Ok, so this picture is not of my kidney stones, but it sure felt like them.  I had two half inch (1.2 cm) stones removed last week.  I am glad they are gone but the stints remain and they still make life miserable.  I can’t wait for next week when they will be removed.

As for the stone’s composition, calcium oxalate, the most common of the kidney stone composition.  Easily regulated with modification to one’s diet.  Kicker is, my attempts to eat a bit healthier is what led to these monster stones in the first place!

Calcium oxalate, or more precisely, the oxalate itself, is found in many plants and vegetables.  Berries and the juices of berries are also high in oxalate.  Well, in a effort to get a bit healthier in my snacking I decided to change from candy bars and soda pop, several months ago I switched to peanuts and juice.

Except that peanuts are near the top of the list on the oxalate scale.  And I wasn’t eating just a few peanuts.  No.  I had bought one of those 3 pound tins and had it on the passerger side seat for my drives into and home from work.  So if I wanted a snack I didn’t have to stop at McDonalds or the 7-11.  I could grab a handful of peanuts and snack away.

And I switched to Juicy Juice juices.  Berry this and berry that.  Big mistake.  I grew kidney stones faster and bigger and more in number in a few short months than ever before.

So keep away from peanuts and berry juices and a brief selection of other foods and hopefully I can drastically reduce the number and frequency the stones develop.