So what is a kidney stone and how much pain can it cause? Can these small little stones really cause a grown man to buckle down to his knees? The answer is “yes” and I know this from experience. A kidney stone can be very painful and it’s amazing how much pain they can cause; when they are so tiny in our bodies.

Normally the severe pain comes when the stone has left the kidney and is making its way down the ureter. When the stone gets trapped in the ureter it can start to cause a lot of problems; like fluid backing up into the kidney. If the stone stays trapped too long, it can cause serious damage to you and the kidney. When the fluid or urine starts to back up, it can cause the kidney to swell-up in size. The swelling of the kidney and no place for the fluid to go, due to the ureter being blocked, can all lead up to a lot of pain and even bring a grown man to his knees in agony.

Normally diet is the main cause of kidney stones and we are what we eat. They are many people that will give you theories and suggestions on what causes kidney stones and how to avoid them. The simple answer for most kidney stone sufferers is that you are not breaking down the calcium in your body properly. When you eat a slice of pizza, eat a chocolate candy bar, or drink a glass of milk, all of that calcium is building up in your kidneys and forming stones. Eventually these stones will leave the kidney and pass down the ureter into the bladder. After the stones get in the bladder, most will not suffer too much more pain. There is some pain that can come from the bladder until the stone exits the body, but this isn’t the really bad pains that most people think about. The really bad pains are the ones that come from the stone being stuck in the ureter and this is where the stone presents the most danger.

Now if the stone doesn’t leave the kidney in a reasonable amount of time or you are not drinking enough fluids, the stone can get too big to pass down the ureter. If this happens, then chances are the stone is only going to get bigger and bigger until it starts to cause pains there. A kidney stone can be the size of a BB or English Pea when it gets stuck in the ureter tube to cause so much pain. If the stone remains in the kidney, it could grow to grape size and really cause some damage to the kidneys. The best way to remove one like this is by having lithrotripsy done. The process of using shockwaves to break up the stone and turning it into sand, so it can pass out the body more easily. Normally you get some sedation for this procedure and you w0n’t feel a thing. You also get some good pain medication in case a few big chunks remain that will need to be passed later on.

Once your shockwave procedure is over, you will pee out a bunch of sand and blood the first time you go to the bathroom. They don’t always explain this too clearly at the Doctor’s office, but expect to pee sand and blood when you get home. You may do this a couple of times when you first urinate, but the sand and blood usually passes pretty quick.

Don’t get fooled by online websites claiming they know a home remedy for removing kidney stone pains. The only way to get rid of kidney stone pain is to go to the local emergency room and let them shoot you up with a good pain medicine. After you get a pain shot, you will feel much better, but if the stone doesn’t move any during this time, the pain could come back when the medication wears off. Just tell the Doc to give you another shot of pain medication and usually after the 2nd shot, you will be good to go back home and pass the stone at home. This is the only way to remove kidney stone pains. You can prevent these pains, if you eat a healthy diet, lower your in-take on calcium enriched foods, and drinking a ton of fluids one day out of the week. If you pick one day that you drink lots and lots of fluids; then you will flush out any small stones that may be forming and they won’t have a chance to grow in size.