Do You Have Kidney Stones

If there is blood when you urinate or you have pain coming from your back or pelvis, keep reading. If your response to these 2 questions is yes, then you might have kidney stones. The only way to make sure is to be examined by a doctor.

The two symptoms discussed are just a few of the symptoms that warn you if you have kidney stones. Additional symptoms include chills or fever, feeling or being sick, frequent urinating and feeling a burning sensation when you urinate.

It's difficult to determine just by how you feel if you do have kidney stones since these symptoms are likewise felt by people who have UTI or urinary tract infection.

By the time you see your doctor, he or she will need to do an array of tests. This may include going over your medical history, doing a physical exam and conducting some tests.

The most effective way to rule out UTI is to take a sample of urine or blood and be scanned by one or two machines that might be a computed tomography (CT) scan, intravenous pyelogram (IVP), retrograde pyelogram or X-ray.

To afford you a better understanding of what these two machines are;

The CT scan is employed not only to determine if you have a kidney stone. It is able be used for other purposes also. In the case of kidney stones, the physician will tell the technician to center your urinary system.

The main problem with the CT scan is that it cannot discover small stones if these are situated by the bladder. To be certain, an X-ray picture will be taken to inform the physician of the kidney stones orientation, size and shape.

The Intravenous Pyelogram or IVP is another choice and for this, you'll be injected with a contrasting agent. As soon as this is flowing through your kidneys, it will be simple for the machine to determine if you have a kidney stone blocking the ureter.

There are hazards in conducting this test particularly if you've a slight allergy to the fluid that was used.

The ultrasound has many additional functions and such as telling the size of your baby. The physician might also employ this device to see if you have kidney stones in your upper urinary tract or in your ureter. Regrettably, it can't be utilized to look for kidney stones in other parts of your body.

An additional test is called the retrograde pyelogram is a cytoscopy. This exam is like the IVP since it also uses a contrasting agent. The only difference is that as soon as you are injected, a thin telescopic instrument is used it to look at the bladder.

In many cases, patients who might have kidney stones don't have to go through these tests since the others discussed have already confirmed whether a kidney stone is present or not.

When physicians are certain that you do have kidney stones and ascertained the type of kidney stone you have, only then will they be able to address it. The doctor might or might not need to prescribe medicationfor you. In extreme cases, an operation might be the only choice.

Kidney stones occur more frequently to men than to women. If you sense something incorrect down there, do not wait until everything gets worse to see your physician.


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