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Had kidney stones and had to have a stent put in bc we couldn’t get them to pass naturally and zapping them to break them up didn’t work either. Anyhow, doc thinks this might have to do with me not drinking enough and bc if my gastro history, aka no colon. He seems pretty knowledgeable on the subject and wanted me to do this 24 hour urine collection test to see how my vitamin and nutrient levels are. He said my stones were caused by Calcium citrate (I think) and before he changes my supplements around (I’m on calcium bc lovely prednisone from colitis has put me into osteopenia at age 37), he wants to check to confirm that’s whats causing it. Anyhow, pee test it is!

Soooo, I’m almost done with it today and I just measured my pee (yes it’s gross) and I only have 200ml. I looked online and (I know, stupid thing to do), and the average urine output for an adult per day is 800-1,000 ml. So I’m super low. Maybe I don’t drink a lot but that seems way off. That’s like bad, no? I mean I just had a baby and I remember that they had me pee like 100-200 ml before they’d take the IV out. And that was just in the hour, not the entire day! Maybe I need to seriously up my intake???

I know people who say they take huge amounts of liquid in per  day but that’s not realistic for me. But maybe I need to make more of a conscious effort. I mean am I making myself dehydrated which is causing the stones? Is this all a result of having no colon? Or since I have the j pouch and don’t absorb as much as those who do have a colon? Does more of the liquid just come out in my stool? That’s what my husband thinks. He thinks since I have looser stools that’s where the extra fluid is going, but I’m probably still taking in more than I think I am. 

So how much output is normal? What am I in for when the test results come back in? Is there a strong correlation between kidney stones and j pouches? Any suggestions are welcomed. 

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Yes, you aren’t getting enough fluid. Yes, kidney stones form when urine becomes too concentrated, because you aren’t getting enough fluid. Yes, it’s harder to get enough fluid without a colon. You should be peeing light-colored urine, enough to fill your bladder at least several times per day. Since you now know that you are prone to kidney stones you’d be better off with more dilute urine than that minimum recommended amount.

There are lots of ways to keep yourself hydrated, even when life makes that challenging. It’s usually better than kidney stones. Good luck!

I usually keep drinking at least 5-6 litres a day just in form of plain water . Its very hot where I live so naturally I loose much of it in sweat and given that I supplement protein shakes and creatine to prevent any damage to kidneys I sip 1/2 litre water every hour. I still find my pee a little darker than I'd want it to be but then again I got bloodwork done recently and it showed everything looks good so I think I found my balance.

Don’t we lose a lot of our liquid through our stool in our small instestine, which would normally be absorbed in our colon? Since we don’t have a colon, it gets eliminated and not peed out. 

I figure it just goes out way more than the urine way. Does that make sense or is that completely silly ? Lol it sounds silly now that I try to explain it. 

I still pee clear - i can’t imagine drinking 4-5 liters- good for you! What would kidney damage consist of? I don’t even know. I mean I guess it would stop filtering and working as well, stop flushing out fluids, etc. prob need some meds to help stuff itself out. That’s prob after long term damage. I usually only drink water. My doc suggested water with a splash of lemon, I guess the acidity helps. But that also can burn for us with no colon and the high acidity. 

Im still curious as to what my test results say. 

Kidney stones are a well known possible complication of a colectomy. You lessen the risk by properly hydrating, and not drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and caffeine. It is true that the small intestine never absorbs water as well as the colon did, but you can compensate for that by properly hydrating. In 27 years with J Pouch I never had kidney stones but my surgeon warned me about them and said if I didn’t drink a lot of fluids it could happen. He scared me straight into the proper hydration hygiene. What I do is drink a lot of herbal tea. I drink a large 16 ounce mug of it at bedtime. If you get lazy or sloppy with your hydration hygiene, you may get dehydrated and get kidney stones. As well as general malaise.

Last edited by CTBarrister

I only drink that much because I am supplementing creatine in my workouts which demands a lot of water even with a regular person. As for the acidity due to lemon , its infact alkaline once digested. The lemon water itself is acidic but once the body digests it , it acts as a alkaline.And you are right we loose more water than a regular person with colon. I've felt this during intense workout sessions. I constanly need to drink water . Atleast 3-4 times in my 1 hour workout. 

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