Magnesium for Kidney Stones

| Modified on Feb 15, 2024
Magnesium is important for proper calcium balance in the body. Read on to see our readers' experiences with magnesium and kidney stone formation.



6 User Reviews


Posted by Angela (Or) on 08/24/2018
★★★★★

I just want to say.. MAGNESIUM works. The lemon/olive oil method nearly killed me. My stone ended up being larger than a pea. It dislodged and re-lodged somewhere very dangerous, thanks to the lemon/olive oil method (NEVER AGAIN! ). After doing magnesium for 1-2 weeks (I used the CALM brand of magnesium powder, twice a day), the pea broke up an was released in pieces over the week. I am so grateful..... Magnesium is amazing. Not to mention all the other healthy benefits of Magnesium, which essentially opens the body home and helps you assimilate oxygen better. Its great for heart health and stress. Wonderful.


Magnesium
Posted by Beezentree (Breezentree) on 04/14/2016
★★★★★

I did THIS!! And years following NEVER Kidney Stones again!!

Use to get them so bad I be lying on floor immobilized for few hours waiting for Stone to shift into better place! Of course I NEVER go to doctors nor take ANY synthic drug/ medicines so always willing to SUFFER until I found Nature Cure!!

Which is Magnesium!! Ever since that first day increasing Magnisium levels now decades later never not one stone!!

We get stones cause our Calcium levels are not balanced with Magnisium. Best part it is a natural tranquilizer began sleeping better!! I get a Powder form of magnesium. Do it!!!!! It dissolves them! So does cayenne.


Magnesium
Posted by Fred K. (Vallejo, Ca) on 10/11/2010
★★★★★

Hi All,

If you are like me, and seemingly a Kidney Stone factory, this may be useful. First, I'm a mid-40's guy who has had a pretty clear health record. I first had a kidney stone about 4-5 years ago on vacation in Hawaii. My Mom and wife are RN's, and sugggested Cranberry juice as it works for UTI's. This did in fact seem to work GREAT, with pain at a level which was right at almost "Get me to the ER! ". Really amazing now that I remember it, which it caused to disappear within 60-90 minutes of chugging a quart. And which chugging 2-3 quarts of water previously had done nothing. I've noticed CJ doesn't get much recommendations now..... I was good until Jan 2010, when I started having serieous pains, which a CT scan showed several stones. Obviously I got the no help except for rX for at least a week to see if it passes. Got on the net, found this site, and tried the Lemon juice, which seemed to work as well as the cranberry. Though a hot bath really seemed to help for several hours.

Tried drinking a few beers while in the tub, was so-so. This helped somewhat, however aside from dropping the pain several levels, still painful. So, tried to do as much research on what causes stones and not just cures. There is a lot of real, peer reviewed information on Stone formation out there if you look. There are also a host of weird suggestions on the net, and here, and you have to use your head. I don't know why the Olive Oil is suggested for mixing with the Lemon, because your Kidneys do nothing, nada, zip, with respect to oils. Its suggestions like this, and the seeming lack of biological understanding of the seperate bodily systems like the Kidneys, Liver, Etc, that make me sceptical. In trying to find a cite, I just ran across this, from a real doctor's comment on lemon juice, and Vinegar's affect on Urine pH I, and

Frankly its surprising. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsqrXkRVk3U

Neither of them will acidize your Urine and help dissolve a stone. Thought they will become alkaline, which is counter-intuitive. Keep in mind what the Dr. Says about the citrate though. So, back to my story on how I've been pain free (almost) for the past 8-9 months.

I don't have the cite, however a respected Texas Univ. Dr. Has done a study on Magnesium and kidney stones. At its core, the more Mag you have in your blood, the easier it is for Calcium to remain in solution and not to precipitate out and form stones. Also, Mag will combine with Oxolate to help it remain soluable and not precipitate out.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_267/ai_n15966275/

I am in the marine aquarium (saltwater) hobby, and this Chemistry is well known. Magnesium is the most abundant mineral in saltwater, then Calcium, and Alkalines/Carbonites.

With saltwater, the higher the level of Magnesium the more you can add/buffer Calcium or Alkalinity and raise their level. But, if you keep adding it, at some point you will have a magical snowstormn in your aquarium as the added Calcium or Alkalinity becomes too large, in proportion to the Mag, and starts a chain reaction of precipitating Calcium and Alkalinity. Go to your local fish store with saltwater fish and talk to the owner. So, in my story I found this Texas Dr's cite, and started taking Mag, as I was having what seemed like weekly recurring stones. Again short story. Just like Vitamin C, Mag has a very, very cheap form available that is barely absorbed by the body. Magnesium Oxide is in the cheap bottle at the drug store, and has very little absorption. Don't try to be clever and just take more, because while it is minimally absorbed by the body, it is hygroscopic or water-attracting in the intestines! Taking too much ie >400-500mg will just sit in your intestines, abosorbing water with impressive results. If you look at the small bottles of laxative they sell in the store, you'll notice its Magnesium, though 18,000 mgs. So, after researching the different kinds of Magnesium, I am stuck on Magnesium Citrate. One, because it is well absorbed, and Two, because it also has Citrate in the formulation, which is a win-win. I also am starting to cap my own capsules as I take 4x100mg caps a day, with food. I can pay $10 for (100) 100mg caps, or pay ~$5 for 8oz of bulk Mag-Cit and cap about 150-200 for maybe $8 total. In a similar vein, Citrate does many of the things Magnesium does, and you may want to look at something like Potassium Citrate, as the Citrate will also help. If you want to drink a juice to get some Citrate help, then Lemon's really wrong, try Oranges. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/50980.php

The long and short of Kidney Stones for those with a history of them, is to do a little research, and understand that a lot of the things going on inside of you are chemistry related. I've got a good Dr's office I go to in Napa, and even there they don't really care to investigate why I am having stones, they simply want to pull out the rX pad and prescribe flowmax or something. And I do not come off as a tree-hugging Gaia loving Alternative Health scene kind of patient either. I have obscenely acidic urine, which I think is part of my problem with stones. Decent diagnostic quality test strips are available on Amazon for $7, might be worth checking. I'm getting a referral to a nephralogist shortly, we'll see if he/she's any more interested in finding the cause and not just RX'ing. Aside all the odd-ball 'cures' that are posted here and elsewhere on the net, it would be good to keep in mind the fact that many of these are goofs for the gullible, many are based upon some person's incorrect assumptions (Drinking lemons acidify the urine and melt a stone a bit) which even I thought had some merit, or may be based upon some actual science, peer reviewed ( some of my links). Hopefully, someone finds some of this bit of a rambling on useful.

Replied by Tessa
(Ft Lauderdale, Florida)
10/11/2010

Hi, I hope the magnesium citrate works for you. I don't have kidney stones, but I was looking over the kidney stone remedies on Earth Clinic after reading your post. If 230 people have reported success dissolving their kidney stones with olive oil and lemon juice, I would be trying those remedies first.

Replied by Carly
(Seattle, Wa Usa)
10/11/2010

Hi Fred -

Interesting post. I believe Ted has always said that lemons make the body more alkaline... Someone out there please correct me if I am wrong? Just because something is acid based does not mean it makes the blood or urine acidic - quite the opposite can occur. I am glad you are looking in to WHY you are getting the stones instead of letting the Dr's just push RX's at you. Best to you, Carly

Replied by Fred K.
(Vallejo, Ca, Usa)
12/16/2010

Tessa and Carla,
Appreciate the comments. Yes, to some extent if Lemon Juice and Olive oil are actually working for so many people here, then it is definately worth giving it a shot. However, my understanding is that most people pass a stone within a week when simply on the standard Rx pain meds and fluids, so its difficult to really be conclusive. I should add that I drink coke instead of coffee, although I've cut back to 1x day for the past 6 months or so. Hard to say if I still am producing stones as I am taking 200-400mg of Mag. Cit. daily by capsule or half a teaspoon in juice. I eat very little vegetables, which is undoubtedly what is causing my acidity, not too mention being unhealthy. Not sure if I'm still doing as well as I am because of the multivitamins and Omega-3's.

While Mag. Cit. will not help with an stone incident, for many I think it would be an excellent preventative. I am debating stopping the Mag. in Jan. For awhile to see if I have a recurrence, and thus add another data point. Not sure the potential pain is worth it, though on the other hand if I am not making stones then I might not need to be taking Mag. every single day for the rest of my life...... I will post again end of Jan '11 more than likely.

Replied by Bill
(Upstate - Central, New York)
10/12/2011

Hi Fred, Hope you revisit your post to see this. If you're still interested at getting to the bottom of your kidney stone issues here's food for thought: http://theiodineproject.webs.com/areyoudeficient.htm

Read to the bottom of the page and investigate the possiblity of bromate/bromide/bromite, fluoride and chlorine overload. They replace iodine when iodine is deficient (and it's estimated 95% of us are deficient). Replacing iodine back in the receptors will alkeline your system and fight off desease (cancer, heavy metals, parasites, etc. ). It's a detoxing regiment so go easy on the dosing due to possible herxhiemer effects. It's old medicine dating back to 1811.

The FDA hasn't moved on the bromite poisoning of the America food supply. Bromide and it's cousins are banned in England, Canada and a proposed law in Australia is yet to pass. http://theiodineproject.webs.com/bromidesinbread.htm

Hope this helps someone! The list of the toxic and painful side effects of bromide/bromate/bromite and fluoride - chlorine are staggering. A six week detox dose is less than $25. A maintanence dose is less than $2 a month. I also recommend that people on well water have there well/wells tested regularly. Culligan International makes a filter for chlorine and Ted has advice on treatment of water to remove it. I haven't gotten around to research removing fluoride yet.


Magnesium
Posted by Alex (Falls Church, Virginia) on 03/10/2009
★★★★★

I read your website in desperate need for guidance with a self-diagnosed kidney stone issue (no health insurance).

I tried everything. 500 g tablets of magnesium twice a day plus lots of water was the most effective method. After a couple days, the pain diminished dramatically. After about a week, I didn't have anymore pain. It made my urine look cloudy, otherwise, no other side effects. What a relief!!


Magnesium
Posted by Kathy (New York, New York) on 07/04/2008
★★★★★

The stones they all tell about being dissolved with lemon juice, olive oil and water push are caused by lack of Magnesium.
A good old doctor told me this. I had used the first remedy with the oil & lemon but thanks to this Dr everyone should be free permanently from stones after taking Magnesium. So glad to have found the remedy to dissove them.


Magnesium
Posted by Toni (Fredericktown, MO) on 03/05/2007
★★★★★

magnesium cured my kidney stones.In one week with no pain.