Symptoms & Diagnosis/Testing
Kidney stones are suspected when there is pain in the side or back. The most severe pain occurs when the stones are moving and get lodged in the urinary tract. This pain-also called ‘colic’- has often been described as the most severe pain a human will endure, and typically patients are restless and cannot get comfortable in any position. The size of the stone does not usually correlate with the degree of pain- large stones sitting in the kidney cause less pain than smaller stones that are moving down the urinary tract. The pain may come and go, depending on the amount of obstruction. In fact, when a stone has been present for over 2-3 days, often the severe pain subsides even though the stone is still stuck in the ureter. As the stone moves down towards the bladder, often the pain will move down and towards the urethra, causing a more frequent urge to urinate. Sometimes there is visible blood in the urine.
An abdominal examination and urinalysis are usually done, to make sure there are not other problems. Usually, there is microscopic blood seen on the urinalysis. The only way to be sure of the diagnosis of a stone is to have an imaging study performed. These include a CT scan, ultrasound or plain Xray (called a KUB).
|
