[My Kidney Stone Story, Part 2] Three Months In: The Culprit Was Coffee on an Empty Stomach — How Are the Milk and Jumping Tactics Going?

Three months since my last article ([My Kidney Stone Story lol]). The stone is still in there lol. Today: the follow-up — what the tests revealed, and the tactics I'm currently running. (This is strictly a personal account. Discuss any treatment plan with your doctor!)

Verdict: our little guy (the stone) is a calcium oxalate stone

Tests confirmed it: my little guy (the stone) is a calcium oxalate stone. Quick recap of the main types:

Of course it had to be the most common AND the most jagged, stuck-prone one. No wonder it won't come out.

Asked whether anything came to mind as a cause, it hit me — my habit of skipping breakfast and drinking nothing but coffee every morning. In Part 1 I wrote "put milk in your coffee"; turns out I myself was the cautionary tale. I was pouring oxalate into a completely empty gut with zero calcium around to bind it, so the oxalate went straight to my urine.

Month 1: it dropped a measly 2cm lol — commencing Operation Jump

Luckily my stone is one that shows up on X-rays, so while the first diagnosis needed an MRI, every checkup since has been done with plain X-rays. My consultation costs dropped by more than half. And the first month's result: "moved about 2cm down from last time." ...2cm? At this pace, when exactly is it coming out? So I picked up a tip I'd heard somewhere and made jumping on the spot a daily routine. Use gravity to shake the stone down. To any onlooker I'm just a weirdo bouncing in place, but desperate times.

"Beer helps," they say — but I already drink beer all the time

You've heard it too, right? "Drink beer and the stone comes out easier." The logic is the diuretic effect boosting urine volume — but hold on, I already drink beer regularly. I got a stone WHILE drinking it, so for me at least, no preventive magic there. Plus alcohol dehydrates you too, so some say don't lean on it. Honestly, drinking plenty of water seems like the surer bet.

Operation Milk: one glass first thing in the morning

What I started instead: "drink a glass of milk right after waking up." The logic behind it is actually pretty neat.

The milk's calcium catches the oxalate inside your gut before it can reach your urine. When oxalate binds calcium in the intestine, it becomes a "mini calcium-oxalate stone" that can no longer be absorbed — and it simply exits with your stool. You neutralize it in the gut before it can become a real stone in the urinary tract.

So now, on days I can't manage breakfast, I always take milk or a calcium supplement. The exact opposite of "black coffee on an empty stomach," in other words.

Month 3: it's inching down. The jumping might be irrelevant

At the three-month checkup, the stone had moved further down than before. Though honestly, the descent pace is about the same as before I started jumping, so the jumping might not be doing much (it's decent exercise, so I'll keep it up anyway).

There was one real win though: the stone hasn't grown. That might be Operation Milk at work. At the very least, I'm no longer feeding it.

The slightly scary part: my kidney and ureter are swollen

The tests showed that with the stone damming things up, the ureter from my kidney down to the stone is swollen. An ultrasound (echo) check found the swelling "larger than before, but not yet at a problematic level."

Excuse me, that IS worrying, though? Please don't put "it's gotten bigger" and "no problem" in the same sentence. Still, the numbers are apparently within watch-and-wait range, so I'll trust the doctor and keep monitoring.

New tactic: a massage every bathroom trip

Lately I've started lightly massaging the area where the stone sits every time I use the bathroom. The amateur theory: nudge it right when urine is flowing and it might move. It feels more targeted than jumping, at least. Looking forward to the next checkup.

Summary: my current routine

• A glass of milk first thing in the morning (calcium supplement on no-breakfast days)
• Coffee switched to milk-in
• Plenty of water
• Jumping on the spot (effectiveness unknown lol)
• Massage on every bathroom trip (new tactic)

Looking forward to the day I can report "the stone is out!" To my fellow stone-bearers: hang in there, all of us.

* This article is a personal account, not medical advice. For severe pain, fever, or blood in your urine, see a urologist immediately. Check with your doctor before trying self-devised measures like massage.