VSG and Kidney Stones

I have been reading all the posts here, and researching as much as I can
to be prepared when I get my surgery date.  My friend had VSG 8 weeks
ago and woke up a week ago screaming in agony with kidney stones.  She
went to emergency and they did a cat scan.  She was given medication to
help pass  a stone and a sent home.  She passed the stone and when she
went in for the followup the doctor told her the cat scan showed 3 kidney
stones still in her right kidney and 2 more in the left kidney.  She had no
family history of kidney stones and had never had one before.  The doctor
told her they are seeing a lot of the bypass patients in emergency with
kidney stones.  The only thing they have attributed this to is the high protein
diet and amount of calcium we take.  He also said that drinking Crystal Light
seems to send them through when they are small.  He suggested drinking a
lot of Crystal Light, and to be sure and drink all your water.  Has anyone else
experienced this?

Barbara

High protein and not enough water will tax the kidneys and can cause the stones to form.  I think the fact that a lot of people aren't able to drink all their water can cause that problem.  And even though you might drink 64 ounces of approved fluid, it's not the same as water, physiologically.  I wonder why he suggested crystal light?  I wonder what ingredient is in there that makes them pass stones????  Interesting!  I'm gonna have to find our nephrologist and ask what she thinks about that!

I've had them in the past and it is something I am concerned about. I make sure to always drink at least 64 oz of water daily and I do drink 16 oz of crystal light every evening, just because I like the flavor.  I'm glad it helps with the kidney stones.  I'm also careful not to overdo it on the calcium supplements, but I watch my calcium levels to make sure I get enough.  Thanks for the tips.

Girlie, you know to watch your PTH too, to make sure where the calcium is coming from? (whether from your bones or supplementation?).

I can share with you what was shared with me, if you would like, about the whys and wherefores!  Unless you have that covered, which you surely might!
And I will stop calling you Shirley :}

Hi,
Shirley here!  I am glad to have any information to help me in this process.  I haven't
got my surgery date, but feel the more I know the better.  I have been compiling a
notebook of tips and information.  I don't mean to sound ignorant, but what is PTH?
Thanks
Barbara

Nothing wrong with being ignorant girlie! Ignorant just means you do not know!  Not the same as "stupid" !!  :}

PTH is parathyroid hormone.  There is a pretty big ol list of labs that we should get and track our very selves (because our regular doctors, while wonderful, are not as fully vested in our health as we are -and they do no****ch how our laboratories "trend" either up or down.  I will dig up another lab thread and link you, but here is a blurb I learned about calcium and PTH and why its important to get the PTH with the calcium, so you can know where your serum calcium (calcium in your blood) is coming from!

***

Calcium, why the PTH

 

As far as PTH, See, if the calcium level in our blood drops too low, our muscles cannot contract.  The heart is a muscle and if it cannot contract, as in beat, we drop dead.  So if we don't take in enough calcium or don't absorb the calcium we take in for some reason (like if our vitamin D level is too low), our bodies produce extra parathyroid hormone, which sucks calcium out of our bones to keep that level in our blood good.  As long as you have bones and teeth to suck calcium out of, that calcium level in your blood will likely be OK. 

If it drops low, it may mean you have problems with your endocrine system or other potentially serious health problems, but it doesn't mean you aren't getting enough calcium.

For lab results that tell you about calcium, what you want to know is your D level and PTH.  If the D is below 80, that means you won't absorb calcium well, no matter how much you take. Doesn't mean you won't absorb any, you will.  But maybe not enough and you will be at increased risk for osteoporosis as well as other unpleasant things.

If the PTH is on the high side (even in the normal range, just on the high side), it suggests you are indeed leaching calcium out of your bones.
**

The main board, the Roux-en-Y board, the DS board, the lightweight board, these are all places where folks seem to talk more about labs than we do here, but it is JUST as important for us, but my point about labs is, those places are great places to lurk and find out information about labs when folks post theirs and ask for help from lab smarties!

Nice to meetcha ShirleyBarbara!  :} 

I try to keep an eye on that too.  Mom had hers removed- it was hyperactive.  Her ca levels were crazy high, bone density studies great and issues with kidney stones ever since.  Since I seem to be more here clone than her daughter, I watch ever health issues, because I seem to end up with the same things.

Well I googled it... says that the potassium citrate (ingredient in the crystal light) is a kidney stone inhibitor.  Of course, you can't always rely on information from google.  But if that doctor said it works, I would tend to believe it!

Nan,
Thank you for your hard work doing the research on this.  I will keep Crystal Light on my
grocery list. 
Barbara

It is possible that why it helps stones pass through when they are small is because it keeps the stones smooth and from becoming barbed, so they pass through easier.

There was some stinky stuff I had to give my guinea pigs who were prone to stones, and it did not make the stones any smaller, but it made them smoother,so they could/would pass through while they were still small enough to.

*not me actually knowing, but me wondering if the mechanism is the same*