Detailed Kidney Stone Symptoms

If you have ever experienced kidney stone symptoms, you know just how excruciating the pain can be and how uncomfortable you can feel. Some have even likened the pain to those of delivering a baby. The stabbing pain can leave you bent over, gasping for breath and wishing it would stop. While pain killers often provide quick relief, it is only temporary. Many sufferers must seek help, including intravenous fluid treatments, and even surgery to get rid of kidney stones. The pain will never stop until you pass the kidney out of your body or it is surgically removed.
Diagnosing Kidney Stone Signs and Symptoms

While it can be difficult to identify because many of the symptoms seem general and could be attributed to another of things, there are certain things to look for in diagnosing kidney stones.

What makes it additionally difficult to diagnose is that sufferers can experience different types of symptoms. Some may feel a dull ache in their lower back over a period of time while others are jolted by crippling, stabbing pains. Kidney stones located above the kidney pelvis - a basin-shaped cavity at the base of each kidney where urine is channeled - do not even cause symptoms. When a kidney stone moves into the ureter - the tube that transports urine from the kidney to the bladder - it can prevent the drainage of urine from the kidney.

Kidney Stone Symptoms

Some of the most common kidney stone symptoms include:

Extreme Pain: When a stone travels into the urinary tract, the area can become blocked or irritated, causing pain. Often referred to as renal colic, this pain causes cramps that are felt as the muscular wall of the ureter contracts when it is trying to push the stone into the bladder. The pain is usually located on the side or middle of the abdomen and it can also travel into the groin, depending on how low the stone is in the ureter. The pain may make it difficult to walk, raise your arms above your head, stand up from a bent-over position, and complete common daily chores.

The black patches around the abdomen depict the potential areas of pain caused by kidney stones

This type of pain lasts a few minutes with short relief intervals before it starts again. Instead of dissipating, the pain can increase incrementally after a few hours or days, depending on the size and location of the kidney stone. Some sufferers can identify where the pain is because they experience specific cramping. Others can feel a definite tension in the kidney area as if their urine was trying to get past a blockage. As if the pain wasn’t enough, nausea and vomiting can occur in response to the cramping sensation.

An interesting fact is that the size of the stone does not necessarily correlate to the severity of the pain. For example, you can have a very tiny crystal that has sharp edges, which lead to intense pain. On the other hand, a larger round stone may not be as distressing as you may think.

Fever/Chills/Disorientation: Along with aches and piercing pain, many people with kidney stone symptoms experience disorientation and fatigue. This may involve a fever or chills - a possible sign of an infection. If this is the case, it is best to contact a doctor immediately. With these symptoms, thought processes may become cloudy and energy levels may become greatly depleted. Related to these symptoms, nausea and grogginess may also appear.