Baking Soda

[skb]

For the past one year, I have been suffering from intermittent abdominal pain. It's very mild to be of any concern and I have been tolerating it. I linked it to either overdoing Vit D or Vit C supplementation, both of which I take & both of which can cause calcification, which ultimately ends up in the kidneys for clearance.

Then about a couple of months ago I started to experience some slight pain in the urinary tract, which also I ignored for a while. I spoke a Dr I know and she prescribed me a systemic alkaliser. One of the conditions it is prescribed for is 'uremic acidosis'. When the diet is high in proteins (amino acids) the body fluids tend to be acidic and depending on the acid residue some solidification can take place in the kidneys. The resulting symptoms would be something like what I am experiencing. And my diet has been high protein since beef was banned here about a year ago.

I suddenly remembered having read a few blog articles & scientific papers on the benefits of maintaining a higher pH (alkaline) status in the blood, and how Baking Soda (also an alkaliser) is the best way to do it. I've read some articles & seen some YouTube videos and it does make some sense to neutralise any acidic outcomes of diet.

I wanted your opinions & suggestions with Baking Soda if any of you have used / are using it. What is your view and experience.   

[walkerwally1]

I have no experience with it but Baking Soda is used to correct acidosis so it may be worth a try.  My only thought is that it would probably be a good idea to have tests run to determine if in fact you do have a problem before trying to change the balance.  Even though there are indications that this may be your problem it would be a good idea to confirm that it is indeed that and then take measures to correct.  Just my 2¢.   

[skb]

The Dr suggested to have the med for 10 days & if the problem persists then go in for tests. However, I'll get some litmus paper today just to check pH levels myself.

[Grammabear]

I know my reply is late, but just last week I had my appointment with my kidney doctor.  He had checked my vit D level and found them to be near the toxic level.  A different doctor had prescribed 5,000 units per day but had never checked the level after he prescribed that amount.  Now, the kidney doctor reduced the vit D to 1,000 per day and will repeat the test in 3 months.  Hope you feel better skb.

[walkerwally1]

Yeah, there are always articles and "studies" that claim you need a variety of supplements and when I first started looking into as much as could find I tended to try everything.  Recently I read a study that determined that many on Metformin for a number of years were low on Vitamin B12 and needed to supplement with it or it was dangerous and could be life threatening.  It was kind of scary and I have been taking Metformin for over 20 years but my Doctor agreed to test my Vitamin B and it is near the high end of the normal range so no supplement necessary.   

[skb]

Got a sonograph done today. I have kidney stones. 3 of them, one pretty large, about 26 mm (1 inch). I will probably need laser or shockwave treatment to break them into smaller pieces. All that should happen next week after I see the urologist.

[Shanny]

BTDT . . . I don't envy you, but once docs identified the composition of mine, I was placed on a mild diuretic to keep the kidneys flushed so crystallization doesn't occur, and I haven't had another stone in nearly 20 years.

[skb]

BTDT  - That needs to go into Acronyms.
Let's see what the urologist has to say. I'm OK with anything non-invasive.

[walkerwally1]

Well, that certainly would explain abdominal pain.  I have also BTDT    and passed a stone, not a pleasant experience, but it has also been over 20 years ago and no recurrence since, thankfully.  Hope they are able to break them up into very small pieces. 

[starsign]

When the diet is high in proteins (amino acids) the body fluids tend to be acidic and depending on the acid residue some solidification can take place in the kidneys. The resulting symptoms would be something like what I am experiencing. And my diet has been high protein since beef was banned here about a year ago.

For religious reasons we don't eat beef. To make our food more fatty we've added some pork to it. Most of the times we eat chicken, fish or eggs. I cook in ghee or use butter to saute some dishes, but am afraid that we are also consuming more protein than is required. What more can I do to abide by LCHF rules ?

[Shanny]

Just figure out how much protein you need & try to stay within those parameters. This calculator might help:  http://sweetgeek.net/food/protein_calculator.html

[starsign]

That says 60 -100 gms proteins per day. I think I am exceeding that a lot. Will need to weigh and calculate.

[skb]

Got a sonograph done today. I have kidney stones. 3 of them, one pretty large, about 26 mm (1 inch). I will probably need laser or shockwave treatment to break them into smaller pieces. All that should happen next week after I see the urologist.

I did see the Urologist who advised laser surgery. However, I stuck with the Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) on a trial basis, to tackle the kidney stones. I'm just very wary of surgery even if it is minimally invasive. I had a second sonography done today. The 26 mm stone is now 11 mm and not sitting at the ureteric junction. It has moved back inside. The 2 smaller ones which were of 8 & 10 mm are now showing as 4 and 5 mm. I think it works.

I will continue with what I'm doing and repeat the scan after another 45 days. Then I will give a detailed report of why I took this course, and how.

[Rhiannon]

SKB, thanks for sharing your experience of trying to deal with kidney stones via baking soda.  If I ever have a kidney stone develop, I'm going to keep that in mind.  I too prefer to try a non-invasive treatment first.

[skb]

After my next scan, if the stones are gone for good, I will post document in detail, the whole experiment.