Many people suffer from Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It can be a very uncomfortable health condition that is difficult to manage. If you happen to have this condition and have recently also been dealing with kidney stones, you may be wondering if there is a kidney stone IBS connection.
It's been found that various digestive diseases such as IBS, IBD, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis can increase the risk of kidney stones. Bowel problems can give you diarrhea and overall more frequent bowel movements resulting in you urinating less. Your body may also absorb extra oxalate from the intestine, so more oxalate accumulates in your urine.
Less urination has your body getting rid of less excess calcium, oxalates, or uric acid. As a result, buildup of these nutrients can start to occur in the kidney and stones can form.
Malabsorption is a condition where the small intestine isn’t able to absorb nutrients properly. For example, fat in the small intestine could bind to calcium, releasing more free oxalates. These stone-producing oxalates can then absorb into the kidneys.
The bowel conditions of dehydration and malabsorption can lead to the two most common stones which are the calcium oxalate stones and uric acid stones.
How Do You Treat Kidney Stones Digestion Issues?
The first of the process is to address the digestive disease by talking to your doctor about what you can do to manage or treat your condition.
Then you want to start by working on your diet. You want to avoid foods that have a high oxalate content. This will prevent the excess oxalates from binding to the calcium. If you have uric acid stones, you will want to decrease the consumption of animal protein. Animal protein breaks down into uric acid. The uric acid can start to build up and lead to uric acid stones.
Other things should be considered such as limiting your salt intake, avoiding excess sugar, working to reduce your weight, and staying active. It will take a lot of work to treat kidney stones, especially when there are multiple health issues that may be causing your kidney stones.
To sum up, there is a kidney stones inflammatory bowel disease link. It may be difficult to treat because of the comorbid health issues. The first step is to see your doctor and together try to figure out what exactly may be the cause of your kidney stones forming and then develop a definitive treatment solution.
