I underwent Shockwave treatment for my kidney stones way back 2012 (read my shockwave experience here). Last December 2013, I felt the same pain on my lower abdomen and this time, it’s on the left. January 2014, I tried treating it using cogon water (it’s the juice you got from boiling cogon grass). I think I only got to drink half liter of the juice. By March, I can feel the stones went down on my ureter. It was the most uncomfortable situation I had to endure. I need to be over hydrated because if I’m dry, I can feel the stones scratching my ureter wall. But over hydration means frequent urination. I had to wear a diaper during our La Union trip (spell hassle!).

When the kids was hospitalized (May last year), I finally had the courage to consult a urologist. Nasa ospital na ako eh, ano pa bang ipag aarte ko? I was asked to undergo some tests (by some, I mean 5 tests), ironically or luckily, as soon as I am done with the check up my stones passed. It was painful but relieving. I saw crushed stones on the toilet bowl, about 5 pieces, all black. I took it and well, uh, it was hard as stones.

All along, I thought my kidney is back to normal. I never bothered consulting again to check if my kidney is cleared with stones.. I should have!

Last March, I suffered from UTI and a week after that, my left kidney is in pain.. it’s different this time. During my first 2 stones encounter, it was my lower abdomen but this time it was the kidney. The kind of pain is bothering, it feels like there’s some weight on my left kidney (if your’re experiencing the same, have your kidneys checked). I am ready for another round of waves this time, after Recognition, I said I’ll schedule a check up.

During that time, Erica mentioned I should drink Cranberry for my kidney.. coincidentally, I got an invite for Old Orchard Cranberry Juice Bloggers Lunch.. talk about right timing. Sabi ko sa inyo, my OCD is obsessed with alignment and right timing. 

So I bought an Old Orchard Cranberry juice and also tried the lemon water remedy (for weight loss! haha). Here’s what I did:

• Drink hot lemon water in the morning (before anything else). I usually squeeze half lemon to a cup of hot water.
• The other half, squeeze in 2 Liters of water which will be your water for the whole day.
• Drink 1 glass cranberry juice (usually I drink this during lunch)

And four days after, my kidney stones passed! OMG!!!! It was very shocking!

That’s me (obviously) sharing my shocking cranberry experience during the lunch.

Fly Ace Corporation, exclusive distributor of Old Orchard, pioneers the Love Your Kidney Campaign. It aims to build awareness to the importance and benefits  of drinking cranberry juice. May I stress, once again, how cranberry juice helped in the passing of my kidney stones. If you’re still not convinced, here’s 10 Things You Need To Know About Cranberries:

Here’s the photo of my stones:

It is softer than the stones I had last year (though it’s bigger), it’s not even painful. For those asking, during my first passing, I took the stones straight from the bowl (eh ang linis naman ng bowl sa Medical City no.. promise hindi nakakadiri at saka nag safeguard naman ako after), for this one, I knew right away that it’s time. I peed on a container and not on the bowl.

For those of you wondering if they have kidney stones, better consult a urologist now. It pays to know the health status of your kidney. Also start on drinking cranberry juice as it can do wonders to your kidney. And don’t forget to drink at least 8 glasses of water!

More Old Orchard Bloggers Lunch Photos:

I already mentioned once why I am so paranoid with dengue fever. We lost a love one (husband’s nephew) 3 years ago from dengue. Anything about dengue, my blog is open. So when I received an invite for a dengue fever management event, I have to attend, even if it means braving Makati (and the traffic) on FRIDAY!. It was all worth it. Anything to help raise awareness about dengue and dengue fever.

I was planning to write a lengthy article about dengue, but I did that na pala a few years back. In the spirit of list blogging (and for easy understanding and faster writing haha), I present to you FACTS about Dengue Fever that You Should Know. 

1. Things you should know about Aedes aegypti:

• Aedes aegypti is a striped mosquito (see photo above) and though usually known to bite at dusk and dawn, they can bite and spread the infection at anytime of the day, all year round.
• Aedes aegypti life span is only 4 weeks but their egg can last for more than a year, even on dry land. 
• Aedes aegypti can transmits the virus by biting an infected person then biting another but it will take 8 days after the bite before they can transmit the virus. 

2. Things you should know about Dengue Fever: 

• Dengue fever is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti
• There are 4 types of dengue virus and being infected once does not give you immunity to this virus. A person can get infected 4x but from Dr. Gatchalian mentioned that if you got infected twice, there is little chance of being infected again.
• Dengue fever can be cured but if left untreated, it can lead to death.
• The only way to treat it is to manage the fever (and water therapy). The only fever management medicine for dengue is PARACETAMOL.

• When dengue fever is suspected, go to the nearest health center or hospital for diagnosis and treatment.

3. What we can do to prevent dengue? 

• Search and Destroy. Search for stagnant water around your house since this is where Aedes aegypti breed. Destroy all the breeding grounds to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs.
• Self protection measures such as wearing longer clothes and applying insect repellent products.
• Seek early consultaion when there is fever for more than 2 days.
• Say NO to indiscriminate fogging. Fogging will only drive mosquitoes away, only say YES to fogging during outbreaks.

BONUS: Help save lives by spreading awareness about Dengue Fever, how to manage it and how to prevent it. 

I know nothing about my liver. After my Kidney stones shockwave treatment (and my other kidney showing sign of kidney stones), I guess it’s about time that I worry about my other organs.

Some facts about liver:

• Liver is part of our digestive system. 
• Liver is the biggest solid organ in our body and is considered as a gland because it secretes bile.
• The liver is the only organ in our body that can regenerate even though a large of it has been removed.

The bile secreted by the liver is a substance needed to digest fats. Aside from that, our liver is important because it detoxify our body by breaking down toxins. It also stores some vitamins and iron and stores simple sugar and converts it when our body needs the sugar. The liver also plays a vital role in metabolism as it converts ammonia to urea which is needed in metabolism.

Liver destroys old red blood cells, the usual brown color of our fecal is the result of destruction of old red blood cells. Discoloration of fecal may be a sign that there is something wrong with our liver. Jaundice is another sign that your liver is not doing any good.

The most common liver diseases are hepatitis infection, fatty liver or damaged brought about by alcohol abuse.

And though  our liver can regenerate even though a large of it has been removed, it does not mean that we should not take care of our liver. Who would want to undergo a liver operation? Just imagine the pain and  the cost. Here are some ways to take care of our liver:

• Do not drink too much as too much alcohol can damage our liver in two ways: 1. when our liver tries to breakdown too much alcohol, the chemical reaction can be damaging to the cells of the liver and 2. the alcohol damage the intestine which may allow bacteria to get into our liver. 
• Stay away from fatty food and exercise daily. Since our liver produces bile to digest fats, more fats means more bile production which means overworked liver (they need to rest too, you know).
• Be more conscious of the medicines you take as some or incorrect dosage may lead to liver damage.
• Drink more water as this will help your liver detoxify itself.
• Proper hygiene also plays a vital role in making sure our liver is healthy as hepatitis infection can be passed through contaminated food, water, blood or body fluids. Make sure that you always wash your hand properly.

What will happen if our liver is damaged?

When a large part of the liver is damaged, liver failure will occur and if liver failure is severe the patient will need a liver transplant.