Kidney Stone Pain ... Is It Truly As Terrible As Everyone Claims?

People who have experienced kidney stone pain speak just about reverently about the experience:

"Excruciating"

"I wanted to die"

"Absolutely the worst thing that ever happened to me"

"It's like a knife being stabbed in your gut, and then twisted"

And then the old standby, the one everyone's heard, emphatically stated by any mothers who have had a kidney stone ...

"It was a lot worse than giving birth!"

Can kidney stone pain really be all that bad?

Fine, I can give you a perfect answer when I say ...

YES!

You see, I've had more kidney stones than I can remember over the last 20-plus years. I'm a big, tough, ex-football player guy and many of the stones I've had have had me laying in a fetal position and whimpering like a child. I would have done anything, and I mean anything, to get a little kidney stone pain relief.

Kidney stones are not anything new, as scientists have actually found evidence of kidney stones in an Egyptian mummy over 7,000 years old (I bet I know what killed the unfortunate pharaoh!). Over 3 million people visit health care providers and there are over 500,000 emergency visits because of kidney stones.

What Leads to Kidney Stone Pain?

Strangely enough, medical professionals aren't even sure what causes kidney stones, but know why they can cause such pain.

Your kidneys filter your blood, makes urine, remove waste from your body, and help control your significant electrolyte levels. Urine moves from your kidney through narrow tubes known as ureters into your bladder, and then empties through a wider tube referred to as an uretha.

In some people, chemicals cyrstallize in the urine and form what is the beginning of a kidney stone. These are very small, but gradually grow over time. Most of the kidney stones, when they're small, actually pass out of the human body undetected through the ureter, bladder, and ethetha.

Troubles start on when these crystal stones grow larger. As long as they're in the kidney, they rarely cause problems.

But when then enter the ureter, that's when things can get painful.

Usually, you feel a very quickly and very sharp, cramping pain in your lower back and side close to your kidney or in the lower abdomen. This sudden pain is often accompanied by nausea, and vomiting.

Once in the ureter, the stone acts like a dam ... the kidney keeps pumping out urine, the urine gets blocked by the stone, and the kidney and ureter start to swell. It is this swelling that can cause such excruciating pain.

Kidney Stone Shapes Once in the ureter, the muscle tissue in the wall of the ureter try to squeeze the stone along it's means. Both the size and the shape of the stone affect how easily it moves along the ureter (I once had a 4mm "jagged" stone that ripped and tore its way down my ureter causing much bleeding and pain that was FAR WORSE than a 10mm stone that was smooth and seemed like a bullet).

(By the way, if you ever experience chills and fever throughout an episode, it may indicate an infection and you really, really need to contact a doctor immediately. You don't want to mess with an infection, especially a kidney infection.)

While the urine backup is what causes most of the pain, it's also what can push the stone down and into the bladder and which usually stops the kidney stone pain.

If you're susceptible to kidney stone pain, you should be happy to learn there are natural ways that might help with the pain, help dissolve the stone, and help you pass it quickly and fairy painlessly.

Dust Masks To Prevent The Breathing Of Harmful Allergy Causing Dust Particles
Dust masks will help to keep you away from harmful gases, vapors and fumes that abound all around us. If you notice, due to environmental harm, there are more and more toxins and pollutants all around us.

The N 95 Face Mask Can Easily Guard You Against Pandemic Diseases
When you get yourself an N 95 face mask you are protecting yourself against so many rampant diseases around you. During the swine flu pandemic the government in most countries had made it mandatory that all the people must wear an N 95 mask.

Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Prescribe An MP3 Player To Get Better Cognitive Health!
Caregivers for people who are suffering cognitive decline have long known that listening to old familiar music can have beneficial therapeutic effects. Now, new research is beginning to show that music therapy can not only make dementia sufferers feel better, it may actually make them better.

Is There A Best Hemorrhoid Treatment That Can Be Bought That's Highly Effective For Both Internal And External Hemroids?
Those who suffer from hemorrhoids are constantly looking for better treatments, ways to relieve and stop the pain and discomfort they suffer. There is an ongoing quest to find the best hemorrhoid treatment, which is what this article is all about.

Latest Fibromyalgia Remedies Which Look Promising For Victims
New fibromyalgia treatments are often discussed in medical conferences, and you can bet that at any given time, there are research studies being carried out around the country that will attempt to shed some light on this elusive and complicated condition.

Venapro Review - The Facts Associated With The Actual Hoopla. Must Go Through Before Anyone Buy
Hemorrhoids are a serious and unfortunate issue that often, the sufferer is hesitant to seek a solution.

Treating Gout Organically And Also Deterring It In The Future
Gout is a chronic and progressive disease resulting from too much uric acid in the body. Too much uric acid can form tiny crystals of urate, a salt derived from uric acid, which deposit in the body's tissues and especially the joints, causing recurring joint inflammation.

Assessing Generic Medicines Against Brand Name Medication.
In today's pharmaceutical marketplace, there is no shortage of quality and well known products to choose from. Most people are very well aware that just about every type of issue that could plague a person has it's own type of medicine to help alleviate it.

Using Pharmacy Critique Websites For More Reliable Internet Shopping
In general, there are two types of fraud committed by online pharmacies looking to prey on the misinformed or Internet novices. These scams have been so successful and garnered so much media attention due to the percentage of generic drug purchases from tech ignorant customers.

Using Pharmacy Reviews Directories For Secure Web Shopping
An online pharmacy can be a great advantage when you are trying to save money. Going with an online company comes with benefits and risks that need to be considered. Using an online pharmacy guide that checks each pharmacy is a must.

Adult Bed Wetting Lupus Plus Some Treatments To This Situation
Adult bed wetting can be caused by the autoimmune disease, Lupus Nephritis. However, because of the nature of bed wetting, and even the nature of Lupus Nephritis, it is important that you evaluate all possible causes of bed wetting in adults before jumping to any conclusions.