Kidney StoneFollowing a recent bout of excruciating abdominal pain and vomiting I was diagnosed as having kidney stones. What exactly are kidney stones?
Kidney stones are small hard "stones" that form in the kidneys and sometimes move into the ureter, the tube that links the kidneys to the bladder. They vary in size from minute to the size of a golf ball.
It is possible to have only one but is equally possible for several to develop. A stone usually begins as a tiny, sand-like speck of material in the kidney. Material in urine, particularly calcium, builds up on this speck causing it to increase in size. Most are flushed out of the kidneys while they are still small and they cause no problems. But some remain, growing larger over a period of time.
The level of pain I experienced was unbelievable. What caused the pain?
Passing a stone can be intensely painful. This is due to the movement of the stone through the ureter which stretches the narrow tube and causes severe spasm. The first sign of a kidney stone is usually the onset of colicky pain and vomiting as you have described.
The pain tends to last for a few hours until the stone is passed through to the bladder. Occasionally a small amount of blood may be noticed in the urine.
If your doctor suspects you are passing a stone, he will administer a pain-killing injection to help reduce the pain.
An anti-inflammatory drug in oral or suppository form is usually prescribed after the attack has settled to reduce the inflammation in the tissues. Special x-rays and urine tests help confirm the diagnosis.
I've heard you can have some form of shock therapy to remove the stone. What is this?
The shock therapy you refer to is used to shatter the stone into smaller pieces, allowing them pass out of the body more easily. The specialist treatment is called lithotripsy.