Renal Calculi

Renal Calculi, or kidney stones, are more likely to affect men than women. Women can develop small ones from medication. Kidney stones are made up predominantly of salts and minerals (most of them made predominantly of calcium), and other matter which stick together and build up on the inside of the renal system - usually in the kidney, ureters, or bladder. Dehydration is a major factor in their formation.

Kidney stones cause no symptoms until they begin to move, passing through the kidneys, into the ureters, then to the bladder and urethra. Signs and symptoms will change depending on the location of the stone during passage.

• Severe pain in the flanks, back, and below the ribs

• Pain radiating to the lower abdomen and/or groin

• Pain coming in waves, fluctuating in intensity.

• Pain upon urination. May also have pink, red, or brown urine which means the stone's movement has scraped the inner walls of the organs or ureters. Color depends on how high up the damage is. This is not irreversible and will heal.

• Cloudy or foul smelling urine

• Persistent need to urinate, urinating more than normal, but with less urine than usual.

• Nausea and vomiting

• Fever and cills (when infection present)

• Pain changes in nature and location as stone moves
  

Acupuncture Suggested Protocol

As you might have guessed if you've read just about any protocol sheet I've written up, acupuncture is not the cure. Does it help a great deal? Yes! However, the efficacy of acupuncture is about 72 hours. Herbs give you a greater window than that.

But the true cure for kidney stones and prevention of recurrence is in proper hydration. Have this patient watch out for caffeine, diuretics, alcohol, and medication use that can cause stones to form. All of these can cause fluid loss contributing to dehydration as well as toxin build-up that can lead to the formation of stones. Review their meds with them and their fluid intake. Be a lifestyle coach!

• Left Side: Si 9, Si 10. St 36, St 37, St 39

• Right Side: Huo Ying, Huo Zhu, Lv 6* Bl 40, Bl 63, Bl 65, Bl 66 *Master Tung’s Liver 6 is needled right next to the bone along the Spleen channel. Use your fingernail to locate the margin of the bone and slide the needle right next to it.
  

Herbal Medicine for Kidney Stones

All of the herbs here are Lin syndrome type formulas.

• Ba Zheng San + Li Niao Pai Shi Wan + Long Dan Xie Gan Tang Combine these in a 1:1:1 ratio.

• Evergreen's Dissolve KS I love this formula. All of their Dissolve formulas work very well. You can get this in both pill and granule format.