Get Rid of Kidney Stones By Making Yourself Pee More With These Foods (Flomax Alternatives?)

 

(Photo Credit: Maja Cvetojevic @majacvetojevic)

Urinate More Often

One of the most commonly prescribed medicine for those who have kidney stones is Flomax. It makes you pee or urinate more. Some people are not very comfortable with its effect since it works by making the prostate muscles relax. Fortunately, there are foods that can also help you achieve the same effect.

If you are new to this, you might ask, “Why do I have to urinate more?”. Well, the only way for you to pass those stones is through urination. Since you'll be peeing more, you will need to drink more water.

Even though I'll be presenting natural diuretic foods that make you pee more, their effectiveness may depend on certain factors which may or may not include your health and the size of your kidney stones. It's always best to consult for doctor before committing yourself to any kind of treatment or diet.

Caffeine and Soda

While they are also known for their diuretic effect, they can harm you because of their effect on the acidity of the urine so you should go easy on them. Don't depend on them for curing your kidney stones. Your doctor might even recommend that you stay away from them.

Fruits

Fruits generally help you with urination. However, you can have better effect with lemon, watermelon, grapes and pears. Fruits that have diuretic effects tend to be watery. My personal favorite is lemon because it's the easier for me to store. I usually squeeze the lemon juice out and dilute it in water and the store it in the fridge. You can also take it directly without the water. Coincidentally, lemon is popular among people who have experience with kidney stones.

Don't Hate The Veggies

Vegetables are included in this list. The veggies that make you pee or urinate more often include garlic, onion, cucumber, asparagus, etc. I eat raw garlic from time to time, and I'd say it has a strong diuretic effect. However, the taste might turn you off. For those I don't want to deal with the unpleasant vegetable taste, cucumber might be the best choice since they can be prepared together with your favorite salad dressing and ingredients.

Say Hello to Your Favorite Herbs

If herbs are your thing, then parsley and dandelion are probably included in your list. That's good since they can help increase urination. Hibiscus, which can be consumed in tea form, can also help you pee more. The good thing about these herbs is that you can include them in your favorite dish.

How to Pass Kidney Stones by Jumping and Bumping

 

Can you pass kidney stones naturally by jumping and bumping?

In this post, let me introduce you to the jump and bump method. It's a common way to pass kidney stones without surgery. You would likely hear about it from people who have passed kidney stones before. While it has a decent level of effectiveness, there are things you have to keep in mind before trying it out. I'll later discuss how to do it.

Kidney Stone Size

It's not for everyone. It only works for kidney stones that are small enough to pass without surgery so you have to consult with your doctor and determine whether they can be passed naturally. If the stones are around 2-3 mm in size, then you'd be able to pass them naturally. If your stones are too big to pass without surgery, you might be tempted to try this out. However, doing so may cause pain and even infection so you might want to bring this up with your doctor before trying it.

Movement of the Stones

How do you pass those kidney stones? You can only do it by making them move. The jump and bump method which solely involves moving and causing vibration inside your body does that. Aside from the movement, you also need to increase your water intake. Kidney stones can only move with enough presence of liquid so don't neglect your water intake. A common practice is to drink 3-4 liters of water a day. You might have to increase or decrease the amount depending on your body size or the recommendation of your doctor.

Jumping

Start by standing firmly, with your feet apart from each other at shoulder width. Lightly jump and land on your feet with most of your weight landing on your heels. The impact on your heels will cause your body to vibrate which will promote the movement of your kidney stones. Alternatively, you can stand on your toes and then drop your weight to your heels with force. This may be the better option for those who don't feel comfortable with jumping. Be careful not to put too much force on your heels so you don't get injured. You only need enough force to cause vibration in your body.

Bumping

This works on the same principle except that you can do this on your chair. Instead of landing on your heels, you land on your butt. Gently hop and fall on your butt to cause vibration in your body. Make sure you do this on a sturdy chair. I'd personally recommend that you do this on a concrete platform since you can produce a stronger vibration when landing on concrete.

Expected Results and Warning

When can you expect those kidney stones to pass? It can be dictated by factors such as amount of water in the body, extent of movement, size of kidney stones, etc. Hence, you can't really tell when it's going to happen. For some, it only took less than five days.

If your kidney stones are already causing pain, then you might have to take it easy on this as it might make the pain worse. While keeping it up would pass the stones and possibly make the pain go away, there might be other health issues you have to address first.

Are your kidney stones making you pee more often?

Constant urination is one of the things a person with kidney stones may have to deal with.

Let me share a case that my research has led me to. The person has a small kidney stones with the size of 2 mm. Based on common knowledge, kidney stones that are around 2-3 mm can pass themselves. Doctors would usually advise their patients who have small kidney stones to just drink more water. Others have good results with lemon juice. If you want more info about it, check out this post.

Back to the case, the person experienced back and abdominal pain and even encountered blood in his urine. This might be too much for a small kidney stone but the test shows that his case is minor. Fortunately, the symptoms stopped after a few days. However, he has to deal with the constant urge to urinate.

Constant urination may not be bad

After finding out that you have kidney stones and that getting rid of them requires you to drink more water, you would likely start taking more liquid. This may cause you to pee more often, which is perfectly natural. Also, keep in mind that the only way for those stones to pass is through urination. Hence, peeing more often than you usually do may actually help you especially when you don't travel a lot and spend most of your time at home.

Obstruction of the Urine Flow

You might hear from people that it may be caused by obstruction of the urine flow. Based on informal discussions with some registered nurses, this can be the case if your urine goes out in a spraying manner. This is because the stone may be stuck in the urethra, which causes the urine to come out differently. It may come with some blood in the urine.

Irritation of the Bladder

I came across some literature from urologists that say that the frequent urination which have been shown to have nothing to do with the increase of water intake. I'm talking about having the constant urge to pee but when it's time for you to let it out, you're not letting out much of it.

It may be caused by ureteral stones. These are stones that are just outside the bladder. This causes UTI which then cause inflammation of the bladder. This makes the bladder sensitive, which is why a little stretch makes you want to pee right away.

If this is your case, then the best course of action is to have yourself checked. Since the urge to pee isn't caused by the physical need to pee, holding it for a bit probably wouldn't harm you especially when you're working or traveling.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that even though the common remedy on these possibilities is to increase in water intake, it is best to have some tests done to know where you're at and determine the best action to take.