# I can’t find help for my kidney stones! Source: https://kidneystonediet.com/preview/ep/i-cant-find-help-for-my-kidney-stones/ Published: 2023-11-21 --- [![Kidney Stone Diet Podcast](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Kidney-Stone-Diet-Podcast-1-1024x1024.jpg)](https://kidneystonediet.com/preview/podcast/) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqBe0b98mIo)[Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-cant-find-help-for-my-kidney-stones/id1528474326?i=1000635561083&uo=4)[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ZJdnPLlWryRAInLnpvnjI)[Amazon Music](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/0868148d-adfd-411d-b3f2-71a0ad1461ec) November 21, 2023 --- ![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 This week, Jill answers a listener question about finding kidney stone help. This podcast is designed to entertain and inform — not provide medical advice. Always consult your doctor before starting any treatment. **HAVE A QUESTION? _**\ Leave us a voicemail at (773) 789-8763. \ **SUPPORT THE SHOW _** - [Join the Patreon](https://patreon.com/kidneystonediet) - Rate Kidney Stone Diet on [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kidney-stone-diet/id1528474326) or [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/5O9BXOJUFnnT6JSgfxramx?si=T6lIOozgTUO8K6MobpVWsQ) - **BUY JILL’S FAVORITE PRODUCTS _** - [Silk Coconut Milk, Unsweetened](https://amzn.to/3jUd9x8) - [Good Karma Non Dairy Unsweetened Flaxmilk](https://amzn.to/3vQZN7J) - [Ripple Unsweetened Pea Milk](https://amzn.to/3GOP7wB) - [Oatly Unsweetened Oat Milk](https://amzn.to/3Gvjwi2) - [Healthy ‘N Fit 100% Egg Protein](https://amzn.to/3lgfXWb) - [Fairlife Core Power Elite High Protein Shake, Vanilla](https://amzn.to/3jlVKNV) - [Hydroflask](https://amzn.to/3CAD2bU) **WORK WITH JILL _** - [Kidney Stone Prevention Course](https://kidneystonediet.com/kidney-stone-prevention) - [Kidney Stone Diet Meal Plans](https://kidneystonediet.com/mealplans/) - [Safe Snacks and Desserts Ebook](https://kidneystonediet.com/ebook/) - [24 Hour Urine Collection Analysis](https://kidneystonediet.com/24-hour-urine-analysis/) - [Private Coaching](https://kidneystonediet.com/coaching/) **KIDNEY STONE RESOURCES _** - [Kidney Stone Diet](https://kidneystonediet.com/) - [Kidney Stone Diet Resources](https://kidneystonediet.com/resources/) - [Oxalate Food List](https://kidneystonediet.com/oxalate-list/) - [Kidney Stone Diet Recipes](https://kidneystonediet.com/recipes/) - [Meat Protein Calculator](https://kidneystonediet.com/protein/) - [Kidney Stone Diet Podcast](https://kidneystonediet.com/podcast) \ **WHO IS JILL HARRIS? _**\ Jill is a nurse and health coach that specializes in educating patients on kidney stone prevention. For more than 25 years she’s helped patients understand that kidney stones can be prevented with the right treatment plan. It’s one thing to be told to lower oxalate or drink more water, but HOW do you do it? That’s where she comes in. Through the educational resources at [kidneystonediet.com](https://kidneystonediet.com/), stone formers can learn everything they need to know to significantly lower new stone risk. *Some of the links above may be affiliate links which means that we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!* ## Chapters - 00:00:21 Daily Walking Routines and Exercise Steps - 00:02:36 Daily Step Goals and Movement for Blood Sugar - 00:05:47 Combining Physical Activity With Mental Stimulation - 00:07:19 Finding Kidney Stone Specialists and Dietitians - 00:09:18 Kidney Stone Prevention Courses and Consultation Options - 00:13:35 Personalizing Lifestyle Changes for Kidney Stone Prevention - 00:16:43 Overcoming Dietary Confusion and Building Sustainable Habits ## Transcript ### Daily Walking Routines and Exercise Steps 00:00:21 Jeff Sarris Welcome 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. 00:00:30 Jill Harris And I'm Jill Harris, your kidney stone prevention mascot, along with my loudmouth mother, Jude, your kidney stone prevention nurse. 00:00:39 Jeff Sarris I love seeing him. And yeah, his hair's grown back because he got a little a little trimmed, a little aggressively trimmed recently, so it's good to see him. 00:00:50 Jill Harris He was bald. Let's just say, when I picked him up at the groomer, he said, "I'll understand if you don't want to take me home, mama." 00:00:58 Jeff Sarris Yeah, he's looking like his fluffy self again, which is awesome. 00:01:03 Jill Harris He is. You know, we've just finished doing a couple hours of these shows or whatever. And so by the time we're and this is the last one for the day, but by the time we're at this point, he's he's going he's not he's kicking me, like under the table, like pick me up. My We've started calling him Elmer, as in glue, because I mean he's just addicted. Not that I mind. He's a little lover. 00:01:31 Jeff Sarris Yeah, love that. And how often does he want to go for a walk? 00:01:35 Jill Harris Oh, he has a hard time keeping up with me. But I'll tell you what. He's been He's For a little guy, he's only 16 lbs. Oh, my god, can he keep up with me? Big giant Luke, who was 90 lbs, he was like very I drove him nuts. He's like, "Can we please go home?" "No." This dog, man, right out of the gate, he keeps up with me. 'Cause, you know, I'll do on the average when I'm feeling okay, 15,000 steps. And so it's not all with him, obviously. You know, I'll go to the grocery, I'm not taking him everywhere, but he does probably 8,000 steps a day. 00:02:12 Jeff Sarris Yeah, that's impressive. I mean, and it's 00:02:14 Jill Harris 'Cause he's he's so little! 00:02:15 Jeff Sarris Yeah, and it's impressive that you consistently are able to get that. I know we've talked about it in the past, but I'm still in awe of that because I definitely don't hit even remotely close to 15,000 a day, even though I know I should and I want to. But, yeah, you're very good at creating that system for yourself to get there. ### Daily Step Goals and Movement for Blood Sugar 00:02:36 Jill Harris I think, you know, too, people were, you know, and even when I'm not feeling that great, I do push myself to do as much as I can. I'm not getting 15,000 steps at that point. But it really helps my stress level. It gets me out of my own head. I take breaks during work. All the things because it emotionally helps me, and it's just part of my life. And so, you know, when patients come to me and say, "Jill, you know, we're working on weight loss," or whatever, they're always I'm like, "You don't have to work out in the gym like I do. All you have to do is just a few minutes an hour. Can you get up and go for a walk?" I mean, new studies are showing that people's blood sugar really gets you know, it really does a lot better. It's a lot more stable by just moving, like 10 minutes every hour. Now, of course, not everyone can do that because of their job or whatever, but you can do better than maybe you are now. So, it's the point in telling you about that study is it's a it's a very little amount of movement that we need to do, folks. You don't have to be doing as many steps as I do, but can you just move if you're somebody who doesn't get up at all? Can you just do 1,000 steps today? And then notice how much better it makes you feel? And then, I mean, then you're I'm always chasing that feeling. I'm like, "If I don't do my steps, I just don't feel as happy." When I do my steps, I'm seeing people outside, I'm more social, I'm able to work things out, and then text Jeff. Jeff, another business idea, which he just loves. But that's how I figure things out. Movement helps me sort out my mind 'cause my mind can get overwhelmed and all kinds of, you know, I have ADHD, so I can get kind of junky up here. And so, you know, and very disorganized. So, the movement creates the constant for me. It creates the stability for me. That really is helpful for me. So, I really I when my patients first start doing it, they're like, " you're a pain in the ass." But then two weeks, they write me and they're like, "God, I really do feel better." And now I'm me and my sister, the patient's telling me, "we're in a competition. We put our Apple Watches together, and we're seeing, 'Oh, you did 4,000 steps, I'm going to beat you today.'" So, I mean, you'd be surprised. It just takes little baby steps, in this case literally, to get where you need to go, right? 00:04:55 Jeff Sarris And it's really good for mental well, let's say brain health specifically, too, because like not to not to prescribe anything at all, but like I know I've seen different things about combining activity with mental stimulation. So, maybe that's listening to a podcast or audiobook. Maybe that's talking on the phone. Maybe it's having a conversation or doing things that stimulate the activity side of the brain and the intellectual, I guess, for lack of a better term, but when you stimulate both of those, it keeps all the connections just healthier. It's it's more just sort of what our brains want from us. So, it's just one more little thing. Like if we can get out and get that little bit of activity, if it's just walking, and combining it with something, that's it could be potentially very valuable. ### Combining Physical Activity With Mental Stimulation 00:05:47 Jill Harris Yes. Yes, absolutely. And a lot of people will say, "I listen to you and Jeff when I go on my walk." I am a huge fan of podcasts. I listen to a lot of podcasts, my Audible books when I'm walking. So, yeah, I mean, I am really not a happy person if I can't get my steps in 'cause I'm not well. And here's one more thing on this subject. Until you're really sick, you don't realize how you take movement for granted. When you can't move, you're really going to be sad. So, you know, you just take it for granted, the things you can do. And then one day, I hope to God not for you, but if you're listening to me, it's because you've had a kidney stone and you've suffered in some way. You know, you get sick and that's just the impetus to never take it for granted again. So, that is like the one thing that illness will bring into your life, hopefully, is change, you know? Like, "Oh, hell no. I'm never getting a stent. I'm never getting a ureteroscopy again. I don't care. I'm calling Jill. We're going to I'm going to do all everything she says. I'm never going to make a stone again. And, you know, and I'm going to move," and all the things. So, s- sickness will change your mind real quick and will change your perspective, and you'll stop taking granted of this miraculous thing called a body, honestly. 00:07:09 Jeff Sarris Yeah, and actually right along those lines, we have a call from someone who's exactly in that spot. They want to make a change. So, what do you say we jump into that? 00:07:16 Jill Harris Let's do it. Fired up. ### Finding Kidney Stone Specialists and Dietitians 00:07:19 Jeff Sarris Hi, my name is Denise Sepulveda. I am a former resident of Long Zerk, Illinois, born and raised in Chicago, currently living in Arizona, and just found out I have a kidney stone and a malrotated kidney. And there's really disappointed about living out here, thinking about moving back as the healthcare out here is just terrible. Least in the suburb I'm in, Queen Creek, Arizona, where population explosion out here. But long story short, is there any way possibly to speak to you? I cannot find a dietitian out here. I love your podcast. I just I've just been aimlessly Googling everything to get some insight into what's going on with me and like I said, tried dietitians out here. There's none. I mean, they just want to do a diet for overweight. I've went through countless of them. So, I love what you're saying. I think you're real informative. No one knows about oxalates either, the doctors. I went to a kidney doctor, didn't say anything. They evidently they don't believe in diet, just like I said, really, really frustrated about the healthcare system out here. So, desperately looking for something. I guess I'm eat healthy. I've been eating healthy all my life. Don't smoke, don't drink. I'm not overweight, but I'm seeing a urologist soon. Can't get anybody to do a 24-hour urine, either. I guess I'm going to have to pay for it out of pocket and do that. But anyway, like I said, long story short, is there any way to possibly speak to you? I And I'll just cut it off there just before any personal more personal information. But, yeah, I mean it is this is something that like we like to allude to that you are accessible, but not everyone knows. I mean, people do listen, they're here for the information, so I do think it's important to yeah, obviously, sort of address the concerns, but also that you are accessible. ### Kidney Stone Prevention Courses and Consultation Options 00:09:18 Jill Harris Yeah. So, yes, I've been helping patients and students lessen their kidney stone risk for 25 years, and so I've been doing that in various forms. But of the last, you know, 6 years, 5 years, whatever, I've been doing it through phone calls. And so, yes, you can work with me. If you go to kidneystonediet.com/shop, you can see all the services. There's a 15-minute call for just quick questions. There's an hour call for a full consult along with dietary changes, going over lab results, the whole the whole shebang. There's the Kidney Stone Prevention Course where you get a lifetime access of videos explaining the Kidney Stone Diet, and then right now, before we change that, you can get access also to the group calls where you can ask me questions three times a week, and it's with other kidney stone formers. I think the best value is the Kidney Stone Prevention Course because you get those videos, nearly 5 hours worth of videos explaining, self-guided videos, and then you get to come and talk to me about them. But a lot of people do like to work with me privately. And then there's the urine analysis call, which you don't you know, you don't have a 24-hour urine collection, but that's a very valuable call where people get their results from their urine collection and they want to understand them better so they can have a great conversation with their doctor. So for you, what was her name, Jeff? 00:10:52 Jeff Sarris Denise. 00:10:53 Jill Harris Denise. For you, Denise, you should check out the Kidney Stone Prevention Course. Go to kidneystonediet.com. You'll see it there. Or if you want a 1-on-1 experience with me, and it will be worth every damn cent, I promise you, you can go to kidneystonediet.com and find my private consults there. Just go to the shop page, s-h-o-p, kidneystonediet.com/shop. There's many different price points to work with me, and we can get you fixed up. You know, there's a there are there's not a lot of people that specialize in this. That's the problem as far as dietitians and stuff. And also, you know, you do need a doctor. Any doctor can order a 24-hour urine collection, and of course you don't want to pay out of pocket. It's expensive. You know, I'd really push back on getting those ordered. It's unfortunate. It always makes me so sad when patients tell me doctors won't order it because there's a lot of things on that urine collection that you won't know you have until you do that urine collection, important things. Think about urine calcium. You're not going to know that's a problem unless you do a urine collection. So, Denise, I look forward to working with you. We can really get a lot done together. And you don't need You know, many patients have one call with me and they're done. They're on their way. It's not like I want to work with you for weeks and months. That's why if you want a long-term solution, meaning you want accountability and all that, get the Kidney Stone Prevention Course. If you just want an in-depth dive on just you, your kidney stone disease, and dietary changes, order the 1-hour consult. But go to kidneystonediet.com, the shop page, and you can see all my services listed right there. I look forward to meeting you. We'll get you fixed up, sister. 00:12:42 Jeff Sarris Yeah, and that's the whole reason you do this is because, unfortunately, it's hard to connect with an expert, someone like experts in their own area, of course, but to for this specific result, the outcomes that everyone listening and watching this want, you would you're hard-pressed to find anyone with even remotely as much experience as Jill. So, that's why this exists, why the whole platform exists, why we ask for the support to comment, like, share with people, because this is this is the spot with as much practice information, like 20 over 25 years now, that Jill's been doing this, and this is where we want to make sure people end up so they get the results that they need and don't have to suffer any longer. ### Personalizing Lifestyle Changes for Kidney Stone Prevention 00:13:35 Jill Harris I think what, too, what makes me, because people say, "Well, you're not a dietitian." Actually, no one really said that, but I'm I'm sure some people think that, but, you know, what I'm doing here is I have vast experience in how to change lifestyle habits. It's not always about going like, "Salt 1,500 mg, oxalate blah." It's about talking to a person, understanding who they are as a person, what they will do, what they won't do, make lifestyle changes based upon who they are as a person, what they like, what they don't like, what they're willing to do, what they absolutely won't do, what other medical conditions they have. Well, what makes me difference is different is I understand how people, what people do, because they've told me. So, I have thousands and thousands of patients I've talked to, and from all those wonderful people, I have learned how to help people make lifestyle changes, not just bark orders, but really get in there, learn about the person. So, what I do is you call me for results. I'll give you results, not just not just a pamphlet of advice. I'm going You're calling me to get results. You could do all the free things I have on my website, too, okay? You buy the meal plan to get results because maybe you're somebody who doesn't want to figure out the oxalate for every meal or think about what's for dinner. The meal plan service will give you that every day. You don't have to think about anything. You just make the recipes, which are really easy. But the reason people call me are get to are to get results, not just information, results. So, you could also get there on your own, Denise. We provide all these podcasts, all the free things on the website, but if you want to work with me, I'll get you there a hell of a lot faster, that I promise you. 00:15:37 Jeff Sarris Yeah, for sure. Yeah, and I think that's also like thank you for calling in because we it's easy for us to assume everyone knows. Everyone knows you can work with Jill. Everyone knows about the group calls. Everyone knows about the all the free resources. And like I'll mention them at the end of the episodes, but we don't know who's out there. So, if there are any questions that you have that maybe you're afraid this is too basic of a question, too obvious of a question, please call in. Please let us know because we just want to help people as much as we can, and you don't know what you don't know, and like dear listener, and we don't know either what you don't know. So, we just need to get as much information as possible, which, of course, is what Jill does on the calls, as well, learning about you as a person, not just handing over data, because if just facts and numbers were all that we needed to make change, we would all be in perfect health, perfectly fit, doing everything perfect perfectly according to these numbers and systems, but it's it's about so much more. It's deeper, as you said. ### Overcoming Dietary Confusion and Building Sustainable Habits 00:16:43 Jill Harris It's about how. Also, I would be bored off my ass, so I could never do that. What I love about my job is I get to meet people and talk to them. And what's the best part of my job is they'll say, "Oh, Jill, I can't believe I'm telling you this, but this is what I do or don't do." That's my favorite part because it's like, "Oh, good. I'm not alone. I'm not a nut," I think to myself. We're so human. We just do all kinds of stuff. I mean, you know? So, and also, "You know, I know this is a dumb question, Jill." There's no dumb question. The diet industry has really just messed us up. We don't know if we're coming or going. What's healthy, what's not. I mean, it's just a mess. So, we have all kinds of crazy notions. So, when I meet you in whatever form you choose, it's like being with a friend. I mean, that's what my patients will say. I feel like I known her my whole life. What you see on YouTube is who you get on the phone. I'm a little even wilder on the phone, quite frankly. But it that's that's how I relate. That's what That's who I am. I'm not What is this, fake? It's who I am as a person. So, I like meeting people. I like hearing their problems. I like hearing their obstacles, and I like working with them to figure out what's the best way to fix it. There's no one way! So, you got to understand people. You got to understand what people do. I also people will say something and I'm like, "I know, because everybody says that! Don't worry about it." "Jill, I've never had calcium my whole life." "I know, 'cause nobody has." So, the great thing about having so much experience is you've you've heard a lot of the same stories, but everybody's a little different in how they present it, and everybody is different on how they want to get there, what will work for them. And so my job is trying to figure that out. That's what makes it so cool. So, it's never the same call over and over for me 'cause I'm talking to different people in different countries, in different states. I talk to people all over the world. So, I get to I get to learn about humans and human nature, and that is what makes me so incredibly happy. I love human beings. I love figuring it out. We're messy, we're nuts, we're crazy, and that's what makes life fun, right? So, that's it. 00:19:05 Jeff Sarris Yeah, thanks again, Denise, for that question, for calling in, and 00:19:09 Jill Harris Thanks, Denise. 00:19:10 Jeff Sarris Yeah, hopefully we can steer you in the direction that best suits your needs. And for anyone else out there, that number again is 773-789-8763. Or you can send a voice memo to podcast@kidneystonediet.com and we will feature you in the future. I love that Finn's like, "Okay, I think we're done for this episode. We're we're ready to go." 00:19:32 Jill Harris "Ready to go on my walk!" 00:19:33 Jeff Sarris But, yeah, thank you, everyone, for tuning in, for liking, subscribing, commenting, doing all the things that help us reach more people. And if you know anyone who needs help, please send them to the website kidneystonediet.com. Send them to the YouTube channel, Kidney Stone Diet on YouTube. Any Whatever way people want to be reached, we want to try to reach them. We want to help people in as many different ways as possible. So, thank you to everyone tuning in. Thank you to everyone listening. Thank you, Jill, for all of your time, as always, and we'll wrap for this week, and we'll see you all next time. 00:20:06 Jill Harris I love you, Jeff. Thanks, Denise. 00:20:07 Jeff Sarris Love you, too. 00:20:09 Jill Harris Bye! 00:20:10 Jeff Sarris Bye.