jill Harris You want to recover quickly, here's the number one thing you need to know: drink your fluids. There aren't any magic foods I'm going to suggest right now, but water is magical when it comes to kidney stone prevention and when it comes to after surgery. You want to be drinking enough fluid so you're producing two and a half liters a day. Now, for some of you, maybe you don't really drink much at all. All I'm asking is you drink more than you have been. Dehydration is one of the number one reasons people form kidney stones. So, you really want to get those fluids in, and also after a surgery, especially if you've had a lithotripsy or they blasted your stones, you want to get that sand out, so those crystals don't stay in your kidney and form stones later on. So, you want to flush out. I'm sure your doctor will tell you that, but fluids are really important after surgery. ### Common Post Surgery Mistakes Stone Formers Make 00:02:36 Jill Harris Finally, here are the mistakes that so many stone formers make after surgery. Here's what a lot of kidney stone formers tell me: as soon as they had their surgery, they did nothing. That's a huge mistake and you're going to make more kidney stones. Why did you do nothing? Because the doctor said " it's just one stone." The doctor didn't make a big deal out of it. The doctor didn't talk about prevention, so you just think it's a one-off. I can't tell you how many patients tell me that until they call me because they got a second stone and another surgery. So, common mistakes, that's number one: thinking it's no big deal. Number two: not increasing fluids. You have to do that. Number three: you're limiting way too many plant foods because now you're afraid of oxalate, when oxalate is the least important part of all of this, I promise you. Once you take away spinach and almond products and cashews and eating peanut butter all the time on the keto diet, you can eat plenty of plant foods. Another thing: you don't understand how salt affects kidney stone formation, or added sugar, or meat protein. Yes, you can eat meat, but you can't be on the carnivore diet and think you're going to not make kidney stones. People don't understand that diet can prevent kidney stones, and I know it can because I've been doing this for 30 years. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next week.