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What Do My Kidneys
Do?
Your kidneys are bean-shaped organs,
each about the size of your fist. They are located near the middle
of your back, just below the rib cage. The kidneys are
sophisticated trash collectors. Every day, your kidneys process
about 200 quarts of blood to sift out about 2 quarts of waste
products and extra water. The waste and extra water become urine,
which flows to your bladder through tubes called ureters (YOOR-uh-ters).
Your bladder (BLAD-ur) stores urine until you go to the bathroom.
Wastes removed from the blood go to the
bladder.
The wastes in your blood come from the
normal breakdown of active muscle and from the food you eat. Your
body uses the food for energy and self-repair. After your body has
taken what it needs from the food, waste is sent to the blood. If
your kidneys did not remove these wastes, the wastes would build
up in the blood and damage your body.
In addition to removing wastes, your kidneys help control blood
pressure. They also help to make red blood cells and keep your
bones strong.
What Is a
Kidney Stone?
A kidney stone is a solid piece of
material that forms in the kidney out of substances in the urine.
A stone may stay in the kidney or break loose and travel down
the urinary tract. A small stone may pass all of the way out of
the body without causing too much pain.
A larger stone may get stuck in a ureter, the bladder, or the
urethra. A problem stone can block the flow of urine and cause
great pain.
Are All Kidney Stones
Alike?
No. There are four major types of
kidney stones.
- The most common type of stone contains calcium (KAL-see-um).
Calcium is a normal part of a healthy diet.
Calcium that is not used by the bones and muscles goes to
the kidneys. In most people, the kidneys flush out the extra
calcium with the rest of the urine. People who have calcium
stones keep the calcium in their kidneys.
The calcium that stays behind joins with other waste
products to form a stone.
- A struvite (STROO-vite) stone may form after an
infection in the urinary system. These stones contain the
mineral magnesium (mag-NEE-zee-um) and the waste product
ammonia (uh-MOH-nyuh).
- A uric (YOOR-ik) acid stone may form when
there is too much acid in the urine. If you tend to form uric
acid stones, you may need to cut back on the amount of meat
you eat.
- Cystine (SIS-teen) stones are rare. Cystine is one of
the building blocks that make up muscles, nerves, and other
parts of the body. Cystine can build up in the urine to form a
stone. The disease that causes cystine stones runs in
families.
What Do
Kidney Stones Look Like?
Kidney stones may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as
a pearl. Some stones are even as big as golf balls. Stones may be
smooth or jagged. They are usually yellow or brown.
 Golf-ball-sized
and brown
 Small and smooth
 Jagged and yellow
Kidney stones vary in size and shape.
These are not actual size.
What Can
My Doctor
Do About a
Problem Stone?
If you have a stone that will not pass
by itself, your doctor may need to take steps to get rid of it. In
the past, the only way to remove a problem stone was through
surgery.
Now, doctors have new ways to remove problem stones. The
following pages describe a few of these methods.
Shock Waves
Your doctor can use a machine to send shock waves directly to
the kidney stone. The shock waves break a large stone into small
stones that will pass through your urinary system with your urine.
The method does not require cutting open the body.
Two types of shock wave machines exist. With one machine, you
sit in a tub of water. With the other type of machine, you lie on
a table.
The full name for this method is extracorporeal (EKS-trah-kor-POR-ee-ul)
shock wave lithotripsy (LITH-oh-TRIP-see). Doctors often call it
ESWL for short. Lithotripsy is a Greek word that means stone
crushing.
Tunnel Surgery
In this method, the doctor makes a small cut into the patient's
back and makes a narrow tunnel through the skin to the stone
inside the kidney. With a special instrument that goes through the
tunnel, the doctor can find the stone and remove it. The technical
name for this method is percutaneous (PER-kyoo-TAY-nee-us)
nephrolithotomy (NEF-row-lith-AH-tuh-mee).
Ureteroscope
A ureteroscope (yoo-REE-ter-uh-scope) looks like a long wire.
The doctor inserts it into the patient's urethra, passes it up
through the bladder, and directs it to the ureter where the stone
is located. The ureteroscope has a camera that allows the doctor
to see the stone. A cage is used to catch the stone and pull it
out.
Ask your doctor which method is right for you.
How Will My
Doctor Find
Out What
Kind of
Stone I Have?
The best way for your doctor to find
out what kind of stone you have is to test the stone itself. If
you know that you are passing a stone, try to catch it in a
strainer.
Your doctor may ask for a urine sample or take blood to find
out what is causing your stones. You may need to collect your
urine for a 24-hour period. These tests will help your doctor find
ways for you to avoid stones in the future.
Try to catch a stone
in a strainer.
What Can I
Do To Avoid
More Stones?
Drink more water. Try to drink 12 full glasses of water a day. Drinking
lots of water helps to flush away the substances that form stones in the
kidneys.
You can also drink ginger ale, lemon-lime sodas, and fruit
juices. But water is best. Limit your coffee, tea, and cola to one
or two cups a day because the caffeine may cause you to lose fluid
too quickly.
Your doctor may ask you to eat more of some foods and to cut
back on other foods. For example, if you have a uric acid stone,
your doctor may ask you to eat less meat, because meat breaks down
to make uric acid.
The doctor may give you medicines to prevent calcium and uric
acid stones.
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Whole Story