What Are The Symptoms Of Kidney Stones

What are the symptoms of kidney stones? Here are some signs and symptoms to look for in case you think you may have a kidney stone.

• Blood in the urine accompanied by pain
• Pain in the lower back
• Pain in the lower stomach/belly area
• Pain in your side
• Painful to sit, stand or lay down
• Nausea
• Vomiting

Pain is the most common symptom.  Many people who have kidney stones end up seeing blood in their urine. If there is pain associated with the bleeding, it is likely a kidney stone. If there is no pain, it may be bladder cancer.

If there is pain in your side, it could be something like appendicitis, or even associated with an infection or STD.

How do you check for kidney stones?

If you have pain in your side, back or lower belly area and it’s accompanied by blood in your urine, or you see actual calcium-like deposits that look like small stones; those are the most common signs. But it’s a good idea if you have some of the symptoms, to not wait for signs and instead go see a family doctor to get a checkup.

Kidney stones are diagnosed by a variety of different methods from different doctors, depending on symptoms described by the patient. here are a few…

• Blood Tests – Too much calcium and uric acid can be detected in the blood, helping to develop a diagnosis
• Urine Tests – A strainer used during urination may be used to catch mineral and calcium deposits
• Images Tests – X-Rays can detect larger stones, although smaller stones may not be detected

How do you know if you have passed a kidney stone?

You will know you may have kidney stones if you have mild to severe pain during urination. You might also see small calcium deposits that look like small white stones. They can be a small as salt grains or as large as rocks.

The stones form in the bladder and eventually make their way through the urinary passage. They do not dissolve and sometimes, in the case of having a kidney stone as big as a rock or marble, may have to be surgically removed.

What are the 4 types of kidney stones?

A direct quote from the American Kidney Foundation gives good examples of the 4 types of kidney stones.

• Calcium Stones – Calcium stones are the most common type of kidney stones. They are usually made of calcium and oxalate (a natural chemical found in most foods), but are sometimes made of calcium and phosphate.
• Uric Acid Stones – Uric acid stones form when your urine is often too acidic. Uric acid can form stones by itself or with calcium.
• Struvite Stones – can happen when you have certain types of urinary tract infections in which bacteria make ammonia that builds up in your urine. Struvite stones are made of magnesium, ammonium and phosphate.
• Cystine – stones are made of a chemical that your body makes naturally, called cystine. Cystine stones are very rare, and happen in people who have a genetic disorder that causes cystine to leak from the kidneys into the urine.

Kidney stones are formed from mineral deposits and calcium mixing with oxalates. There are certain foods to avoid for kidney stone treatment.

[title size=”2″]Think You May Have A Kidney Stone? – Call (406) 334-2204[/title]

At Whitefish Family Doctor we believe in treating the whole person, if you think you may have the symptoms of a kidney stone or are having trouble sitting down, lying down or are urinating blood, please contact us.