3. What are the symptoms of a kidney stone?
4. Do all kidney stones cause pain?
5. What causes a kidney stone?
6. Can I take something to dissolve my kidney stone?
8. Was it something I ate/drank?
9. Can I prevent another kidney stone?
10. What are the treatment options for my kidney stone?
11. What are the signs of a kidney stone emergency?
12. How long does it take to form a kidney stone?
13. What is my risk of forming another kidney stone?
14. Am I going to be able to pass my (insert size here) stone?
15. Which surgery should I choose?
19. Why do I have pain after my stent was removed?
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Kidney stones are the formation of crystalline structures in the urinary tract (which includes the kidneys, ureters, and bladder). These stones can cause pain, infection, and kidney damage. Stones can be small, from 1 mm to very large, filling up an entire kidney. For pictures of stones, see our stone gallery.
For patients experiencing their first stone episode, the pain can be so severe and sudden that it stops them in their tracks. Without prior knowledge of what a stone episode feels like, it can be confusing and frightening to go through this amount of discomfort, which is usually described as the worst pain someone has ever experienced. A trip to the emergency room is usually required to make the diagnosis and provide treatment for an active kidney stone. X-rays, usually a CT scan, can be used to confirm that a stone is present.
3. What are the symptoms of passing a kidney stone?
Stone pain is often described as stabbing and extremely severe. Women commonly say that it is worst than having a child. The pain can start in the upper back (flank) and then migrate to the abdomen and groin. Changing positions does not help relieve the pain. The pain of a kidney stone is primarily due to blockage of the urine drainage coming down the small tube called the “ureter” that connects a kidney to the bladder. See a diagram of the urinary system.
It is thought that the increased pressure stretches the kidney and ureter, causing the pain. This is why stone pain can come and go in waves, as the drainage tube is periodically blocked by the stone trying to make its way out. As the stone moves further down the tube, the pain experienced moves down the body. Other symptoms common during a stone episode include seeing blood in the urine, nausea & vomiting, and feeling the urge to urinate. Once a stone is passed and makes it way out of the ureter tube and into the bladder, most patients describe a sensation of instant relief as the blockage and pressure is relieved. However, stones can take from days to weeks to pass. See a diagram of locations where stones typically get obstructed.
4. Do all kidney stones cause pain?
Most doctors feel that kidney stones only cause pain if they are blocking the ureter and trying to pass down towards the bladder. Stones that are not obstructing, such as those located in the kidney’s calyxes, are generally thought to be non-painful. This explains why some patients can have extremely large stones filling up their entire kidney with no or minimal pain.
However, it does appear that some non-obstructing stones can cause pain because of either blockage of small tubular structures in the kidney itself (the collecting tubules) or for other unclear reasons. Supporting this view is a recent medical journal article suggesting that the treatment of small non-obstructing “papillary” stones may provide pain relief. (Gdor et al, Multi-institutional assessment of ureteroscopic laser papillotomy for chronic pain associated with papillary calcifications, J Urol 2011) Additionally, testimonials from many kidney stone patients (including a urologist with a personal history of kidney stones) suggest that some non-obstructing stones can cause pain.
5. What causes a kidney stone?
Kidney stones affect 1 out of 10 people during their lifetimes. They are more common than most people realize. There are many factors that determines whether someone will develop a stone with some being under a person’s control while others are out of their hands.
Common factors influencing kidney stone development:
- Gender: Men are two to three times more likely to form stones
- Race: Caucasians have the highest stone rates as compared to other races
- Age: Stones occur most commonly between the 20s to 50s
- Geography: Those living in hot dry environments are at increased risk. Additionally, those living in the Southeastern United States appear to be at particularly increased risk of forming stones.
- Seasonal climate: Stone development is more common during the summer months due to dehydration from higher summertime temperatures and possibly also from higher concentrations of calcium in urine resulting from increased sun exposure which can lead to higher levels of Vit D production.
- Occupation: Those working in jobs with exposure to climate and dehydration are more prone to stone development.
- Body weight: There are higher rates of stones in those with increased weight and body mass index.
- Genetics and medical conditions: Individuals with a history of some conditions, such as medullary sponge kidney or renal tubular acidosis are prone to forming stones. Those with a personal family history of stones may have two to three times increased risk of forming stones.
- Infections: Chronic urinary tract infections can lead to the development of infection related stones, known as struvite stones.
6. Can I take something to dissolve my kidney stone?
Patients often ask whether something can be taken to dissolve their stones. Unfortunately, the most common stone types (calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate, accounting for 80% of all stones) cannot be dissolved with medications.
However, in patients with uric acid stones, which account for 5-7% of stones, medication (potassium citrate) can be successfully given to dissolve the stones, helping them to pass and preventing them from re-developing.
Patients with the less common cystine type stones (1-3% of stone formers) can also benefit from potassium citrate and water intake to help dissolve their stones. Cystine stone formers additionally can be treated with D-penicillamine or α-mercaptopropionylglycine to help bind and dissolve their stones.
Finally, patients with struvite, or “infection”, stones were in the past more commonly treated with hemiacidrin irrigation solution which is dripped directly onto stones through a tube placed directly into the kidney. However, because of potentially serious side effects from this medication and the difficulty in giving it, this type of therapy is now uncommon.
Learn more about different types of stones.
There are many factors that lead to the development of kidney stones. For details and a visual time-line of the steps in stone formation, see: How do stones form?
8. Was it something I ate/drank?
In most patients, we find diet is not the main reason that caused a stone to form in the first place. Other important factors also play a role in determining whether someone is “prone” to forming stones. In other words, a non-stone-former can eat the exact same diet as a stone-former and never get stones.
That said, diet can play an important role in the prevention of future stones. The three most important dietary factors for most stone formers to modify in reducing their risk of future stones are to increase total fluid intake, decrease sodium intake, and and decrease protein (meat) intake.
Some commonly held beliefs of foods that promote stones including cola, tea, coffee, and calcium intake have not been shown to be true. In fact, research suggests that increasing tea, coffee, and calcium intake can actually reduce stone risk, while cola does not appear to have a significant effect (Curhan et al, Am J of Epidemiology, 1996). See more on kidney stones myths.
9. Can I prevent another kidney stone?
Yes!, there are many effective ways to help prevent another stone. Basic dietary changes can reduce your chances of forming another stone by half while more involved medical treatment can reduce that even further. While these changes may not guarantee that you will not form another stone, they can make it less likely that you will have to experience another painful stone episode. See our stone prevention center to find out more.
10. What are my treatment options for my kidney stone?
Treatment options for stones include allowing a stone to pass by itself, using medications to help pass a stone, and surgery to treat or remove a stone. Our stone treatment center has more information, including videos and diagrams of stone surgeries to help you better understand your options.
11. What are the signs of a kidney stone emergency?
If you think you are passing a stone, signs indicating that you should seek immediate medical attention include:
- Fever above 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit
- Other symptoms of a urinary tract infection with a stone, including burning during urination, cloudy urine, or bad smelling urine
- Persistent nausea and vomiting
- Intolerable pain
- Certain medical conditions can make passing a stone potentially more dangerous, including those with only one kidney, those with diabetes, or those with decreased kidney function
12. How long does it take to form a kidney stone?
It appears that stones can form in as short a period of time as three months. This is based on research of soldiers deploying to Kuwait and Iraq where the mean time to development of a symptomatic stone was 93 days in the hot desert environment. (Evans and Costabile, J Urol, 2005)
13. What is my risk of forming another kidney stone?
In general, the chances of developing another stone is about 40-50% over five years. In other words, 1 out of 2 new stone formers should expect to develop another stone within the next five years. However, there are many effective ways to reduce the chances of recurrence with simple diet changes. See our prevention center for more details.
14. Am I going to be able to pass my (insert size here) stone?
Your likelihood of passing a stone will primarily depend on its size, its location, and how long you have been trying to pass a stone. We go over this in our infographic available here: What are my chances of successfully passing passing my stone?
15. What surgery option should I choose?
There are three common surgeries for stones. These include ureteroscopy, shockwave lithotripsy, and percutaneous nephrolithotripsy. We go over the pros and cons of each here: How do I choose which surgery to have for my kidney stones?
A stent is a flexible hollow tube placed inside the ureter. It allows urine to drain around a stone and helps the ureter heal after surgery. It is entirely inside your body and is not visible from the outside. Stents can cause you to feel like you have to urinate often, can cause minor bleeding, and can cause pain. Find out more about stents here: All about ureteral stents.
17. How is a ureteral stent placed?
Ureteral stents are usually placed in the operating room by your doctor. A flexible wire is slid up the ureter and the stent is slid over the wire. The wire is removed and the stent remains. At each end of the stent are natural “curls” to keep it in place until it is removed or exchanged. See more about stent placement here: How is a ureteral stent placed?
Ureteral stents can be removed in two ways. Most commonly, your doctor will remove the stent by placing a camera into your bladder through your urethra (the tube where urine exits your body). The stent is grasped with an instrument and removed. The second method is used when a string is left attached to the stent. The string, which is visible exiting the urethra, is pulled until the stent comes out. See more about stent removal here: How is a ureteral stent removed?
19. Why do I have pain after my stent was removed?
Some mild amount of discomfort after stent removal is expected. However, in some patients, severe pain may occur for several hours after stent removal. This is thought to be due to spasms of the ureter or swelling and temporary blockage developing after the stent comes out. Not enough is known about this phenomenon but one recent study suggests it may occur in as many as half of patients. In the study, a single dose of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug given 15 minutes before stent removal was highly effective at preventing the severe pain from developing. You can read more about the study here: Severe pain after stent removal: How often does it occur and can anything prevent it?
Hello, I am 48 yrs old and have had 6 surgeries (laser blasting and stent) and one lithotripsy. in the past 10 yrs. The largest stone I had was 11 mm. After a trip to the ER two days ago, the CT scan showed a 22 mm stone very high in my kidney. I am scheduled to have it removed through the back surgery procedure and I am very scared as I have never had that done. I am wondering if everyone who gets this surgery ends up with a stent ? I have had 4 stents and am so uncomfortable for the weeks they are inside. Has anyone had this type of surgery and avoided having a stent put in ? This stone went from 3 mm to 22 mm in just over a year so my urologist is shocked. I am an identical twin and my twin has never had a kidney stone. I am hopeful a specialist can give me some answers. Thank you.
I had the back surgery. i ended up with a nephrostomy bag and stents in both kidneys. but at same time i had a pulminary embolism, temp of 107.5 and was in cona and had a kidney stone stuck and calcified stents
I found out on 12/4 that I have a 2mm stone in my right kidney. I was having a lot of uti’s so my doc requested a scan. I’m not too sure what to expect or what my options are. My friend who is also a doc said I should even feel it, it’s rally small, but the more I read sounds like I will feel it once it starts moving. Thoughts? Advice?
First timer,
I am no doctor, but I have a long history of kidney stones. I went for about 6-7 years with no stones, after moving to a different city, then recently began getting them again, after having a baby. Here is my two cents: It could stay there for a long long time without moving, but you will feel it when/if it starts to move. In my experience, first the pain starts out in kidney (right side of lower back, near your waist). Then it starts hurting in the front, as it travels down through the ureter to your bladder. Then of course it continues down its path and you will feel it, I’m sure.
The way it was explained to me a long time ago (and someone can correct me if I’m wrong, if this info is outdated), is that when you are in pain and not taking any meds to help with the passage of the stone, the pain can make the ureter tighten up and restrict the moving of the stone. So if they prescribe something to loosen things up (such as Flomax or Rapaflo I guess), the stone can pass through more easily – but you will still feel the pain. They can also prescribe a pain med such as vicodin. (In the years before they started using flomax or rapaflo, they would just prescribe vicodin, and that was supposed to ease the pain so the body did not tighten up and restrict the passage of the stone.)
I currently also have a 2mm stone and I’ll tell you that it really feels like a 2 cm stone, haha 🙂 It’s hard to believe that something so tiny causes so much pain. If it starts causing pain, I would definitely recommend that you see a urologist.
Quick additional note: Another concern they might have is the infection issue, if you have UTI’s – so they might need to do some kind of treatment sooner than waiting to see if it starts causing you pain. I would definitely consult a urologist now to see what they need to do.
Hello
I think I may have a kidney stone stuck in the left side of my bladder. I had Cystoscope, Ultrasound scan but nothing showed up.
My Symptoms include pain in the left side and centre of the bladder like a stabding pain, also need to pee alot with the feeling of urine rentention.
Always feels worse when I have had a drink of water.
Are these Symptoms above sound like a kidney or bladder?
Thanks
Hi
Im a 38 year old who started having UTI pain 11/10 and for two weeks was told the culture was negative and had to wait for a urology appt..while waiting I ended up in the ER on Thanksgiving in extreme pain and was diagnosed with a 5mm kidney stone that was sitting right over my bladder at the point that the CT scan was done. I am having bladder pain similar to a UTI and am really uncomfortable. The Dr I saw on follow up said that they usually pass by 2 weeks and if it didnt that I would need surgery to remove because of infection risk. 2 weeks would be next Thurs. When I called his office they said they couldnt put me in until the 13th, which is three weeks from the ER visit…how long should I wait to have surgery? I would of course rather avoid it if I can but I do not want to end up with an infection on top of things. Thanks…
I had a uteroscopy and they found no stones. Before that I had server flank pain in my right side. Had a CT and nothing showed up but later on had an ultrasound that showed a small stone. So when I was scoped the Dr. felt that I must have passed it. I have been experiencing the pain for over a month prior to the procedure. Now it has been 3 days since the procedure and no stint was put in as there was no stones. However, I am still having bad flank pain. Is this normal? I am really sore and taking meds for the pain. Wondering whether this is normal and what should be the next step. Thanks
I have just been diagnosed with a 3mm uteretic stone. I have been in sever pain for a week with moderate pain for almost 6 months before that. I went to A@E and they gave me a CT scan. They have prescribed me Tamulosin but I am terrified of taking it as I have low blood pressure already and apparently it can cause the blood pressure to get even lower. I have to go back the the urology dept in two weeks if the stone hasnt passed. Getting pain in my kidneys and in my groin. This is my first stone and I am really scared. Any idea of how long this will take to pass and the pain that it will cause when it comes out, I am female 43 years old.
I had a 2.2cm stone removed last year, and a 9mm one removed several days ago from the same kidney. Since they took my stent out (yesterday) I have been in crippling pain passing tiny sand-like fragments of stone. This is unusual for me, I have passed stones up to 6mm with no pain, just a funny sensation. I have cystinuria and almost constantly form cystine stones, but have no idea why they mainly ‘stick’ in my kidney and grow very large.
Ok, so according to my CT scan i have a 6.7X5.5MM calculus in the left distal ureter just proximal to ureterovesical junction. My pain began oct 20 today is nov 1. i went to the hospital on the 20 did CT scan was given tamsolusin and oxycodone. today nov 1 i got the pain once again in my bladder like wanting to pee. i only have one pill left of the tamsolusin , i took it today and took the oxycodone and i feel better. its been 10 days and i dont know what to do. Is this size likely to pass? How long can i wait with this , before having surgery?
I havent gone to the doctor yet to get checked out. Plus if this stone is inthe lower part of my bladder why did i get pain in my kidney again?
You should be fine. Ive passed 7mm ones before. Ya might want to get more pills. You can also take azo standard, I take the cranberry. Azo standard can be purchased at your local drug store. It helps relieve urinary tract pain and frequent urges to empty your bladder. Your kidney still hurting is because your urinary tract is spazzing. Use a heating pad and HOT baths to help relieve pain. It can take days for a stone to pass. I’m passing one now too. It’s also in my bladder and kidney was throbbing today so I know how you feel. You can also have pain in your testicles. My stones come from the right so my left testicle is the one that hurts.
Good luck buddy.
If you have pain in your kidney again, you may have more stones…?
Hi, i am in hospital with a 3mm stone been here for 2 days and it still hasn’t passed, eurologist advised me to wait another 48 hours and i have been drinking alot of fluid and on a fluid drip, i’m really scared to have surgery is there anything i can take that will help pass the stone as its only small.
Some patients are given tamsulosin to help their stones pass. Other similar medications used for this purpose include alfuzosin, nifedipine, doxazosin, and terazosin. In patients with stones, these medications relax the muscles in the ureter, allowing the stones to more easily and quickly pass.
In studies of patients taking these medications vs. placebo (sugar pill), those on the medications were 1.45 times more likely to successfully pass their stone. They also required less pain medication and passed their stones more quickly with fewer return trips to the hospital than patients taking placebo.
It has been 2 1/2 months I have been battling with a 6.5 stone that has not been so graceful leaving my body. Right now it is in my lower ureter. Keeping positive it will leave soon. This is my first stone. I dont want to undergo any type of surgery.
Potassium Citrate. I have been on this for years. I have gone from several stones a year to none the past 5 years. I am in my early 60’s. Lately I have noticed the tablets in the toilet with a BM. Why are they just passing through? That can not be good! I do have a lot of loose stools from intestinal surgery 32 years ago.
You should consult with your pharmacist. Depending on the label/generic brand of the pill it may take the form of a time-release tablet. To the eye of the average consumer they may appear just like your typical compresses powder tablet (think aspirin/Tylenol tablets), but they actually have a micro-coating of permeable plastic. As this travels thru your stomach and digestive tract the soluble medication is slowly dispensed in your body while the plastic shell is eliminated in the stool, sometimes retaining the same appearance as when it was taken. If you collect and examine it (I know, ewwwww), you can usual detect that it’s an empty shell.
Three months ago, I felt kidney stone pain, which I recognized from having them several times before. The last time 4 years ago required surgery, as it was a 9 mm stone. I had since lost my insurance so decided to wait, even though the pain at first was very intense. I eventually became tolerant of the pain and it became discomfort more than anything else. Well, two days ago, when I woke up, a small kidney stone, maybe 2 mm in size passed. I thought I was done. Later that morning, when I went to the bathroom, I had six stones pass at once, I’d guess in the 2-3mm range. Then one more passed the next time I went, even larger, maybe 4mm. That night, as I went to bed, another one passed, at least 4mm, perhaps a bit larger. Then last night, two more in the 3-4 mm range passed. None have passed today but I have felt like there is more that want to pass. I have uric acid stones, recently stopped caffeine and soda, upped my water intake, had gotten lax with taking my potassium citrate pills for several months but are now on them regularly again. How unusual is this?
I, too, suffer from uric acid stones. I have made major changes in life recently due to having my second laser lithotripsy surgery a short while ago. I an now vegetarian, and make sure I take those little urocit-k pills religiously! I have had several stones over the years, well over 20 now. It is not uncommon four me to have what my urologist refers to a “showers” of stones sometimes. Like you are describing, I may pass several small-m ed ium stones at a time. It usually means a larger or poorly formed stone has broken up and us passing in pieces. I just make sure I up my water intake to try and flush my kidneys
and help the stones all clear. Good luck with that, sounds like you should be glad that one broke up! “water, wster, wster…”
So just three days ago I went to the bathroom, no pain or discomfort what so ever. Then when I got up to flush the bowl was pretty much just filled with blood. I won’t lie I panicked a little, and got into see my doctor the next day. They took a sample and I had a 3+ blood count in that sample *doc said that was the highest the scale went*. So the day after my doctor visit they had me get a CT scan and just today *Aug 17* they let me know I have a kidney stone in my right one. As for the size I don’t know, as they didn’t say, but they said I didn’t have to take any medication to break it up or anything like that. They told me to just drink a lot and that should pass it. Though even with all the water I’ve been drinking in the past two days *I’ve lost count of how much I’ve drank @ A @* I’m still urinating a large amount of blood, in the sense I can look in the bowl after and it is all red still/mostly blood. I still don’t have any pain, other then a slight pressure in my right side and a few short pinches here and there at times, so for that I am truly thankful for.
This is my first time with a kidney stone, and the blood is what has me concerned the most. As well as feeling dizzy/nauseous at work. I don’t want to call off more then I have to, as I don’t want to risk getting fired, but with the nauseous feeling, I work around food and almost lost my crackers two days ago while working because the smell of any/all food just turns my stomach now *which only just started when the other symptoms of the stone became more apparent*.
I guess my question is, how much blood is ‘normal’ for kidney stones? Each time I go it varies, to mass amounts *whole bowl is red*, to mostly red, to just some mixed in. My doctor told me if there is still blood by Monday to call them back……….which I guess they’ll have to help me pass the stone then if it isn’t out???? I really don’t know D:
Sorry if I rambled, I’m just a little freaked out by thinking a stone is cutting up my ‘tubes’ ha ha, and seeing blood in the toilet is never a ‘happy’ feeling D:.
A small amount of blood can cause your urine to look very red. Just add a few drops of blood to a glass and you will immediately see it spread and color even a large amount of fluid. In almost all cases, the bleeding from a stone episode, while very disconcerting, is usually not enough to be by itself a risk to you. Of course, if you have symptoms of lightheadness, are passing thick blood or clots, or have other worrisome symptoms you should seek care immediately.
While stones do cause trauma to the lining of the ureters (which prompts the bleeding), they usually don’t “cut” or damage the tissue like many patients imagine. The exception is for large stones that are stuck for long periods of time. These “impacted” stones can lead to scarring of the ureter and therefore prompt evaluation by a urologist is always recommended when a patient experiences a stone to determine how significant a stone is and whether it needs treatment.
How long does the back pain / abdominal pain last after kidney stone surgery? My hubby had a ureterscopy with laser lithotripsy to remove a 4mm stone, with no stent placement. One day after surgery he is feeling better than he was, but he is still experiencing some of the back and abdominal. He is on an antibiotic, pyridium, and has pain meds. Just want to know how long it has taken those of you who have experienced this to feel GOOD. Thanks!
I was dianosed on Thursday morning with a 5-mm stone. It’s Sunday now and hasn’t yet passed; however, I have a urologist appointment tomorrow morning to find out more. My question is more a pragmatic one: if it takes (in theory) a couple weeks to pass the stone, is it recommended that I stay home from work for the duration? I have an office job, but the pain is excruciating and I can’t imagine going to work (or driving!) on painkillers. What do you generally recommend; and/or should I be looking into short-term disability? This is a wonderful and informative page – I’m so glad I found it.
Each patient’s experience is unique. While some individuals passing a stone can continue to work, others need to take time off due to the pain and the need for pain killers. Talk to your urologist to help make a decision in your situation.
I suffered from my first kidney stone at an early age. I was 17 years-old and in high school. It hit me during my first class of the day. I suppose my body was more resilient then because by 9 pm that night, I had already passed the stone. At 22 I had my second kidney stone episode. Although it was dreadfully painful, I was able to pass the stone within 24 hours. As the years went on the frequency of my stones and the time in which it took me to pass them increased, By the time my third kidney stone episode came around, I was very familiar with the warning signs that one was beginning. I generally experienced symptoms similar to a UTI. When I began to experience those symptoms, I immediately sought medical attention. I thought that by being proactive, I could have the necessary medication in hand before the pain began so I would not have to wait in agony later on. When I went to the doctor, they diagnosed me with a UTI and sent me home with just an antibiotic. Unsurprisingly, within 2 days, I was crippled over in pain that was so intense that I could neither walk nor keep myself from vomiting. I had to visit the doctor again, who this time finally prescribed the pain medication. It took 4 days for me to pass that stone. I had my fourth episode a year later at 27, and it began the same way–symptoms of a UTI. At the time I did not have health insurance, so I tried to just wait it out without medical intervention. That was a bad idea. After 3 days of continuous pain, I finally went to an urgent care clinic, was prescribed pain medication, which was a relief. It took 8 long days for that stone to pass. I also had my fifth episode within the same year. This time; however, I had 3 stones at once. After 2 weeks, the stones still had not passed, so I made an appointment with a urologist, who ensured me they would pass within 10 to 14 days. Unfortunately, he was wrong, and 2 months after the episode began, I had to have surgery to remove the stones. Since then, I have had kidney pain off and on. I spoke to the nurse at my urologist’s office, and she told me that it was just inflammation and that it wasn’t anything to worry about. The strangest thing is that last Friday, my doctor, after running some routine tests, informed me that I had a UTI I wasn’t experiencing any of the symptoms of a UTI, but at 5 am the following Sunday morning I awoke to pain in my kidney. I went to the ER, where they tested my urine for an infection and performed an ultrasound of my kidneys. Both showed no signs of a stone or infection. I have a CT scan scheduled with my urologist, but they even seem baffled as to why I am having any pain. I had an appointment with them yesterday, and they ran a urine test, which also showed no signs of infection or a stone. Is it possible that all the stones I’ve had over the years or the uteroscopy surgery I had could have damaged my kidney? Since my surgery, not only have I had sporadic kidney pain, but I have also had fatigue, muscle weakness and pain, bone pain, dizziness, and increased heart rate. Is there any way this could all be related. I haven’t felt well in months, and my doctors have diagnosed me with anxiety and depression; however, I don’t feel depressed or anxious. I just feel sick. Has anyone else had any similar experiences?
Ash, you have my sincere sympathies.
Like you, my kidney problems started in my teens ( I’m 50 years old now) .
I was coming home from a night out with my then girlfriend ( now , wife) , I was 18 years old, a very fit cyclist and tennis player, and thought I was invincible.
The pain hit like a red hot needle right up from my testicles and into the deepest cavity of my left flank. A couple of hours later I passed a small stone.
Over the years following, it happened in no greater severity 6 or 7 times.
I grew to accept it as just me being “me” … Never sought medical help, took painkillers and rode it out.
Then igot older, fatter, less fit, and with other health issues.
I contracted M.E in 1994 and that killed off all my fitness regimes and turned me into a prematurely “old man”
Just over 3 years ago, I started experiencing agonising , regular bouts of abdominal pain. I didn’t associate it with kidney stones as it felt a million times worse than anything else I’d experienced. I just thought it was yet another downward slide in health resulting from the M.E.
Eventually, a few months of this worsening agonising pain ( I avoid doctors and hospitals like the plague) alarmed my wife and family so much, I relented in the early hours of an April morning in 2010 , and let my wife call an ambulance.
Good timing.
My right kidney had been fully blocked by a huge stone, and I was hours away from a very, VERY, serious problem. By the time they scanned it it was swollen to an alarming size.
Immediate nephrostomy under local anaesthetic to release the pressure, save my kidney and save my life, and then a few weeks later a laser lithotripsy to blast it and remove the pieces.
I’m a 50-50 stoner… 50% alkaline, 50% acid. So there’s no treatment for prevention other than living on house dust and grass cuttings… Which I refuse to do. The problem is, I’ll form them my whole life if I don’t eat cardboard and talcum powder as a staple diet…. And sure enough, the last 3 months all the signs are back : nagging to serious colic and gut pain, various shades of urine from purple- brown through to pink and bright red.
I suppose I should have booked into hospital at the first signs, but the devil in me refuses to be a bother. I’m due to see my original consultant next Friday, but in my long winded reply to you Ash, I just wanted to add background to my answer…”yes” … In the 2 years since my operations, I’ve suffered constant aches and pains in my lower back and sides, my heart rate is now permanently 100+ ( tachycardic) even at rest, and my BP is controlled by meds.
Are they all connected?
I have no idea… Neither do the doctors.
Ours , apparently, is not to reason why… Ours, apparently, is to Simply do…or die.
Preferably later, rather than sooner.
Anyways, best of luck Ash.
Honey, you need to have your calcium and PTH level tested. You have all the symptoms of hyperparathyroidism. Go to your family doctor or an endocrinologist SOON. Good luck!
7/8/2012 Sunday Morning I woke up fine started doing my Sunday chores finished. Took a shower went to lay down and just relax and all of a sudden I felt this strange pain on my ride side lower back at first it was a sharp pain. Then all of a sudden I felt nausea starting vomiting and the pain was so intense that within 20 min I asked my husband to take me to the emergency room. Once I arrived the er did give me medication to ease my pain a scan was done which did show a 5 mm kidney stone I was then discharged from Hosiptal with pain medication and was told to see a urologist Monday . I was able to been seen by the doctor and was given two options drink plenty of water and take medication try to pass the stone or laser surgery. Well I opted no surgery. Today is Friday the 13th and Im still in pain and the doctor will be doing outpatient surgery on Monday 8am.
I’m a female 39 yrs old with two healthy children. :).
I am feeling afraid of the stent that is left in for two weeks .
After reading some of these post it sounds like my stone was to big from the beginning to pass and I’ve been in pain for 8 days as Monday for no reason.
Giving your stone a chance to pass by itself was not unreasonable. Stones 5mm in size have about a 50-60% chance of passing successfully but this process can take 3 to 6 weeks.
We have an infographic that describes your chances of passing a stone if you want more information.
On July 3, 2012 I had right side flank pain and got appointment to see my PCP that same day. She treated like kidney infection and ran some blood tests. That same night, by 10:30 PM PCP’s office recommended I go in to emergency room when I explained the pain was so severe I was now vomiting. The emergency visit ended up getting me admitted to hospital where they inserted 2 stints (both kidneys partially blocked) even though I only felt pain in my right side. Released from hospital July 5th and on July 13th surgeon performed Cepto, Bilot, ureteroscopy, laser,stints as outpatient in their surgery center. It is now July 15th and I am beginning to feel human again although stints were replaced and are scheduled for removal on 7/25. It has been a road to say the least but I’m so thankful for the skilled hands of my surgeon. The pain was so bad, it is very difficult to describe and hope I never face it again. Don’t fear a surgery, it has been my best friend in this. It’s very non-invasive with no incisions. Amazing!
The stent is at most “uncomfortable” but compaired to the passing of the stone it doesn’t come close….I’m a 34 year old mother of 2 and I’ve been doing this since I was 16. The only thing I can tell you is that every time you wear that stent it stretches out your urethra and it makes passing smaller stones possible! I’m on a small water pill called hctz 25mg…..hydrochlorathyizide. It’s kept me from forming grape sized stones for 8 years now. Just small ones. Hang in there….praying for you here in Oklahoma! Go Sooners!
I have had 7 experiences with stones but they are all different. They stopped after I had radiation for brain tumors in 2006. But out of no where 4 weeks ago a familiar feeing came back, but a bit different. They said I had a urinary infection or herpes. I went on antibiotics, 2 rounds , still in horrific pain. Finallly drove myself to the er. They soothed the pain for one night. Found a new neurologist on Thursday had surgery on Friday, still not sure what happened exactly. I know they put in a stent. I have been in unbelievable pain every since I returned home. Help! There is blood in the urine, which I expected, but the pain from urinating is unbearable, spasms, cramping, no rest, severe pain and I gained 7 lbs. Anybody have any similarities?
I was just diagnosed for a 1.5cm kidney stone on my left side, a kidney infection on the right side, and one other problem. I have never had stones or infection before in either of my kidneys. I am terrified because I keep reading that mine is really big in size. If it is that big why didnt the hospital keep me and remove it, while I was there with an infection as well. I am really scared now because I dont want to rupture or something. I have of course been put on Cipro for the infection. I do not have insurance because I was recently laid off, and I explained this to the ER physician. Any advice would be appreciated.
A stone of that size will eventually need to be treated surgically but will not necessarily cause kidney damage in the short term. Hopefully you will be able to obtain insurance sometime in the future or obtain some other assistance to allow you to address your stone soon. In the meantime, if you have symptoms of a worsening infection or increased pain, you will need to return to the ER for immediate attention. Emergency care is mandated by law.
I am having a rough time with another one I fear is also too big to pass. The last one I had was only 3mm and I was told it would pass for a month. After 6 visits to the ER over the course of 2 weeks, they FINALLY decided to remove. I am having the same symptoms I had when things got bad last time. Went to the hospital for it a month ago and they would not give me another cat scan because of the radiation. Now it’s so painful I’m not eating or sleeping. I’ve had tinges of blood in my urine for 2 days. How can I get help for this at the ER without getting the runaround? I just need to know how big it is. 3mm or bigger…not gonna pass. I’m scared. And hurting. =(
I know I might sound dumb asking this but some body said me that if I have stone in my left kidney then it needs to pass to the right one to come out.. It sounded like weird to me but I need to confirm it if what she said was true. Because I am a Science student I am sure that is not the case. The kidneys work independently, don’t they? Like one kidney doesn’t depend on other one to pass a stone. Right? It would directly pass it to the ureter. This is what I believe. Please leave a reply confirming it. Appreciate the help. Thanks.
The kidneys are separate. A stone would not be able to pass from one to the other. You can see our diagram of the urinary system to see how the kidneys relate to each other.
I’m 21. Female, Hispanic leaving in Florida. I had been with abdominal and back pain since April 2011, where the pain was so bad that I almost vomited. Later on August of that same year I had high fevers for about 3 weeks and vomited almost every day. I’ve never experienced the kidney stone pain, so I thought it was gas or problems in digestion. The doctor that I was seeing, because of the fever, thought it was just a common cold and said that it was just probably gas like I said. Throughout September and November, during an internship in Colombia. I had fevers frequently, and woke up vomiting once every two weeks. I have a high tolerance for pain (I discovered that through this experience)…Since the pain came and went, I asked my parents to go to my country once I finished my internship, to see a doctor because I thought I had digestion problems (they agreed)..My fevers got so bad, where I couldn’t stop shaking and a friend took me to a hospital where they injected me penicillin, it was like a switch that got me through another 2 weeks, but the fevers came back, where I was vomiting (again) and fainting…In December I went to my country, because we have so many family doctors…My aunt checked me, gave me a bump with her fist on my back and once I twitched when she did it on my left side, she knew it was a kidney stone and a tomography confirmed it, but they thought I could pass the stone. My uncle, an urologist, after I was in severe pain for a whole weekend with fever, vomiting, and fainting; said I had to be hospitalize. Then, he did several of tests and concluded that it was best to do a percutaneous lithotripsy, but when they inserted a catheter to drain my kidney (before starting the procedure), a bunch of puss came out and he stopped it, and just put a double J catheter, allot of antibiotics in my kidney and cleaned it. I was at a risk of a septicemia, but the penicillin had capsuled the infection. After 2 months of treatment with antibiotics and with a double J catheter inside, I had surgery on Feb 2, 2012. The stones came out fine without having to break them. A biopsy done at a Boston hospital said it was form by calcium and a bacteria from UTIs, which I had suffer all my life from. Right now, I’m in the process of having my metabolism checked to see how much calcium and other minerals are passed through my urine, so the doctor can put me on a diet or to conclude that it was a struvite stone caused from UTIs.
I just wanted to tell this story, because I put all my trust in a doctor that told me I just had gas and a bad cold…when I almost suffered a septicemia. Really pay attention to your symptoms and get a second opinion. Wouldn’t wish this to anyone! It was a complete nightmare
Is it likey for a non-obstructive stone to cause sever back pain and occassional (2-5x a week) nausea for 8 months?
See our page on kidney stone pain:
https://www.kidneystoners.org/information/why-do-stones-hurt/
I have noticed when I have had stones that after I passed one, a month to few months later I had one in other kidney. I would like to throw this out and see if this is common as some might pass one or both w/o noticing.
I just found out that I have a kidney stone, 1.1 cm. I have to take care of other issues first.
Is this a big stone, and is it possible to pass.
A stone that size is unlikely to pass. Generally, stones larger than 6-7mm do not pass on their own.
YOU SHALL NOT PASS!! as Gandalf said in that Hobbit movie. Sorry but that big is gonna need some help. THe ureter is only 4 mm in diam. Unless you have HUGE ureters it will not go through.
1.1 CM? Holy moly I am sorry! Mine was only 3MM and I had to get it removed.
I’ve been told that it’s not unusual to have a large stone(s) and be asymptomatic your whole life. If the stone is too large to block or become stuck in the ureter then it may tend to just slosh around (so to speak), undiagnosed for years. It may never be discovered unless you succumb to circumstances requiring an autopsy. I’ve witnessed several where the kidneys are bisected and contain stones ranging from a pea to a large grape.
Can i take radish during kidney stone and tell me the other thing that should be avoide
thanks
Radishes appear to have low oxalate content and do not appear to increase the risk of stones. They do not need to be avoided. In general, stone formers should drink plenty of fluids and avoid excessive salt or meat intake.
Dr. Nguyen, in your response to Guarav you state that one should avoid excessive meat intake. I am of medium build and in good health. If I eat a couple hamburgers at supper and partake of a good-sized steak on infrequent occasions, is this okay? I guess my question is: If there is an occasional “splurge”, is that bad and can that one “splurge” cause the formation of a stone? Thanks
We’re not aware of data showing that stone formation is caused by single “splurges”. When we talk about protein and salt intake, it is a long term process and dietary patterns over many months are probably what lead to an increased risk for stones. Fluid intake and dehydration appears to have the fastest influence- when subjected to extremes of temperature, stones can form in as short a period of time as three months. This is based on research of soldiers deploying to Kuwait and Iraq where the mean time to development of a symptomatic stone was 93 days in the hot desert environment.
As for specific protein recommendations, we suggest stone formers aim for an average of 6 oz of protein a day. This is the same recommendation that the USDA recommends for all adults. We also believe that having some flexibility in your diet plan makes it easier to stick with it long term – so an occasional steak is okay if that is what you enjoy. Just try to keep your overall average of protein intake moderate. We have examples of how much protein is in different foods here: https://www.kidneystoners.org/prevention/dietary-prevention/#protein
Dr. Mike Nguyen
i work in Afghanistan and i would like to read the study you mentioned in your last post about the deployed service men.
The study we referenced was:
“Time to development of symptomatic urinary calculi in a high risk environment.”
Evans K, Costabile RA.Journal of Urology. 2005 Mar;173(3):858-61.
This is the link to the Pubmed page:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15711293