A Week of Doctors, Part IV
We're finally on to Thursday and Friday now.
I spoke with Jill Harris on Thursday morning and made what was an easy decision. I will be participating in her 6-Week Kidney Stone Prevention Course. I will be able to learn a great deal about how to successfully (hopefully) manage my new dietary requirements. If you scroll down the page at that link, you'll see that each week captures a different topic. The course is limited to 12 people each time and it's very affordable.
In addition, I've also chosen to do some personal coaching with Jill. I'm doing this because my numbers in a few areas were a little scary. In fact, she was actually surprised that the urologist hadn't put me on medication immediately.
Apparently the amount of salt I used to consume has been causing my body to leach calcium out of my bones and pour it into my urine so my kidneys can do what they need to do. I don't understand all the chemistry behind this - and (for once) I don't need to. For now, I just need to focus on upping my water and lessening my sodium. I'm thinking that you're probably thinking that this really doesn't seem all that hard - but there are more pieces of the puzzle for me.
While I'm upping my water and lowering my salt, I also have to find ways to up my calcium and potassium, as well as limit my protein and sugar. Thankfully for me, one thing that I don't need to concentrate on initially is my intake of foods high in oxalate. That's the lowest item on the list for me. I'm choosing foods that are lower in oxalate when I can, but again, it's more about water and salt.
And . . . because I'm trying to help my bladder out at the same time, I've been advised to drink only water. No coffee (no problem - I don't drink it). No tea (I'll miss it). No spicy foods (again not a problem, I've never been big on super spice). I am drinking Lactaid milk, however, it's one of the best ways for me to up my calcium - many other dairy products (like cheese) have a lot of sodium in them. I'm not counting it toward my daily liquid intake - it's all about the calcium.
Jill is wonderful, and if you've happened to find my blog because you were searching on kidney stones, I would encourage you to check her out. She coaches people all over the country, so you don't have to be local to work with her.
Alrighty then. I'm hanging in and I'm learning. It's going to be interesting, that's for sure :-)
Friday - I had my annual physical with my primary care doc. My labs came back today and they don't show anything that I wasn't expecting. My lipid numbers (cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.) are not great. I'm not surprised, but the changes I'm making with the kidney stone diet will take care of those, as well.
I'm doctored out.
:-D
So, that's the rest of the story. I think you can probably see now why I broke it into four pieces. There was just too much to capture in one post.
Here's to a great day :-)
I spoke with Jill Harris on Thursday morning and made what was an easy decision. I will be participating in her 6-Week Kidney Stone Prevention Course. I will be able to learn a great deal about how to successfully (hopefully) manage my new dietary requirements. If you scroll down the page at that link, you'll see that each week captures a different topic. The course is limited to 12 people each time and it's very affordable.
In addition, I've also chosen to do some personal coaching with Jill. I'm doing this because my numbers in a few areas were a little scary. In fact, she was actually surprised that the urologist hadn't put me on medication immediately.
Apparently the amount of salt I used to consume has been causing my body to leach calcium out of my bones and pour it into my urine so my kidneys can do what they need to do. I don't understand all the chemistry behind this - and (for once) I don't need to. For now, I just need to focus on upping my water and lessening my sodium. I'm thinking that you're probably thinking that this really doesn't seem all that hard - but there are more pieces of the puzzle for me.
While I'm upping my water and lowering my salt, I also have to find ways to up my calcium and potassium, as well as limit my protein and sugar. Thankfully for me, one thing that I don't need to concentrate on initially is my intake of foods high in oxalate. That's the lowest item on the list for me. I'm choosing foods that are lower in oxalate when I can, but again, it's more about water and salt.
And . . . because I'm trying to help my bladder out at the same time, I've been advised to drink only water. No coffee (no problem - I don't drink it). No tea (I'll miss it). No spicy foods (again not a problem, I've never been big on super spice). I am drinking Lactaid milk, however, it's one of the best ways for me to up my calcium - many other dairy products (like cheese) have a lot of sodium in them. I'm not counting it toward my daily liquid intake - it's all about the calcium.
Jill is wonderful, and if you've happened to find my blog because you were searching on kidney stones, I would encourage you to check her out. She coaches people all over the country, so you don't have to be local to work with her.
Alrighty then. I'm hanging in and I'm learning. It's going to be interesting, that's for sure :-)
Friday - I had my annual physical with my primary care doc. My labs came back today and they don't show anything that I wasn't expecting. My lipid numbers (cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.) are not great. I'm not surprised, but the changes I'm making with the kidney stone diet will take care of those, as well.
I'm doctored out.
:-D
So, that's the rest of the story. I think you can probably see now why I broke it into four pieces. There was just too much to capture in one post.
Here's to a great day :-)
Comments
And yeah, I think a lot of people do not make the changes necessary to hopefully avoid another stone. My urologist said as much. I, however, never want to feel that pain again. Ever.
Here's to you, kid! Keep up the good work!
Janice H.