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Page 40
| A person with a family history of kidney stones may be more likely to develop stones. Urinary tract infections, kidney disorders such as cystic kidney diseases and metabolic disorders such as hyperparathyroidism are also linked to stone formation. |
| In addition, more than 70 percent of patients with the hereditary disease called renal tubular acidosis develop kidney stones. |
| Cystinuria and hyperoxaluria are two other rare inherited metabolic disorders that often cause kidney stones. In cystinuria, the kidneys produce too much of the amino acid cystine. Cystine does not dissolve in urine and can build up to form stones. With hyperoxaluria, the body produces too much of the salt oxalate. When there is more oxalate than can be dissolved in the urine, the crystals settle out and form stones. |
| Absorptive hypercalciuria occurs when the body absorbs too much calcium from food and empties the extra calcium into the urine. This high level of calcium in the urine causes crystals of calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate to form in the kidneys or urinary tract. |
| Other causes of kidney stones are hyperuricosuria (a disorder of uric acid metabolism), gout, excess intake of vitamin D, and urinary tract blockage. Some prescription diuretics and some calcium-based antacids may increase the risk of forming kidney stones by increasing calcium in the urine. |
| Calcium oxalate stones can also form in people with either ulcerative colitis or who have had intestinal bypass surgery. As mentioned above, struvite stones can form in people who have had a urinary tract infection. |
| Symptoms |
| Usually, the first symptom of a kidney stone is extreme pain. The pain often begins suddenly when a stone moves |
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