Symptoms and Diagnosis of Kidney Stones

If you have a kidney stone that is moving, the pain will probably start out as a dull ache in your abdomen or flank and sometimes in your back. Over the course of a few hours, the pain will get more intense and harder to manage. At that point, you will probably not be able to sit still and you will not be able to find any position that helps alleviate the pain.  Doctors commonly call this “The Kidney Stone Dance.”

Eventually you may also feel nauseated. The pain may fluctuate over the period of about 15 minutes or so and at times it will become very intense. It is also quite common to feel a burning sensation with Kidney Stones when you urinate and you may see some blood in the urine. Sometimes the amount of blood in the urine is so small it can only be seen under a microscope.

It is highly recommended that you visit the emergency department of the local hospital  immediately, if you are experiencing the symptoms described in this article, and not wait to see the doctor. There are many other things it could be other than Kidney Stones and only a doctor or consultant can make the diagnosis.

Once you arrive at the emergency department, a nurse will usually take your vital signs and the doctor will give you an initial physical exam. To begin with, the doctor is going to try and rule out appendicitis.

Next, you will be asked to give a urine sample so they can check for blood in the urine as well as tests for many other things.