I just saw my PCP for the first time since being sleeved. He learned of my kidney stone problems and then he asked about my vitamins. He told me to drink lemonade and no sodas and it would help and he was explaining why and said the word citrate. I said, as in calcium citrate? I take that! He told me to stop taking the citrate kind of calcium! He said to chew a couple of tums instead because people prone to have kidney stones want to avoid CITRATE. It forms kidney stones!!!! Who knew? So I am going to take Viactiv or tums from now on. He also wanted me to take a vitamin D tablet daily. He said that was more important anyway. Just thought I would share the info. Tammi

If you are taking a PPI you will not be able to absorb other types of calcium besides citrate.

So, I will continue to take my chances, take the citrate and drink lots of Water. I don't want to break a hip!

Kelly

If you are taking a PPI you will not be able to absorb other types of calcium besides citrate.

So, I will continue to take my chances, take the citrate and drink lots of Water. I don't want to break a hip!

Kelly

After four days of pain worse than natural childbirth, a surgery to place a stent in my kidney and its very painful removal plus lithotripsy only two weeks after being sleeved.... I will do what my pcp says and just take a few tums or viactiv. It doesnt absorb as well but that doesnt mean it doesnt absorb at all, plus I dont want to make any more kidney stones! He wasnt talking about the general public... just people who have had or are at risk to have them. My urologist said people who have wls tend to get them often from not drinking enough.. so keep drinking!!! Bottoms up!

Strange, my PCP said exactly the OPPOSITE. No calcium carbonate (Tums) and YES to citrate. Hmmm, perhaps we'll have a health professional chime in hear and solve this mystery.

The lemonade works by making your urine more acidic and flushing out the calcium - which is base. I take EmergenC drink for the same reason. It's got B12 in it too so I kill 2 birds with one stone - hopefully not a kidney stone!

I just dont know what to think... Maybe nobody really knows what causes them?? My surgeon said it wasnt a side effect of the sleeve. They see it more in bypass. But Urologist, who did my kidney surgery said he sees it all the time with wls patients of all kinds and said I would be prone to them now that I have had one and because I am a wls patient. My pcp told me about the citrate and not to have it anymore. He was saying something about this binding to that etc.. No to sodas because of the phosphorous. Yes to lemonade cause it binds to the citrate and carries it out so it doesnt make a stone. Something like that. I was just passing the info on... I dont know who to believe anymore.. I guess we are just sitting ducks! What will be will be no matter what we try to do.

Interesting article:

http://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetContent.aspx?token=e0498803-7f62-4563-8d47-5fe33da65dd4&chunkiid=21459

What Is the Scientific Evidence for Citrate?

One form of citrate supplement, potassium citrate, was approved by the FDA in 1985 for the prevention of two kinds of kidney stones: calcium stones (including calcium oxalate stones) and uric acid stones.

In a 3-year, double-blind study of 57 people with a history of calcium stones and low urinary citrate levels, those given potassium citrate developed fewer kidney stones than they had previously. In comparison, the group given placebo had no change in their rate of stone formation.¹²

Potassium-magnesium citrate was studied in a 3-year trial involving 64 participants with a history of calcium oxalate stones.¹³ During the study, new stones formed in only 12.9% of those taking the potassium-magnesium citrate supplement, compared to 63.6% of those taking placebo. Benefits have been seen in other small studies as well.^56,60

Citrate is available in the form of calcium citrate. Besides increasing citrate in the urine, this supplement has the advantage of being a readily absorbed form of calcium for those seeking to increase their calcium intake for other health reasons.¹⁴ However, calcium citrate has not yet been studied as a preventive for kidney stones.

I read that we should take 500 mg three times a day, taking more than this may cause kidney stones. I also read that we should start with a calcium carbonate for the first 3 weeks and then switch to a calcium citrate after that. i'm unsure of the reasoning behind it, but i'm going to try it and see