Everything You Need to Know About Kidney Stones and Hormone Imbalance

Kidney stones appear in the form of calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, uric acid, or other combinations of minerals, and can be extraordinarily painful. They may be as small as a grain of sand or quite large. They may pass on their own, or they may require certain medical interventions to pass.

Symptoms of Kidney Stones

Depending on the size of the kidney stones, you may not have any symptoms at all. For larger kidney stones, according to the Mayo Clinic, you may experience the following symptoms:

Severe, sharp pain in the side and back, below the ribs
Pain that radiates to the lower abdomen and groin
Pain that comes in waves and fluctuates in intensity
Pain or burning sensation while urinating
Pink, red, or brown urine
Cloudy or foul-smelling urine
A persistent need to urinate, urinating more often than usual, or urinating in small amounts
Nausea and vomiting
Fever and chills

If you have any of these symptoms, some of which can be quite severe, you need to seek professional medical help. Some of these symptoms may be the sign of an infection, and even when there is no infection, an untreated kidney stone needs to pass out of your kidneys before it grows too large.

Risk Factors of Kidney Stones

According to The American Kidney Fund, there are a number of risk factors for kidney stones, including:

Having had kidney stones before
Having a family history of kidney stones
Being constantly dehydrated
Having a diet high in protein, sodium, and/or sugar
Being overweight or obese
Having gastric bypass surgery or another intestinal surgery
Having polycystic kidney disease or another cystic kidney disease
Having certain conditions that cause your urine to contain high levels of cystine, oxalate, uric acid, or calcium
Having swelling or irritation in your bowel or your joints
Taking certain medicines, such as diuretics (water pills) or calcium-based antacids

People of non-Hispanic Anglo Saxon descent are also at higher risk than normal for having kidney stones. It’s also possible that a hormone imbalance can cause your parathyroid glands to produce too much calcium in your body, which may then lead to stone formation.

Hormone Replacement Therapy May Help

If you suffer from kidney stones, hormone replacement therapy may help. Contact us today to learn more.