Have a Stone Right Now?
How Do You Pass a Kidney Stone?
By Jill Harris, LPN, CHC
Kidney stone prevention nurse since 1998
Updated
Jill’s answer
The things kidney stone patients say help most while passing a stone are a warm or hot bath, a heating pad and walking. Ask your doctor about a medication like tamsulosin (Flomax) that helps the stone slip through, and go to the ER if you have a fever or chills, pain that won’t stop, or trouble urinating.
- After it passes: a 24-hour urine collection
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When Should You Go to the ER?
Go to the ER if you have any of these:
- Fever or chills
- Severe pain that will not stop
- Blood in your urine
- Difficulty urinating
- Cloudy urine or urine with a distinct odor
- Constant burning each time you urinate
- Vomiting that may lead to dehydration
- Fever of over 101 degrees
- Cannot find intense pain relief
- Continuous diarrhea
- Continuous vomiting
- Frequent urge to urinate, but little or nothing comes out
Drinking, but not peeing?
If you’re drinking and drinking, and you’re not urinating, that is a sign to go to the hospital. Then something’s stuck.
“Normal” UTI vs Kidney Infection
While UTIs are uncomfortable and can go away on their own, typically, that is not the case. A UTI can lead to a severe kidney infection if left untreated. Delaying treatment can lead to a more serious consequence.
Kidney stones can cause severe pyelonephritis. Kidney infection often starts in the bladder and spreads into one or both kidneys. Kidney infections are a type of UTI that is much more aggressive. Many UTIs go away on their own; pyelonephritis will not.
Signs of kidney infection:
- Back or side pain
- Fever
- Chills
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pus or blood in the urine
- Inability to urinate
I have many patients with sepsis, a severe blood infection that can originate from a kidney infection. Many more have told me harrowing stories in which they almost died. Now you can see why I take this kidney stone business so seriously.
How Long Does It Take to Pass a Kidney Stone?
Lots of times, the stone’s going to do what the stone’s going to do. I’ve had people trying to pass a stone for two months. I’ve had people pass the stone in a day.
A lot of surgeons will say, “Listen, I’m going to give you two months. If you don’t pass it then, we’ll schedule for surgery.”
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Will My Kidney Stone Pass on Its Own?
Some stones just come out on their own. Some stones, no matter what you do, they will need an intervention.
5 millimeters is usually the cutoff where you’re probably going to need surgery. But I’ve definitely had plenty of patients pee out larger stones. If your stone is in the lower pole of the kidney, it has to go against gravity to come out.
What Helps You Pass a Kidney Stone at Home?
I asked the members of my private Facebook group what helped them pass their stones, and nearly 200 of them answered. The first three here were the most popular: a warm or hot bath, a heating pad and walking. The rest are in no particular order.
Heat and relaxing your muscles 5 tips
- Warm or hot bath
- Heating pad
- Jacuzzi
- Bath with Epsom salts (relaxes muscles)
- Percussion massager, like a Theragun
Movement 7 tips
- Walking (any movement helped, but walking was the most popular)
- Jumping jacks
- Jumping on a mini trampoline
- Elliptical machine
- Treadmill
- Bending and stretching
- Hanging upside down off the bed
Pain and nausea 6 tips
- Pain medicine from your doctor
- Tylenol, Advil or naproxen for pain
- CBD for pain
- THC for pain (where legal)
- Antinausea medicine prescribed by your doctor
- Nausea bags
What about drinking?
The number one thing is drinking more fluids. The more you’re able to drink during the passage of a stone, the better chances you have of passing it.
Save your stone
Every stone should be analyzed. If you have passed one, bring it to your doctor’s office and get it analyzed. Don’t be saving them in a little jar; a lot of people do that.
What Medications Help You Pass a Kidney Stone?
The go-to drug is tamsulosin, known by its brand name Flomax. Alfuzosin, nifedipine, doxazosin and terazosin work in similar ways.
Here’s how they help. The ureter is the tube that carries urine from your kidney down to your bladder, and it moves urine by squeezing in waves, called peristalsis. These medications relax the muscles in that tube, making it wider and less tight, so the stone can slip through more easily. They can be a big help in getting a stone out without more invasive treatment.
Talk to your doctor about a prescription when you know a stone is on the move, and then save the unused portion for next time.
How Do You Stop Making Kidney Stones?
Ask your doctor to order a 24-hour urine collection to find out why you form stones. Don’t wait for a second stone, and don’t take “no” for an answer. Kidney stones can be prevented with the right treatment plan, and the Kidney Stone Diet® is scientifically proven to help lower your stone risk. I’m an expert in helping patients just like you change their lifestyles so they can stop making stones.
Podcast Episodes on Passing a Kidney Stone
21 episodes of the Kidney Stone Diet Podcast, each with a full transcript. Pick the question closest to yours.
Passing a stone, and what to do after 7 episodes
- How to pass a kidney stone (10 Tips!)Ep. 198 · Most searched
- DO THIS after kidney stone surgeryEp. 289 ·
- I have a kidney stone, now what?Ep. 276 ·
- Will this help you pass a kidney stone fast?Ep. 252 ·
- “I was told I might have kidney stones what do I do?”Ep. 240 ·
- You NEED to do this after passing a kidney stoneEp. 220 ·
- Can I pass a 5mm kidney stone?Ep. 145 ·
Symptoms, pain and the hospital 4 episodes
Can you dissolve or break up a stone? 10 episodes
- The TRUTH about chanca piedraEp. 226 · Most searched
- You’ll wish you knew this soonerEp. 287 ·
- Can apple cider vinegar treat kidney stones?Ep. 246 ·
- Don’t skip this if you want to dissolve your kidney stonesEp. 236 ·
- Fact or Fiction: Lemon juice will pass my kidney stoneEp. 186 ·
- Fact or Fiction: Drinking olive oil will help pass a kidney stoneEp. 182 ·
- How do I break up my kidney stone?Ep. 131 ·
- Is Chanca Piedra a kidney stone breaker?Ep. 89 ·
- How can I shrink my kidney stone?Ep. 47 ·
- Does apple cider vinegar dissolve kidney stones?Ep. 7 ·
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After your stone, in All Access: the weekly meal plans, my video course and the group calls with me help you put the Kidney Stone Diet® to work so you don’t make another one.
The Kidney Stone Diet is far more than just a diet; this plan is life-altering! … The group calls are such support; this is more like family than a zoom meeting to stay accountable. Jill is far more than a nurse; she is a life coach.
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Go Deeper
- Will My Kidney Stone Pass?What makes a stone more or less likely to pass on its own.
- How Long Does It Take to Pass a Kidney Stone?What to expect on timing.
- Kidney Stone StentsWhat a stent is and what living with one is like.
- The 24-Hour Urine TestThe test that shows why you’re making stones.
- What Is the Kidney Stone Diet?The diet that lowers your stone risk.
- Urine Analysis ConsultWork with me to understand your results.
- The Science Behind the Kidney Stone DietMy mentor Dr. Fredric Coe, University of Chicago nephrologist, on the three diet keys to stone prevention.
Frequently Asked Questions
What helps a kidney stone pass faster?
Kidney stone patients in my Facebook group said a warm or hot bath, a heating pad and walking helped most. A medication like tamsulosin (Flomax) from your doctor relaxes the ureter so the stone can slip through more easily.
When is a kidney stone an emergency?
Go to the ER for a fever or chills, severe pain that won’t stop, blood in your urine, difficulty urinating, cloudy or strong-smelling urine, constant burning when you urinate, or vomiting that may lead to dehydration.
How long does it take to pass a kidney stone?
Lots of times, the stone’s going to do what the stone’s going to do. I’ve had people trying to pass a stone for two months, and I’ve had people pass the stone in a day.
What is tamsulosin (Flomax) for?
It relaxes the muscles in the ureter, the tube from your kidney to your bladder, making it wider so the stone passes more easily. Alfuzosin, nifedipine, doxazosin and terazosin work in similar ways.
Does moving around help pass a kidney stone?
Many of my Facebook group members said it did. Walking was the most popular, and others used jumping jacks, a mini trampoline, an elliptical, a treadmill, or bending and stretching.
Can you dissolve or break up a kidney stone?
You cannot break up a kidney stone unless it is a uric acid stone. Apple cider vinegar, lemons and chanca piedra don’t have any place in this process. You could put a rock in apple cider vinegar, and it ain’t going to break up.
Should I save my kidney stone?
Yes. Every stone should be analyzed. If you have passed one, bring it to your doctor’s office and get it analyzed.
How do I keep from getting another stone?
Ask your doctor for a 24-hour urine collection after your first stone to find out why you’re making them. Then follow a treatment plan built on those results.
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Six evidence-based goals
Kidney Stone Diet Goals
Kidney stones can be prevented with the right treatment plan, and the Kidney Stone Diet® is scientifically proven to help lower your stone risk.
Goal 1
Goal 2
Goal 3
Goal 4
Goal 5
Goal 6
Know your numbers
Want help with all six? In All Access, a new meal plan every week puts the goals on your plate, and my video course teaches each one step by step.
About Jill Harris, LPN, CHC
Jill Harris is a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) who specializes in kidney stone prevention, with more than 26 years of experience and years of work with University of Chicago nephrologist Dr. Fred Coe. Her goal is to teach you what you need to know and, more importantly, how to put that knowledge to work so you can stop forming stones. More about Jill