Symptoms of Kidney Stones
by Jean Baker, MS, RD
Usually, the first sign of a kidney stone is intense pain in your mid-back or side. The stone irritates or blocks a section of your urinary tract. The pain may spread to your groin area and inner side of your thigh (depending on the location of the stone), and the sudden onset of pain may cause nausea and vomiting. The pain may come and go in waves. Those who are passing kidney stones often find it difficult to find a comfortable position. There may also be pain with urination, urgency, or urinary frequency and some blood in your urine if the stone has irritated the surrounding tissue.
Call your doctor if you are experiencing:
Kidney stones. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases website. Available at:
...(Click grey area to select URL)
Accessed March 6, 2017.
Nephrolithiasis. EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at:http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T114904/Nephrolithiasis. Updated January 15, 2017. Accessed March 6, 2017.
Parmar MS. Kidney stones. BMJ. 2004;328(7453):1120-1124.
Last reviewed March 2017 by Adrienne Carmack, MD
Last Updated: 3/15/2015
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