Can Menopause Increase Your Risk of Kidney Stones? What Women Need to Know

[00:00:00]Let's talk about menopause and kidney stones. Postmenopausal women have a 27 to 50% higher risk of kidney stones versus their premenopausal counterparts.

[00:00:10]The kind of stone changes, too. Before menopause, the most common type of stone is calcium oxalate. After menopause, that shifts. Uric acid stones become more common. Here's the mechanism. When estrogen drops, your urine chemistry changes. Citrate drops, magnesium drops.

[00:00:29]Both of these normally stop stones from forming. So, protection goes down right when you need it.

[00:00:34]Here's the part to understand the nuance. Your own natural estrogen appears to be very protective, but estrogen therapy is not stone treatment.

[00:00:44]In randomized trials, estrogen therapy did not appear to be protective. So, do not start hormones to prevent stones.

[00:00:52]That's not their job. What actually works? Hydration every single day.

[00:00:56]Citrate from citrus. Real lemon in your water counts. And magnesium. And in postmenopausal women, regular tea drinkers had fewer stones.