Today I want to share with you something that I’ve shared with several of my patients and many of my friends and family.
It’s one of those things that you tell yourself, “If I had a dollar for every time I shared this with someone…”
First, let me give you a little background information…
Five years ago this month, I woke up with the very worst pain I had ever experienced in my life. The pain was a solid 12 out of 10 and I’ve been told that I have a very high pain tolerance.
Side note just to help clarify my tolerance for pain, my 3rd child weighed 9 lbs 9 oz at birth and I delivered her naturally without any pain medication. I would have rather repeated that natural birth a half dozen times than experience the pain I was in…not even kidding.
I called my Supervising Physician right away and told him that I was going to miss work that day because I felt as though I was passing a kidney stone. Yes, a kidney stone. If you’ve had a kidney stone before, you know what I’m talking about here. I had never had a kidney stone before but I had studied about them and treated dozens of patients with them over the years in our Family Medicine and Urgent Care offices. I instantly gained a new compassion for people with kidney stones.
Of all the days for me to get a kidney stone…that day was the official start of high school football all over the state of Florida, and my husband, the Head Varsity football coach, cleared his schedule and missed his first day of the season with his new team, at his new job, to care for me. True love. My hero, once again. All the wives of football coaches (or any coaches) know what a big deal and what horrible timing this was. But when is it ever a good time for a kidney stone? Never!
My husband drove me to our urgent care office and an ultrasound confirmed that I had not one, not two…but three 7 mm kidney stones that were causing this way-worse-than-natural childbirth pain. The provider followed the standard kidney stone protocol, prescribed pain meds, and referred me to Urology. I was told Urology wouldn’t be able to see me for at least 2 more days. While I waited to get in with Urology and before I filled the script for pain meds, I decided to do some extensive high-quality interweb research. I became convinced that I needed to try an herb called “Chanca Piedra.” All the articles and videos had me at “quick and painless passage of kidney stones.” Who has time or tolerance for kidney stones? I considered trying to get the stones to pass with other medications, but I decided to go with the Chanca Piedra. I took one dose of the CP, ate an entire watermelon, drank tons of water, swallowed 800mg of Ibuprofen, and went to bed. The pain subsided through the night and the next morning, I woke up ready to go to work! After a morning dose of CP, then an afternoon dose…I finished caring for a patient, went to the restroom and right then and there, my firstborn stone arrived! No pain or other symptoms…just a 7 mm stone (caught in the strainer). I was so relieved and so thankful!
I hope and pray that you never, ever find yourself with a kidney stone, but if you do…you may want to consider trying what worked for me (and what has worked for many of the people that I have shared this info with). Chanca Piedra for the win! Here is the link to the brand of Chanca Piedra that I recommend.
Of course, here is my disclaimer: this information is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice or care. Please talk with your healthcare provider about any questions, drug interactions, or side effects you may have with the use of herbal remedies.
To your health & wellness & loving the Lord with all your strength!
-Maryellen Greene, PA-C, MMSc
