Question:
Has anyone had kidney stone problems after surgery.

I had rny surgery on April 28, 2008 and everything has gone great. Have lost a total of 63pds, 34 pre-op and 29 ost-op. Last wed had terrible pain, went to emergency room and was passing kidney stones, OUCH. Would appreciate any comments and or suggestions.    — bigrich (posted on June 16, 2008)

June 16, 2008
they are very common for MOs, but its important to get your liquids in every day! Have a old friend who is MO she gets stones often. Her mom is against WLS which is very sad. Her mom can barely walk because of her weight
   — bob-haller

June 16, 2008
It is common in WLS...With all the weight loss, you need to drink a lot of water. Your kidneys are responsible for cleaning your blood of minerals and calcuim and proteins (and other other stuff)...If you don't drink enough water to flush out all the excess waste, that calcium will bind to uric acid and form stones...Don't use calcium carbonate...It is notorious for causing stones in the gallbladder especially. We don't absorb calcium carbonate (Tums and most multi-vits usually contain this type of calcium) Also... If you are getting much more than 30 grams of protein per meal or supp...much more than that cannot be easily absorbed and your kidneys end up having to get rid of it along with all the "junk" from rapid weight loss...DRINK DRINK DRINK...clear water. Watch what kinds of calcium and what kind of vit D you are taking (It should be dry D or "D3" with calcium citrate) All your fat soluable vits should now be taken in dry form...(A, D, E, and K) These vits are often malabsorbed in fat form because we malabsorb fat that carries these vits thru our blood, kidneys! Many people argue that "any vitamins" are fine, and "you don't need to spend extra on bariatric vitamins"....I've heard it all...I'm not trying to sell any vitamins either...It's not my job or hobby. My post op complications are due to vitamins and how we absorb them and they came after 4 years. You are having different trouble with vits now...but it's probably still about vits and minerals binding together...ANOTHER reason you never take calcium with iron and certain other prescription drugs...It binds to some things like a magnet. Then that vit or med is not absorbed and stones are another complication. Drink plain water! Good luck too! Ouch...
   — .Anita R.

June 16, 2008
Ditto on the KIDNEY STONES...Had to spend about 12 hours in the ER with fluid drip and pain meds. I was just too dehydrated and couldn't get on top of it to flush those critters out. They passed 2 days later, but they sure as heck HURT!! I am going to keep on my fluids JUST in hopes to never have that happen again. God bless...Barb
   — usfour

June 16, 2008
As others have stated, this is a common problem with Weight Loss Surgery patients. Rapid weight loss can trigger this kind of attack. It is ESSENTIAL to get plenty of fluids, not just during your weight loss, but AT ALL TIMES, for the prevention of both Gall AND KIDNEY Stones. It is ALSO ESSENTIAL that these fluids be NON-Alcholic, Non-Caffeinated drinks. BOTH Alcohol AND Caffeinated beverages cause the body to LOSE fluid with their consumption instead of GAIN it. For EACH OUNCE of EITHER Alcohol, or Caffeinated coffee or soda that you drink, you need to drink an EXTRA ounce of WATER or some OTHER non-alcholic or non-caffeinated beverage In addition to the NORMAL fluid consumption that you SHOULD have every day! Most Doctors recommend that you get at LEAST 64 fluid ounces of water a DAY for your health. If you drink a 12 ounce can of diet COKE, then you need to ADD ANOTHER 12 ounces of water to that total PLUS the 12 ounces of COKE for a TOTAL FLUID consumption for that day of 88 OUNCES! If you DON'T add that extra 12 ounces, it will be like you have only consumed 42 ounces of fluids a day, even though you have ACTUALLY consumed 72! If you drink 2 or 3 diet Cokes a day, you end up robbing your body of even MORE fluid. People who drink LARGE QUANTITIES of CAFFIENATED BEVERAGES or ALCOHOL often end up with KIDNEY stones due to this effect. Take it from ME! I KNOW! I have had TWO kidney stones on account of my consumption of large quantities of Diet beverages with Caffeine. Gall Stone problems are USUALLY triggered by a diet high in FAT. When we LOSE fat at a rapid pace, it wreaks HAVOC with our Gall Bladder. I don't know if the two are connected, but I suspect that they are. There ARE things that you can do to help prevent Gall Stones from forming. Drinking the proper amount of fluids will certainly NOT hurt. There is also some medication that you can get that you can take prophylactically, to PREVENT Gall Stones from FORMING if you ARE losing weight at a rapid pace. My WIFE (who is a Nurse Practitioner) looked into some for ME, but the cost was too prohibitive for US, since we do not have enough insurance on me to COVER that kind of medical expense. What she then did was look to see if there was a natural alternative. She found a product called GallCleanse made by a company called Bionutrix. A good site that explains what it does can be found here: http://www.merc-buyers.com/GALL-CLEANSE.htm . I advise you to do a web search for the best price. I hope this helps, Hugh
   — hubarlow

June 16, 2008
I am about a year out and have had kidney stones twice. I also had the gallbladder removed. I feel like my body is one big stone sometimes. Sorry about the pain but just need to keep up the fluids and hopefully they will not come back! Good luck!
   — [Deactivated Member]

June 17, 2008
Well, here are my two cents worth. I had my frist kidney stone at 24, I am now 57 and have not had WLS yet!!! I have one more test to do and my dr ofc is sending in for approval from my insurance. I have my fingers crossed. Have a 7mm stone right now and am seeing a dr for them. As long as they don't move it's ok with me, BUT you are right the hurt like the devil. I guess I will be looking for more of them as time passes. Darn it!!!
   — VeraWalker

June 17, 2008
I had my first kidney stone before surgery but I had another after wls and about 9 months after the first one I had. I have been taken off calcium because of the kidney stone problem. I had to take a 24 hour collection and they checked it. I am now on medication for the stones. The urologist told me that if I got stones every year the mediction would make it more like 5 years. So I guess what I am telling you is the meds don't make the stones disappear and never return but the time between them is longer. But you need to have the test to see if they are a certain kind of stone otherwise the meds are not going to help. I have to take liquid cytra K 3 times a day for the stones and now I have to take a water pill everyday because of a high ph level in the urine. The urologist told me tht the meds are a lifelong thing and I told him that is a small price to pay for the pain. Taking the water pill makes me more suseptable to becomig dehydrated but I have to up the fluid intake each day. Sometimes I feel like I am just going to float away. I would talk to the doctor about the medication they can give for kidney stones now. Good luck on your endeavor.
   — Brenda R.

June 18, 2008
My friend continued to have stones after her RNY. I did some reasearch and discovered that kidney stones is very popular in bypass patients. I read that a bypass patient should include natural lemon juice in their diet. The acidic acid in lemons is stronger than the uric acid that forms stones, thus a decrease in kidney stone formation. Needless to say, I pour lemon juice in my water a couple of times a week.
   — mary_rn