6. Extreme Abdominal Pain

Kidney stone pain is excruciating, oftentimes likened to the pain that women experience when going into labor. Since the kidneys are located near the abdominal cavity, patients with kidney stones often present with stomach pain, which they describe as gradual in onset, coming and going in waves as it slowly builds up in intensity. It is debilitating, with patients unable to move once the pain attacks.

Kidney stone pain, or renal colic, happens when a kidney stone becomes dislodged and moves into the ureter, a narrow tube that transports urine from the kidney into the urinary bladder. The stone, which is usually much larger than the ureter’s diameter, stretches its walls as it passes through, causing severe pain.