A sharp, throbbing pain in the back or kidneys may be your first indication that you have kidney stones. A leading cause of trips to the ER, kidney stones can be very debilitating. Over 500,000 people go to the ER each year for kidney stones, and one in ten people will experience them at some point in their lives.1 The physicians at Medco ER in Plano, TX, are here to help you identify and understand the problems associated with a blockage of the ureter caused by kidney stones.
Symptoms2
- Sharp pain in your back, side, abdomen or groin
- Blood in the urine – pink, red or brown
- Urgent and frequent need to urinate
- Painful urination
- Cloudy urine
- Bad smelling urine
- Inability to urinate
- Nausea and vomiting
- Fever and chills
Risk Factors
- Obesity
- Under hydration (not enough fluids in diet)
- Lack of calcium
- Too much salt in diet
- Too much sugar or high fructose corn syrup in diet
- Bariatric surgery
- Family history
- Exercise – too much or too little
“If you don’t drink enough water each day or you have a diet high in sugars and salt,” said Medco ER’s Medical Director, Dr. Nasir Khan, “you may increase your risk of kidney stones. If it runs in your family, your first line of defense is drinking plenty of water daily.”
Types of Stones
“Kidney stones are caused by high levels of certain minerals in the urine,” said Dr. Khan. “Normally, they wouldn’t be a problem, but at high levels they start to build up and cause calcification that turns into stones.”
- Calcium oxalate – most common kidney stones formed when you don’t get enough fluids or calcium3
- Uric acid – high levels of purine from some meats and shellfish can cause these kidney stones that often run in families3
- Struvite – less common, these are formed from upper urinary tract infections3
- Cystine – these kidney stones are caused by a rare condition that is passed down in families that can be treated but not cured3
Prevention
Drink plenty of water to keep the color of your urine light or clear. Limit sugar, high fructose corn syrup and salty foods. Eat more fruits and vegetables to lower the acidity of the urine. Lose weight if you are overweight, but avoid high protein diets. Consult a registered dietician for weight loss tips and to understand what foods bind with calcium to cause kidney stones.
Treatment
Treatments may include:1
- Waiting to see if the stone passes on its own
- Shockwaves (lithotripsy) directed at the stone to break it up into tiny pieces
- Ureteroscopy of the ureter which uses a long tube to take out the stone or break it into smaller pieces with a laser
- Percutaneous nephrolithotomy makes a small cut in the back and inserts a viewing tool to locate and remove the kidney stone directly from the kidney
Get Help Fast at Medco ER
When an abdominal X-ray or CT scan, coupled with a urine or blood analysis, can quickly show the presence of kidney stones, you want to go to an ER that has everything available right when you need it. At Medco ER, we’re open 24/7 and have the imaging equipment and rapid results labs to identify and to begin to treat kidney stones.
Plano: 3960 Legacy Drive, Plano, TX 75023 (on the corner of Legacy and Coit Road)
Call us @ 469-747-0370
1 https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/kidneystones
2 https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/kidney-stones/symptoms-causes
3https://www.kidneyfund.org/all-about-kidneys/other-kidney-problems/kidney-stones