Hopeful News for Me!

Couldn't sleep, so decided to visit my old friend, Google. If you ask the question right, you're more likely to find more answers.

I can't even remember what question I asked this time, but I hit a jackpot of useful information regarding my kidney stone diet.

According to the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse,

How does oxalate in the diet affect kidney stone formation?

Some of the oxalate in urine is made by the body. But eating certain foods with high levels of oxalate can increase the amount of oxalate in the urine, where it combines with calcium to form calcium oxalate stones.

This, I knew.

How can a person limit oxalate in the urine?

Many foods and beverages contain oxalate, but only a few have been shown to increase the amount of oxalate in urine:

• spinach
• rhubarb
• nuts
• wheat bran

Avoiding these foods may help reduce the amount of oxalate in the urine.

This is new to me, the part that says only a few have been shown to increase the amount of oxalate in the urine. That is HUGE. A lot of my favorite foods that I had to give up are NOT on this list! I am so hopeful that I can eat beans again! Other things, too!

It looks like I will never be able to add nuts back, although several of the websites specifically mentioned peanuts and almonds as the two nuts that were on a similar but expanded list. I am so hopeful.

So my plan is to continue as the doctor ordered, but when I see him the next time, I'm definitely going to ask about this! Plus, I'm going to research further and see if I can find the research/studies online. It helps to read the actual studies because sometimes they can be misleading. They're difficult to read for a lay person like me, but I muddle through them.

This makes me hopeful, very hopeful, especially since my bladder has been rumbling all day today. It cramps and rumbles and flutters. Something is going on. I've been drinking tons of water, but I'm worried that remaining kidney stone is making an appearance. It has done this before and then gone away, so hopefully it will go away again. I do hate having that hanging over my head, though, knowing there will soon be the intense pain.

But again, very hopeful I can expand my diet more. The diet restrictions have been extremely difficult to accept. I have my fingers crossed!