You’ll Likely Feel Pain When You Have a Kidney Stone
Kidney stones can grow quietly within a kidney without causing any symptoms for months or even years, says John C. Lieske, MD, a consultant in the division of nephrology and hypertension at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. However, when a stone breaks loose, it can block the ureter (the small tube that drains urine from the kidney and transports it to the bladder) and start causing a lot of pain.
When the ureter is blocked, the backup of urine makes the kidney swell, explains Daniel Marchalik, MD, a urologist and director of the kidney stone program at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. “The size of the stone isn’t always important,” he says. “Even small stones can become lodged in the ureter and cause a backup of urine and severe pain.”
As the stone travels through the urinary tract, pain can shift from either side of the lower back to the abdomen and the groin, says Dr. Marchalik. Sharp, stabbing pain that comes in waves is common.
“Some women say the pain is worse than childbirth,” adds Naim Maalouf, MD, a professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Overall, symptoms tend to be similar in men and women. However, men can sometimes experience pain radiating to the tip of their penis when the stone is low in the ureter, says Marchalik.