[MaJoie]

Has anyone had kidney stones while on LCHF or Keto?
2 weeks ago I had a kidney stone removed that was blocking my left ureter and a stent placed. The woman from the urology department who came to my hospital room said it's usually caused by dehydration. Then she launched into a rant about high protein and keto diets being dangerous. She may have known I have diabetes but I hadn't said anything about what I normally eat. So I'm wondering if there is anything legitimate about too much protein causing stones or is this residual anti-Atkins prejudice? Curious about anyone else's experience.

 

[mbuster]

I've had one kidney stone since going keto, I had 2 prior, does that mean I get to claim that keto cut mine in half?

I know three people that have kidney stones multiple times per year, one maybe even monthly, none of them even know what keto is. One of my friend's doctor tested his stones once and determined it was calcium and took him off of dairy and anything made with dairy or had much calcium in it. He followed it religiously. Tested his next stones a couple of months later, and guess what, calcium. Doctor told him he could go back to eating what he wanted since that didn't help or change anything.

All our married life (46 years), morning, noon, and night, all she drinks is Dr. Pepper/Diet Dr. Pepper. My BH had her first kidney stone issue last year, trust me she does not eat keto.

Google kidney stones and carnivore diet. If protein is the cause, it must be the plant protein. Somewhere I read about high protein causing kidney stones said "This is true! In susceptible people, too much protein can cause kidney stones." That doesn't doesn't make it true for everyone in general.

I think a lot of this anti keto propaganda is driven from vegan and PETA agendas. I've learned over the last few years that main stream media cannot be trusted on much of anything.

 

[itissteve]

Then she launched into a rant about high protein and keto diets being dangerous. She may have known I have diabetes but I hadn't said anything about what I normally eat.

I'm used to my diabetes being blamed for anything else that goes wrong with me. 🙄

I haven't done a big lit search because I haven't had kidney stones (had gall stones but that was even before I had diabetes). The primary concern with kidney stones, as mbuster states, is the calcium level in the kidneys. This can be affected by dehydration and to some extent by food and sodium intake, but meat, poultry, and fish are not big sources of calcium in themselves. Dairy and cheese might be a concern if you eat a lot of that but that could be tied to sodium intake as well (which is kind of a different deal for people eating keto since they're not storing sodium and other electrolytes the way carb-eaters do).

I think this really is one of those "do your own research" matters where you start with actionable information on things like calcium levels in your body, the type of stone (if they can tell you), etc., and then check out peer-reviewed studies and determine how applicable they are to your situation (testing mice instead of people, percent of protein in the food eaten, etc.). I'm sorry "do your own research" has been co-opted largely to mean "Don't listen to anyone else but me" but I'm guessing there's a bunch of contradicting (or at least non-supporting) studies that can't establish a firm link between protein intake and the incidence of kidney stones. You do yourself the favor if you look at them critically.

 

[MaJoie]

Thanks, guys. I am making extra effort to stay hydrated. My BLOOD calcium has been out of range (high) literally for decades, since I started asking for copies of my labs. No doctor in 2 states ever mentioned it so I didn't think it was a problem until I developed osteopenia and googled high blood calcium. I asked my doctor to check parathyroid hormone, which is within range. Still, I had never had gravel or crystals or anything else unusual in my urinalysis and rarely get UTIs. I'm 73 years old and this was the 1st time I've had a kidney stone. Also I've not been strictly keto lately anyway. If I was spilling ketones in the ER (they didn't say) it was most likely because I had barely eaten anything for 4 days, being too sick to eat.

 

[etherea]

Thanks, guys. I am making extra effort to stay hydrated. My BLOOD calcium has been out of range (high) literally for decades, since I started asking for copies of my labs. No doctor in 2 states ever mentioned it so I didn't think it was a problem until I developed osteopenia and googled high blood calcium. I asked my doctor to check parathyroid hormone, which is within range. Still, I had never had gravel or crystals or anything else unusual in my urinalysis and rarely get UTIs. I'm 73 years old and this was the 1st time I've had a kidney stone. Also I've not been strictly keto lately anyway. If I was spilling ketones in the ER (they didn't say) it was most likely because I had barely eaten anything for 4 days, being too sick to eat.

My mom had high blood calcium for decades also. No doctor ever mentioned it until she moved and changed doctors. She ended up having 2 parathyroid glands removed. That doctor blamed it for her gut issues as well as her osteoporosis.

 

[mbuster]

Thanks, guys. I am making extra effort to stay hydrated. My BLOOD calcium has been out of range (high) literally for decades, since I started asking for copies of my labs. No doctor in 2 states ever mentioned it so I didn't think it was a problem until I developed osteopenia and googled high blood calcium. I asked my doctor to check parathyroid hormone, which is within range. Still, I had never had gravel or crystals or anything else unusual in my urinalysis and rarely get UTIs. I'm 73 years old and this was the 1st time I've had a kidney stone. Also I've not been strictly keto lately anyway. If I was spilling ketones in the ER (they didn't say) it was most likely because I had barely eaten anything for 4 days, being too sick to eat.

Do you know if your vitamin D level is low or not? D helps your body absorb calcium, Vitamin K2 with the D helps make it go to the right places. Many people (especially diabetics) are deficient in vitamin D. I supplement with D3 and K2 (with M4 and M7).

 

[Ronnie]

Has anyone had kidney stones while on LCHF or Keto?
2 weeks ago I had a kidney stone removed that was blocking my left ureter and a stent placed. The woman from the urology department who came to my hospital room said it's usually caused by dehydration. Then she launched into a rant about high protein and keto diets being dangerous. She may have known I have diabetes but I hadn't said anything about what I normally eat. So I'm wondering if there is anything legitimate about too much protein causing stones or is this residual anti-Atkins prejudice? Curious about anyone else's experience.

No we ha not had kidney stones but we are on a modified adkins diet to control my husbands seizures. Our doctor is co author of “ketogenic diet therapies”. I looked your problem up and there are meds/supplements that they give for folks who get kidney stones while on keto. Ronnie does not need them. Listed meds/supplements are : Polycitra K, CytraK, or Bicitra. “These compounds raise the pH of the urine “. (Alkalinization). The book states that if the pharmacy doesn’t have these citrates, just ask for the pharmacist for the citrates they have in stock.

 

[MaJoie]

Do you know if your vitamin D level is low or not? D helps your body absorb calcium, Vitamin K2 with the D helps make it go to the right places. Many people (especially diabetics) are deficient in vitamin D. I supplement with D3 and K2 (with M4 and M7).

I had been supplementing bits D3 and K2 for years since I had a diagnosis of D3 deficiency several years ago. My labs in December showed vit D too high so my doc d/c supplemental D. I finally got to see my labs from the ER last month. My vit D was within range but at the high end. My magnesium tested low when I was in hospital so I was given IV magnesium before discharge.
The stent was removed Monday. I was shocked to see how long it was. My urologist just said to make sure I stay hydrated and to eat less salt. I told him my sodium is always low or at the low end of the range so I didn't think I should cut salt. He agreed with me. Nice when a doc actually listens and hears what you say. Most of the time they just go by protocol.
In the ER my urine had ketones at 15. I guess that's why the woman from the urology department assumed I was on a ketogenic diet. In fact for the previous 4 days practically the only things I ate were carbs (oatmeal, cornmeal mush) because that's all I could manage to eat. So I have no idea why I was spilling ketones.

 

[mbuster]

Anytime there is a need for energy and insulin levels are low enough there is a signal to retrieve some of that stored body fat.Some of it is converted into ketones. If your body doesn't utilize it, the kidneys filter it out. Most of the experts say everybody will make ketones at some point in time between meals, usually at night while sleeping. That is usually the longest time most people are fasted.

@Ronnie may have the better answer, raising urine pH. Wonder would ACV, baking soda, alkaline water, have a positive impact. Although apple cider vinegar goes in as acetic, its metabolized into an alkaline.