Medicine Cure for Kidney Stones

The best medicine cure for kidney stones is a healthy diet and plenty of fluid. But in many cases that's just not enough. Kidney stones come in four main varieties with each demanding a specialized medication for treatment and prevention.

Calcium-Oxalate Medicine

• The majority of patients develop kidney stones of the calcium-oxalate variety. According to specialists at the Mayo Clinic, in order to stop these stones from forming, a urologist will likely prescribe a thiazide diuretic. These act to decrease the amount of sodium that kidneys reabsorb and increase urination. Thiazides are extremely beneficial because they remove calcium from the urine but return it to the blood; an important attribute for those suffering calcium deficiency. Another medicine cure for kidney stones is indapamide (brand name Lozol), a water pill that performs nearly identically to thiazides but is not technically part of that category.

  The doctor may also suggest sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate. Additionally , there is some evidence that a drug called Elmiron may be a potential blocker of calcium oxalate stone formation.

Uric Acid Medicine

• The medication allopurinol (brand names Zyloprim and Aloprim) helps to minimize uric acid levels in the blood and urine to keep uric stones from building. It encourages the body to make a different chemical, called xanthine, which is easier to dissolve than uric acid.

  Occasionally, a combination of allopurinol and a medicine with an alkalinizing ingredient may be able to dissolve uric acid stones.

Struvite Medicine

• Struvite stones are almost always a result of a urinary tract infection. Urologists will prescribe antibiotics to cleanse the urinary system of bacteria and block an infection. In their guide "The Kidney Stones Handbook," Gail Savitz and Dr. Stephen W. Leslie say that aluminum hydroxide is sometimes used in patients with struvite stones. This medication limits the absorption of intestinal phosphates.

Cystine Medicine

• Due to their hard shell, cystine stones are very difficult to treat, making a medicine cure for kidney stones expecially problematic. A urologist will prescribe medication to increase the alkaline content of the urine and encourage patients to increase fluids and urine output. According to "The Kidney Stones Handbook," an experimental drug called bucillamine has the potential to improve the dissolvability of cystine. Another medication, called penicillamine, has shown to be extremely effective with cystine stones. Unfortunately, side effects are often quite severe, with only about half of patients able to tolerate the treatment. Thiola, a prescription with fewer complications than penicillamine, shows promise in dissolving cystine.

Supplements

• In "The Harvard Medical School Guide to Men's Health," Harvey Bruce Simon notes that research indicates excessive consumption of calcium via supplement can be harmful in the fight against stone formation. However, high levels of calcium intake from food shows no increased risk. Still, kidney stone formers who require supplemental calcium may be prescribed calcium citrate. The addition of citrate in the supplement works to block calcium stone formation.

Passing

• Alpha blockers help smaller stones pass through the system. These medicines help to relax muscles inside the ureter and encourage it to allow the stone to move through. Alpha blockers include doxazosin ( brand name Cardura), terazosin (brand name Hytrin), tamsulosin (brand name Flomax) and alfuzosin (brand name Uroxatral).