I had been drinking a Dr Pepper every evening at dinner. Then one day, got one of the hugh kidney stones, about 3/4 of an inch. So for the first one I did not take note. I just kept doing what I had been doing. Well, about 6 months later, I had a second that was not as big but as painful. So the DR said that I should try to stop those, and well I did. I have been stone free for about 5 years now. I had also lost about 30 lbs, and well I managed to put that back on, due to a bad knee injury. I had been doing Martial Arts for a long while. Then the knee said no more of that. SO I am hoping to get back on a bike again really soon. Thank you for all the inspiring stories.