My first kidney stone attack occurred on
the first night of a vacation to San Francisco in 1978. I woke up at
2:00 a.m. in my hotel bed with a terrible pain in my side. I went to
the hospital, where they took x-rays and blood tests. The emergency
room physician operated on me at 7:30 a.m. I woke up in a hospital
room a few hours later with a tube dangling out of my left side. I
spent the next 16 days in the hospital — with only 3 days left in my
‘vacation’ — before flying home.
Back in Alaska, I went to see a urologist in Anchorage. He looked
over the x-rays, medical records and doctor's notes from California
and told me I might have been able to pass the stones. As the years
went by, I saw several urologists and went to several emergency
rooms in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Although I received wonderful
care, I wanted to find a long-term solution myself. Thus, I read
articles and bought books about kidney stones. I tried to understand
the illness. I felt I could figure it out and I kept trying.
I had several lithotripsies. Basically, this is where they put you
in a bathtub and send high-energy shock waves through your body to
break apart the stones. One urologist suggested I have my one
troublesome kidney removed. He told me he had removed 300 kidneys in
Anchorage that year (though, obviously, most were not from kidney
stone problems). I’m grateful I consulted a Mat-Su Valley urologist,
who performed laparoscopic surgery to remove a very large kidney
stone and keep my kidney healthy!
Several times each year — for 30 years — I went to an emergency room
presenting with my kidney stone problem. After a couple days of pain
(and multiple pain pills) I was able to pass most stones.
I went to see a holistic M.D. in Anchorage who was not afraid to try
different unusual remedies and ideas. He suggested that I drink the
juice of a lemon each day. This idea seemed too easy and simple to
me, but I filed it away in my mind.
When I retired in 2007 — after working for my employer for 35 years,
I finally had time to think without all the noise of maintaining a
job, raising four kids and the hubbub of daily stress. I was still
looking for a solution to my kidney stone problem. One day I came
across an article on the Internet from the University of Wisconsin
Medical School. It was about citric acid preventing and dissolving
kidney stones. I remembered then what the holistic doctor in
Anchorage had told me about drinking fresh lemon juice. I learned
that of most fruits, lemons contain the highest amount of citric
acid.
I began drinking the juice of a fresh lemon every day. Some days I
had two, three or even four fresh lemons. The first year I had three
very tiny attacks of kidney stones — none so bad that they required
a trip to the hospital. Rather, each of those stones passed after a
few hours. I recognized the pain, but it was very slight. The second
year I only had one or two very tiny stones pass. The third year I
began buying lemon juice in a bottle and adding a little to my water
several times a day. The third year is almost over and I have had no
kidney stone problems at all. And it only took me 30 years to find a
solution!
Gary Phillip Lund is a
retired Alaska Railroad employee. He is married with four adult
children. He occupies his time with genealogy, reading and walking.
He is especially proud that his birth certificate reads, "Territory
of Alaska."
