I also had a case of kidney stones myself and a resulting weakened immune system, in December 2008. Very painful. You definitely have empathy from me! The best remedies I know of for boosting the immune system include WATER, EXERCISE, stress reduction, meditation, and getting adequate sleep (neither too much nor too little). And there are also some herbs and dietary changes that help. Regular aerobic and weight bearing exercise (but not too much exercise) is vital to keep an immune system healthy and strong! We need about one hour of walking every single day to keep an immune system healthy. Go at whatever pace your energy level allows- if you are in pain and tired from all the recent illness it'll be necessary to walk slowly. In addition to the walking, 30 minutes of weight bearing exercise every 2 to 3 days will strengthen the body and this will also strengthen the immune system. Drink 3 gallons a day of reverse osmosis water. Reverse osmosis is best if at all possible. Filtered tap water from a Brita or Pur filter, etc. *still* contains the dissolved ions that your body has been turning into stones. And most spring water also has dissolved ions in it. Not kidding about the amount. At least 3 gallons of reverse osmosis water per day. 3 gallons seems like an awful lot of water and I know personally that it is difficult to drink this much. Nonetheless it's VERY important to drink this much despite the difficulty. The only way to drink this much each day is to CONSTANTLY drink. If you do something that makes you sweat, drink more after you sweat. Each time you go to the bathroom you lose some water, so drink then too. And anytime you are bored or on a work/study break or stuck in traffic, drink. If you ever *actually* feel thirsty it means you haven't been drinking often enough. No matter where you go, you gotta bring a liter of reverse osmosis water- churches, parks, libraries, school, offices, jobs or interviews, amusement parks, restaurants, movies, sports events, bars (if you go to those), malls, and inside your car. Even to places that try to disallow people bringing in water or 'beverages' so they can sell you their drinks. They will have to be shown a doctors note telling them they HAVE to let you bring in your own water. And if these places still don't let you bring water in, don't go inside. Boycott them and tell others not to do business with them because those places are disrespectful of public health. Go somewhere else instead, your health has to come first. It's a hassle to drink this much AND it is necessary to do so anyway. To boost the body's ability to fight infections and to heal damaged kidney tissue, the body needs LOTS of water. Also water is vital to strengthen the immunity overall, and it also will really help pass the stones faster so you spend less time suffering as they are trying to come out. In my experience, I agree that there really is no herbal remedy that can 'dissolve' kidney stones. I have practiced herbalism for over 20 years as an unpaid volunteer. It goes against my spirituality and culture to accept payment for helping others with my herbalism. There are, however, herbal remedies and dietary modifications that can make it faster and less painful to pass kidney stones by reducing inflammation. Good herbs to reduce pain and inflammation from kidney stones include uva ursi, joe pye weed, sugar free cranberries, polygonum persicaria, and some others. There are also remedies and dietary modifications that can reduce the likelihood of kidney stone formation- especially if the stones are calcium oxalate. Stage_rat Annette has already provided a link to some of that info. :) Unfortunately since your stones were formed during a time when you drank a lot of soda and also drank insufficient water, odds are high that your stones are calcium phosphate which are much harder to treat than the common calcium oxalate kidney stones. IMHO your stones are likely to be calcium phosphate because sodas have a lot of excess phosphates in them (in the form of phosphoric acid). Take a good B-complex vitamin supplement daily, which contains pyridoxine (vitamin B-6). B-6 deficiency produces kidney stones in experimental animals. In high doses, B6 is used medically to treat kidney stones. Remember- B-6 deficiency is very common in humans. Yogurt and other probiotics are a good idea too, and in addition to that I also really recommend Dr. Berger's Immune Power Diet for you.

Yeah, as I typed that, I realized that... I will have to ask... though it seems that a concientious co-op would be on top of that, since they are into fair trade. I will have to ask. If I had my druthers, I'd grow everything... but I am a plant addict. I can grow tropicals, so of course, what is out of reach is what I'd REALLY like to grow! :o) I'd like to try Black Cohosh ONE MORE TIME. With Global Warming, and the way I've heard your Eastern Weather's been, pretty soon, you might be growing what grows easily here! I was amazed... it's mighty rare when it's warmer there than here in california!

Hi Dave, If you still have these, I'm interested in your Golden Seal & American Ginseng. Please check out my list & see if we can trade. Blessings, Beth Here is a link that might be useful: My Trade List

Brenda, last I checked...people weren't in danger of becoming rare or extinct. I don't care about their poverty..that is NO excuse for poaching. It is in-excusable for major corporations to buy that which was poached from state and federal lands, which belong to ALL of us, then turn around and sell it for profit. There are many, many government programs available to the poor...from pre-natal care all the way up to elder care programs and hospice. Including free college tuition, work training, food, medical care, etc. I have been really poor...I have lived on Ramen Noodles and tortillas and potatoes for months at a time, yet I never felt the need to steal. Heck, I was unemployed and uninsured when I was diagnosed with MS..and I didn't go hold up the corner store to pay for my tests and treatment. I used every government/private program I could use to do that which needed to be done..after all, I had already paid for it many times over. What these folks are doing is stealing, and what they're stealing is our natural heritage. And they're stealing it from each and every one of us, and our children and grand-children. People who go on "plant rescues" with reputable organisations don't turn around and sell the dang things to the highest bidder. Silverkat...If you can't beat 'em, join 'em? I'd rather not join 'em. And yes, boycotts do work. I have lots and lots of ethically collected or nursery grown and propagated native plants. I don't need Lowe's. The ethically collected plants and seeds are out there, all that's required is a little research. VERY little..people who grow natives are usually happy to admit their stock is on the up and up. If enough people cared enough not to buy those little baggies of dessicated native plants..well, there'd be no financial incentive to carry them in the store. Which would go a long way towards solving the problem, wouldn't it? april