The returning runner…
Act 14 – Can you really eat too much of a good thing?
Before I get started on this week blog, I have to back up a bit on my previous blog about how quick older runners are to jump to the conclusion that they need a hip or knee replacement. Chuck Hattersley responded that he had waited 3 years for a hip replacement and regretted that he hadn’t done it much sooner. You shouldn’t hurt that long!! I’ve known others who were so happy when they got a hip replacement from a good doc. If you have reasonable treatments for minor injuries and have prolonged pain, a hip or knee replacement might be just what you need! Now unto this week’s blog.
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The pain was brutal, classic debilitating pain in my lower back on the right side. I had visited the ER once and received a solid prescription for oxycodone, but it wasn’t touching this. I heaved over the toilet as the treble hook ripped through my guts (in reality a relatively small kidney stone). I was shocked as blood poured out of my mouth. This was bad. I had to stay cool. This might be the last time my son would be with me. I calmly asked my newly-licensed son to get me to the ER pretty promptly. Despite the agonizing pain and my real fear that I was bleeding to death internally, I didn’t want to let on what was going on inside of me. Turned out the problem wasn’t serious internal bleeding but a much less serious ruptured blood vessel in my throat. I’ve had a number of kidney stones since and decided that they just aren’t that much fun. A possible culprit could possibly be just getting too dehydrated too often on lengthy runs. But, I always wondered if the continuing kidney stone problem had some other distinct cause.
Maybe a decade ago, my wife started having serious problems with dairy products – a common problem as we age. While milder, I also seemed to benefit from a switch from dairy to almond milk. In the past few years, I’ve adopted a regular routine of having a healthy smoothy every morning with 16 ounces or so of almond milk. At the end of the day, I would wrap up with a bowl of granola – making sure that I caught up on any fluid deficit by going overboard on my almond milk. Hmmm… let’s revisit the “bad” kidney stone list. Ranked number 3 is almonds (https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-oxalates)! What??? Hmmm… another key factor in formation of kidney stones is commonly calcium. The brand of almond milk that I was frequently using is 50% higher in calcium than cow’s milk. Ok, so I was drenching my body in the materials necessary for the most common types of kidney stones – oxalates and possibly excessive calcium! I’m not trying to destroy the almond milk industry. For those not prone to kidney stones, it seems to be a great alternative. For me, over the past 6 months I’ve had much less kidney pain. A scan in a few weeks should confirm whether I’ve actually had less kidney stone production. In the meantime, maybe consider limiting the almond milk if you are plagued by kidney stones (consult with your doctor – especially confirming whether your kidney stones are calcium oxalate).
Photo: My ambulance hero – Trent Gookin