FAQ
Kitchen doses of lemon juice raise urinary citrate and help prevent new calcium oxalate crystals. They are not a reliable way to dissolve a stone that is already stuck in the ureter. Prescription alkali can dissolve some uric acid stones. Those are different minerals.
No, not as a general rule. Low dietary calcium increases oxalate absorption and has been shown to raise recurrence compared with a normal-calcium, lower-salt diet. Take calcium with meals. Extra calcium pills away from food are a different question — ask the clinic.
Enough to produce about 2.5 liters of urine a day for most adult stone formers who are medically allowed to drink freely. In hot weather that means drinking more than the NIDDK six-to-eight-glass floor. Use the calculator on the Tools page as a starting point.
Alcohol dehydrates you later. Sugar-sweetened soda is associated with more stones in observational work. Coffee in ordinary amounts is generally fine. Water remains the job.
Yes if you can. CT shows size and place. Analysis shows composition. Prevention is guesswork without composition plus a 24-hour urine.
Sweat shrinks urine volume and concentrates every promoter. Desert and warehouse work are classic setups. The fix is not mystery herbs. It is a bottle you actually empty, twice.
No. A grocery lemon and a tap are enough for the core protocol. The kit is convenience and the items that are hard to improvise, like a medical strainer or a pad that stays on the flank.
Urgency, blood-tinged urine, and flank twinges with voids are common. Fever, inability to urinate, or pain that blows past your discharge plan is a call to the service that put the stent in.
Still mid-episode? Start with the passing guide and the triage checklist.