HI all,
I was recently diagnosed with having kidney stones and am wondering if there is anything I can do naturally to get rid of them, or prevent them from forming again. I have been drinking tons of water.
Thanks!

There are diets that help, depending on the composition of the stones. Apparently there are different kinds of kidney stones, and not all of them respond to certain treatments.

There are several things that you can do. Since 80% of all kidney stones are due to high blood calcium levels (calcium stones) you might want to try the following. There are other reasons, but most stones are calcium stones...so let's just assume that yours is too. First you will need to stay away from dairy right now. If a lot of your protein come from meat try to stay away from that too. (Excessive intake of vitamin D can lead to an excess of calcium in the body.) But, if you can't, there are still other things that you can do. Yes, there are herbs that you can take to break up the stones and definitely help in making it less painful.
Go to your local health food store and get and herbal extract called Quebra Pedra. If they don't have it...that's okay, there are several other herbs that help/aid in this. There is a kidney formula that you can get through that can help break up the stones too. It has Juniper Berries, Parsley, Uva Ursi, Marshmallow root, Lobelia, Ginger, and Goldenseal in it.
Another thing that is good is drinking fresh apple cider. Also, put lemon in your water when you are drinking water. This can help with pain too.....1/2 lemon in a cup of water every half hour until pain stops. Of course no sodas.
There are many more things that you can do, but you really don't need to do them all. I've got more suggestions, if you need them! :)
I also want to mention that once you have gotten kidney stones, the risk of getting them again increases. If you get it a second time, the risk is even higher. You could take up to 100mg of Zinc daily to help prevent the crystals from forming into stones.
I hope that I've helped some.
Donna
Homeschooling mother to 3
Hunter (6yo), Joshua (5yo), and Abigail (born still 6/12/04, waiting on us to return HOME)

foods to avoid:
caffeine
chocolate
dairy
broccoli
cauliflour
spinach
nuts
red meat
grapes
berries
alcohol
white flour
white sugar
avoid foods high in oxalates
avoid cigerettes, pain killers, and stimulants
the apple cider vinegar can help, but really dietary changes help the most.
acupuncture can help for an acute case, reflexology can help a lot for acute pain, and shiatsu can do worlds of good for chronic/reoccurring stones (bringing balance).