Can You Have Kidney Stones and Not Know It

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The incredible hurting of a kidney stone is sudden and unpredictable. Sentinel for these warning signs before it begins.

Posted by Featured Provider Steven Rosenberg on Tuesday, September 8, 2020

older woman holds her right side while sitting on a bed

They tin be every bit small as a grain of sand, but kidney stones can pack a dial. 1 infinitesimal, you feel completely fine. The next, y'all're doubled over in intense pain and searching for the strength to make it to the ER.

How tin can something and so minor hurt so much?

"Typically, you start getting symptoms one time you get obstruction," explains Steven Rosenberg, Md, a urologist at The Iowa Clinic. "The kidney kind of has a funnel where urine exits that's called the ureteropelvic junction. An obstruction usually occurs when the rock passes out of the kidney and gets stuck in that funnel or in the ureter, the tube that's between the kidney and the bladder."

"You can accept a kidney rock for 20 years and never know information technology. And so, all of the sudden, for no reason, information technology just decides to pass. And that'south the moment you develop hurting."

Kidney rock pain is not e'er severe — or easy to identify.

The kidneys are located in an area of the body called the flank. They sit below the lower ribcage in the back. While you can certainly feel intense pain on either side of the back (depending on which kidney the stone is in), that's not always the case.

"Kidney stones are nigh ever on one side, then the pain is either on the right or the left. Ordinarily, you feel information technology in your back or on your side." Dr. Rosenberg says. "But the human trunk is weird. Information technology doesn't always bear like the books say it should."

You may experience intestinal pain. Or groin pain. It can starting time higher up near the kidneys and then move downwardly to the groin. Your pain may be intense and short-lived. Or information technology could be vague and more like a breadbasket anguish that just won't become away.

"Non-obstructive kidney stones can sometimes cause agonized or discomfort. Astute pain occurs when there'south obstruction, which means they're blocking the kidney or passing," Dr. Rosenberg says. "Usually kidney stone pain is sporadic. You tin accept intense hurting followed past periods of no pain. It comes and goes."

Anybody experiences hurting differently and has different thresholds. So it tin be hard to understand what'southward going on with your body based on pain lonely. You might recollect you're fine once the pain lessens, only to accept it come back just every bit all of a sudden as before. Considering you haven't fully passed the kidney rock until you see it.

Other warning signs of kidney stones may be more noticeable.

Non all kidney stones crusade pain. Some don't present any symptoms whatsoever. But when symptoms do appear, they are clear signs that something's off and that yous need to meet a doctor:

one. Nausea and Vomiting

Kidney stones can make y'all experience ill to your tum. But not in the way you lot normally would from the tum flu or food poisoning. The hurting can be so excruciating that information technology makes you queasy or fifty-fifty makes yous puke. If the pain is radiating from your correct side, these symptoms might lead y'all to think that your appendix outburst — even more reason to become checked out.

ii. Claret in the Urine

Seeing your pee have on a shade of pink or red is alarming. Only information technology actually takes only a niggling bit of blood to change the color or urine. Some medications and scarlet foods like beets and rhubarb can have this effect only you lot should get it checked out no affair what. Blood in the urine could be from a kidney stone or many other problems — some serious similar kidney, float or prostate cancer.

iii. Cloudy or Foul-Smelling Pee

Urine tin can change in other ways too. Kidney stones are born out of the crystallization of full-bodied minerals in your pee. Concentrated urine is darker, cloudier and stinkier — similar to when yous're dehydrated. The strong odor is ofttimes compared to ammonia, but it's more likely that the odor stems from a urinary tract infection than a kidney stone.

4. Issues with Flow

An obstacle by a kidney stone doesn't only cause pain. It can create a diverseness of pee problems. Every bit the rock moves further down the urinary tract close to the bladder, you may experience more urgency to get more oft and feel hurting when yous pee. Kidney stones tin can fifty-fifty exist on both sides at one time and stop the flow of urine altogether, which, although rare, is a medical emergency.

five. Fever and Chills

Some people complain of flu-like symptoms when they have kidney stones. And that'southward a bigger problem than a elementary rock. If you're running a fever, having chills or shivering, you may have an infection in your kidneys or urinary tract also. You should get urgent medical attending.

Kidney stone symptoms and risk varies between men and women.

Men are twice every bit probable to develop kidney stones than women. But the gap has been closing in recent years. It's not articulate what causes kidney stones or the rates at which men and women get them.

Genetics play a big role for both sexes. Men who have a family medical history of kidney stones, are two to three times as likely to get them. Other risk factors relate to the conditions that contribute to stone formation: diet, aridity, warm conditions (which also causes dehydration) and the side effects of medications.

"The biggest risk factor is aridity," Dr. Rosenberg says. "People who work exterior often get kidney stones because they're chronically dehydrated. They need to drink more water because they're losing fluid in a lot of ways."

The differences in the male and female anatomy can lead to different symptoms, too. For men, it's like going into labor. They feel pain in their abdomen, lower dorsum or groin equally the rock passes through the narrow ureter and beyond. That tin can as well cause some gastric discomfort, which is centered in the upper belly and can be tiresome and achy or throbbing pain. Women, on the other mitt, may compare kidney stones to menstrual cramps that can escalate from slow aches to wincing pain.

Both men and women agree on i thing: kidney stones really, really hurt.

"Women who've had kidney stones and babies oftentimes say kidney stone hurting is worse than labor hurting," Dr. Rosenberg says.

There'due south e'er someone to talk to most your symptoms.

Kidney stone pain usually comes and goes. But you don't take to wait for information technology to laissez passer or look for other signs to appear to meet if you have a rock. Any time you're experiencing severe pain, you should go assist. Because you never know if it volition actually pass or how long information technology will take.

And if you have pain with or without changes to your urine, nausea or vomiting — and especially fevers and chills — call your doctor.

"No matter where you need to go — Primary Care, Urgent Care if it's on the weekend or the ER if you're miserable — we'll help you and tell them yous're coming," Dr. Rosenberg says.

Meet This Featured Provider

Steven Rosenberg

Steven Rosenberg, Dr.

Acquire More About:
Urology, Men'southward Center

Steven Rosenberg, MD is an original founding member of The Iowa Dispensary, founded in 1994. In a period of change and doubtfulness his urology grouping was interested in joining a high quality, independent, multi-specialty group with similar-minded physicians to have a voice. His father, Harlan Rosenb... Read More

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