While there’s no definitive way to pinpoint the exact cause of a stone, there are common sense factors that play into it. In my case, having grown up in a poor family, I lived on junk food for far too long. Even after adopting a more healthful lifestyle some years ago, I was still a soda junkie, and could never bring myself to drink water. I’d consume cup beyond cup of herbal tea, but coffee and carbonated beverages made up a large part of my daily fluid intake. This, more than likely, was what led to that miserable experience.

Following my doctor’s orders, I cut back my coffee intake to one or two a day, and rather than drinking soda and tea at home, I began drinking water–lots of it. I still crave a Coke now and then, but it’s something I include as an occasional treat these days. Most of the time, I’ve grown accustomed to drinking only water. I’ve also saved a lot of money (minus the cost for extra Brita filters), lost a few pounds, and haven’t had a stone since.

It took getting a kidney stone to realize such a simple thing, but I feel a lot better about it now. And what better way is there to enforce this new habit than by remembering that horrible ordeal and fearing another? Water: 3 liters a day keeps the stones away!