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Gout is painful enough, with uric acid forming crystals in the joints, but there are other 'side effects' that can happen as well. These can be equally painful in many different ways, if not more so. Some people with gout end up with kidney stones, and if you know someone who has had them, you can figure out just how painful they can be by asking them how they managed. If you have gout, you may want to know how to fight off or deal with uric acid kidney stones that can form in your body.

Though calcium kidney stones are the most common, those with gout are at risk from kidney stones formed from an excess of uric acid. This means in order to prevent stones from forming, you have to watch your levels of uric acid.

You may already be doing this, but if you are not, this is all the more incentive for you to do so. Keeping animal proteins out of the diet as much as possible can do this, but there are other foods that can raise uric acid levels as well. It is a good idea to find a good gout diet and follow it to the letter if you want to avoid uric acid kidney stones.

As you're probably already aware, excess uric acid in the body will form crystals that are deposited in the joints because it has no where else to go. As you may have guessed, it can also form the kidney stones. If you already have them, you have to work on getting rid of them, and then avoiding them in the future. Getting them out of your body is the hard, and sometimes, very painful part.

Some doctors will tell you two things if you are having a problem with uric acid kidney stones. One would be to drink more water along with following a low purine diet.

You should strive for at least 12 eight ounce glasses of water a day, or more if you can. That keeps your urine diluted, and lowers the risk of the crystals forming into a stone in your kidneys. This is a good idea no matter what your state of health, even if you don't have gout. However, in this case, it is essential that you try and drink as much as you can. Please note, your water consumption should be spread out throughout the day and not just gulped in one or two sittings.

Another option is to take a medication called Polycitra K. Your doctor can tell you more about it. It is often taken when potassium levels are too low in the body, and the uric acid levels, as a result, are climbing. This medication should help stop the uric acid crystals from forming in the kidney before there is a problem.

If you already have kidney stones due to excess uric acid, what will happen next will be up to your doctor. The methods used for elimination often depend on your state of health, the size of the stones, and other considerations. There are times when the stones can be zapped with a laser, or similar device, so they break apart and will not be quite as painful when they come out, but there are also times when that is not possible, and they will have to be passed whole. Your doctor can help you with pain management, and plans to keep this from happening to you again in the future.