How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

Tuesday morning I woke up cramping and feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. I assumed I was coming down with whatever my husband and kids had over the weekend. Wednesday evening, I noticed my urine was now brown. Thursday, I was in incredible pain. Friday, my husband talked me into going to urgent care where they did a urinalysis and diagnosed a kidney stone. They told me to drink a gallon of water in 4 hours and it should pass that night. They gave me some Vicodin for the pain which doesn't work whatsoever then sent me home.

It's now almost a week since this all started and nothing has changed. I'm drinking a gallon plus of water daily and drank almost 2 liters of cranberry juice today on top of the gallon+ of water. I'm still in a ton of pain. Sometimes it hangs around a level 3 on the pain scale which isn't a big deal. Sometimes it spikes up to a 9 or 10. The pain hasn't ever been completely gone.

What should I do? How long should this take to pass? I don't have any health insurance so I'm afraid to go into the ER or something if it's not necessary. :blush

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

If it's been a week, you need the ER. It's not passing on its own.

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

IMHO you need to go to the ER. Dh's passed within 48 hours or so.

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

I wouldn't go to the ER unless you're running a fever but I'd make an appointment very soon. They may need to put in a stint or blast the stone. You should be urinating into a fine sieve to catch the stone when/if it passes.

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

I wasn't given one, the doctor I saw complained about them and said if I saw a stone in the toilet then fish it out if I could but he thought it was too much hassle to use something to strain urine. :(

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

You generally have to buy one intended for kitchen use. A doctor regularly in charge of your care would want to know what the stone was made of, to help you with a plan to avoid them again. Urgent care docs don't usually work with patients like that, unfortunately.

Some kidney stones do not pass without intervention. There are treatments to break up the stones. Sometimes, very rarely, they require surgery.

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

I have no idea, but that sounds just awful. :hugs

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

I would appreciate prayers if anyone has some to spare. My mom suggested that I have a few beers last night because they help her pass hers (she has a rare disease which causes her to get kidney stones regularly). I did and at 2am, I woke up in excruciating pain. I threw up this morning and then vomited everything that I had taken in after that this afternoon. I'm so nauseated and in so much pain that I was vocalizing this morning and freaking out the kids. I'm praying this is it, this is me about to pass the stone because we don't have health insurance and if it's not, I have to go into the ER. It's been over a week of this. :(

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

I am praying!

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

You really should go on to the ER. :pray4

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

You don't know what size the kidney stone is. It could be too big to pass or it could be lodged in your ureter. If it were going to pass, I really think it would have done it by now. I don't have insurance either, so I avoid the ER as much as possible. :hug2 I don't think they'll be able to do much for you in the ER besides give you some pain meds and refer you to a urologist. :-/ A regular doctor can do the same thing less expensively, if you can wait to get in. But if the pain is too much or you start to show signs of infection, then the ER is the place to go.

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

I did end up in the ER tonight and the kidney stone is stuck in the ureter. Stoney McDevil is 6mm and they are going to have me try Flomax while I'm waiting for a urology appointment. Hopefully the Flomax works and I don't need surgery. :pray4

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

Unfortunately I know your pain. Praying it passes on it's own quickly. I know all stones are different, but my "prescription" for prevention is daily glass of lemonade as I need the citric acid.

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

Oh mama!! I know your pain well. It is the most horrible pain in the entire world!!!!!!!! I had a 8mm stone stuck in my ureter that required 2 surgeries. They had to use a laser to break it up.

I am praying for you mama!!!!!

Re: How long should it take for a kidney stone to pass?
 

Oh! How totally ouchie! :pray