Many kidney stones will pass spontaneously and will not require surgical treatment. Whether a stone can pass successfully primarily depends on the size of the stone. Based on several studies of stone patients, a size criteria of 5mm or less (about 0.2 inches) is generally felt to predict a reasonable chance (50-70%) for spontaneous passage.
The location of a kidney stone when it is diagnosed also is predictive of likely success at spontaneous passage. Stones that are more distal (closer to the bladder) are more likely to pass than stones that are more proximal (closer to the kidneys).
Take a look at our infographic below to estimate the chances of passing a stone based on its location and size.
The decision to allow a stone to pass spontaneously will also take in account the amount of pain you are experiencing, your medical health, the possibility of infection, and other factors. Typically, a period of 4-6 weeks is allowed to give stones a chance to pass.
Medications to help pass kidney stones are now more commonly being given to patients experiencing an active stone episode. These medications can improve the chances of successful passage of a stone, decrease the pain associated with a stone episode, and decrease the time required for passage.
Hi, I have been diagnosed with a 7 mm kidney stone in the right vesicoureteric junction and also a right hydroureter.
How long can I wait before having a surgery?
Thanks
I have a 7 mm kidney stone and was advised to have surgery because Dr felt it was to large to pass. Had over a month and it never passed. Dr advised that having such a large size kidney stone can led to inflammatory, infection and urine back up in the bladder.
I would see if it is moving first. If it is and it’s allowing urine to pass around it, it might pass with time. I’ve have a stone 6.5-7 mm and it took 5 mos to reach my bladder. Dr was monitoring along way and making sure I didn’t cause an infection, etc. It’s below bladder now in my urethra, so almost there. Just saying. Check post by Karen last month (5/30), she reportedly passed a 10 mm stone, but that’s very very unusual I think.
I passed a 1cm kidney stone last evening. It was stuck in at the junction of my ureter n bladder for 8days. I had lot of tender coconut water n lemon juice mixed with normal water. Went for rigorous walks both morning n evening. Iwas able to pass the stone easily. able to pass the st
Hi,i have a 8mm stone in my left kidney
Can it pass out through urine
I am taking alot of water,about 6lit
And taking medicines prescribed by doctor
I cant understand,if i should have surgery or not
I just passed a 1 cm stone two nights ago! That’s right CM not MM. Was supposed to have surgically removed but surgery no longer required. I have been drinking lemon juice every morning and/or combining with water and mint leaves. I was also drinking a lemon/ginger/maple sugar mixture. I drink about 100 oz of water every day. I also stopped taking my acid reflux medicine when I read that they can sometimes cause kidney problems. I am looking forward to the analysis of the stone so I can see what other things I need to change in my diet and daily habits to prevent further stones from forming. I have had problems with my kidneys/bladder for over three months so I am very relieved to have this stone out.
Were you also taking Flomax? What kind of stone was it? If you were able to pass a 10 mm stone, I’m going to buy some lemon juice and ginger right now. I have mint and maple syrup.
I have diagnosed with 7mm stone. Is it pass through medicine without operation. what precaution I have to take during this period?
Hi,
My father has kidney stone in the right lower ureter close to right VUJ. Right Ureter is dilated.
Can you please suggest if it can be passed by medicine or he has to do surgery. How long he can with medicine before deciding surgery. Doctor said within 2 weeks he has to remove it by surgery.
All i keep hearing from every web site is I have this, how long will it take.
STRAIGHT FACT
Had a 5mm Stone June 27, 2016….Doc said it will pass in few days, this was after 1 week of convincing myself it will pass fast. Throwing up , Flank pain you name it we all know the feeling. Do your research, Doc’s are only in it for the $$$$$$.
Changed diet drink lots of fluids/ACV/Lemon Aid/Water….working out…Fast forward April 28 2017 i peed it out. 10 Months of on and off pain.some days better then others.
Thank you,
I am new here and just needed to read for support. I have kidney stones since 2002. I am at a loss as to what else to do because “I’VE DONE IT ALL” I always have a kidney infection with it.
Been trying to pass this stone for about week. Spent three days in the hospital to get IV antibiotics and pain management. It was so bad that it affected my vitals and even the nurses panicked a bit. The pain was sharp when I took a breath (I am sure because of the kidney infection)
I pray for comfort for everyone of you on here. I just did needed to be in the company of others who could relate.
ultrasound doesnt help? depends what kind of stone you have.
i’m having a doubt in scan report that for me 6.4m calculus stone found in left kidney.
i do know what to do,how can i pass out.
rovatinex + buscolysin, 4 liters water pr. day, watermellon, lemon juice and watch it for 1 week, should go out. I have the same but 8mm. We`ll see. Good luck
I’ve heard calculus stones are very good at math.
Hello .. 2days before I feel alot of pain in my right kidney for the first time and when i went to hospital ,Doctors advised me to do Ultrasound ,when i did it then 4mm calculus is found in the lower part of right kidney.. Iam so much worried what what to do?? plz give me your valuale suggestions ,,Thanks
Hi, Dont worry. I got 3.5 mm calcium oxalate, which is the most painfull kind of stone. It went out after 3 days. Eat lot of watermellon and drink 4 liters water per day, take ROVATINEX to help the stone to go out and after few days it will. I have it now 8 mm same type of stone again and hopping it will go out with some pills and water. Dont eat lot of milk, cheese, any kind of food with big concentration of calcium for these few days, which can be longer to 1 month. Good luck and dont worry. Its a small stone and will go easily out with all what I described above.
what about your stone…. did it come out automatically.. the 8mm one?
Dear friends
Please can you advised me how I could get out my kidney stone which is 11mm ?
I would very grateful for your ideas or suggestions. Many thanks
Dino
Go see doctor for this one brother,
Took me 10 months top pass a 5mm
Go for regular brisk walk atleast for 30min morning n evening. Have lot of lemon juice with water n keep your self hydrated. Dr had told me to undergo surgery but i was able to pass 1cm stone in 10 days.
Has anyone had Litrotripsy for a large stone? I had it five years ago. I never asked how big the stone was. I only had a little pain when one of the pieces passed. It was an expensive procedure. My medicare and supplimental insurance paid it all. I guess some hospitals don’t have the equipment.
Watch your diet look up what causes the stones and have yours tested to find out if it’s oxolates i.e. Dark green salad game meat list is huge. Or calcium carbonate in almost all cereal tums are made of pure calcium pretty much. I also suffer from cluster headaches and very frequent kidney stones. Two things more painful than natural child birth. They call cluster headaches suicide headaches because a lot of people kill themselves due to the extreme pain associated with them and the length of cycles three to four months. So I can feel for you all but very much encourage you to look this up eating to avoid kidney stones. Lots of foods cause them. It’s way easier to pass a 2mm stone once or twice a month than one large one once a year. I’m a construction worker that runs jack hammers and hammer drills and vibrating ramps. These help me drop smaller stones mre frequently. I’ve got a 7.5mm one now though it bounces around often. Dr says it shouldn’t hurt. Ok doc. You are wrong they love to hear that.
food is very important, I agree, but also consuming lot of liquids is vital. 2 l. pr day is minimum requirement for no stones, especially if you work physical work like you. I did not consume enough liquids after the first kidney stone 3.5mm, which i passed for 3 days, now its 8mm calcium oxalate and I am trying still with some medicine, lot of water, running, so the stone can pass easily and put the milk, cheese and all products with high concentration of calcium away from me. We are going to see soon. I will post info if it happends. Last time it got stuck and we call the ambulance, thats why its important to drink lot of water.
I feel you all here and will pray for you. Good luck and will write again soon
Any news vasco.. about your 8mm stone??
I am 25 years of age, on June 2016 i have diagnosed with 5mm stone in my left kidney and later in the mid of October, i had a pain in my left lower abdomen and again consulted doctor and got scanned, but the result was positive as no stones are in my kidney.
But for the past one month , i am having a pain in my lower left abdomen and once in week i get trouble in digestive issues and looking for the solution.
Dont trust Doctor’s most of them are in it for the $$$$$ and have no clue what a kidney stone is
I had a 5mm kidney stone, took me 10 months to pass, Brutal pain and vomiting….Best of luck…drink plenty of water and exercise if you can.
my wife have 7 mm kidnee stone . is it recovered own or need surgery..Pls advice
If any stone is over 3mm it will not pass on it’s own. So your wife needs to see a urologist.
This is not true. The stone which is untill 12mm can go out trough womans uretra, which is wider than man, for men is about 8mm. I got one out 3.5mm, I have now 8mm calcium oxalate and trying to get it out.
I am a male. I have passed 6mm by 6 mm stones. twice.
Also, most of my stones disappear over time. I have nine years of x rays and cat scans. do nothing makes sense to me.
let nature take it course.
i disagree with your comment, i had a 5mm kidney stone and took 10 months to pass
Thanks for playing Doctor
I have a stone both in my right and left and the ulrasound declares that the two stones is in distal position.. Is it dangerous or can cause kidney failure and infection? Plz help. johnfitza@ymail.com
it depends what kind of stone it is. It can be dangerous ofcourse it can be also with infection, but this is where the doctors should answer by urine test and picture of the kidney. Antibiothics is recommended for infection. Consult doctor and make all the test you need, otherways dont experiment with yourself. Dont worry its not a big stone
I have been diagnosed with a 5mm kidney stone, it’s been six weeks, I’ve been on flomax twice with no luck, and had a stent put in and taken out still the stone remains in place. It is up high and is being stubborn. the doctor gave me something called rapidflo now that is suppose to be stronger than flomax, I drink over 100 ounces of water daily and this is really frustrating. The pain was severe at first, it has calmed down quite a bit, but it comes and goes, sometimes it is horrible and some times it isn’t. Some times the nausea is crazy . I was given zofran. A few weeks ago, I also set up infection. I was diagnosed with a UTI and given cipro. Someone told me to drink apple cidar vinegar.
Search ammi visnaga tea spoon in 200 ml of water boil then take it twice a day during 10 days …
No pain
No surgery
No stone
hi, I am 27 yrs old, and I am having a 5.8 mm kidney stone can i pass it out using some medicine.
If i can use some medicine then can you please help me which medicine to take?
consult doctor. You need 2 types of medicine. One to help the stone to go out, for example rovatinex and the other to relax the uretra so the stone can pass easier trough.
I have a kidney stone of 12mm stuck in left Ureter just above Urethra can someone advise is surgery the only option or if there any other option. Thank you for your advise
12mm surgery is the only option. Once it’s 5mm it’s likely that surgery will be needed. I had an 8mm one stuck at the bottom of my kidney back in 2012 and surgery was the only way to remove it.
Honestly if you already had an ultrasound and your doctor told you it’s 12mm, I’m surprised you’re on here asking about it. At that point my doctor knew that I needed surgery and we did it right away. (I also had a kidney infection from it so that might have had something to do with it.)
hi my sister had more stone in both the kidney she is takeing ayurvedek as well past 2 month but still no improvement please please help me to clear this stones
oh wow, same predicament self! Surgery is only option… you, your insurance & urologist can determine best options for you as far as surgeries. I had Lithroscopy done which didn’t help me at all, next is ESWL which I’m not found of the shock wave so I will be asking about the Open surgery to save on so many multiple medical bills.
dont trust only one doctor. Visit 3 and then make the desicion. Ultrasound, depends of the type of stone. Some can not break with ultrasound. Visit more doctor and look for alternative. Surgery is last option, if its stuck and if you have infection. Consult more doctors
Thanks for the info on kidney stones. I didn’t know that the location of the stone can determine how easy it is to pass. So, if stones closer to the bladder pass easier, why aren’t they called bladder stones?
Because they aren’t formed in the bladder.
Just one hour before I post my experience, after passing my 13mm, still I’m passing smaller, now the sensation if smaller stone so.e what reduce, I’m not done any surgery every time in my worst pains I was decided to get admit but fortunate the same night or some time very next date I have passed important is we have keep our frustration low, and wait for few days, but same time we must know our body capacity, if you panic then doctors know how to deal the things, at the same time I.pray if any one in the state of pains they immediately get out of this tough time and get soonwell
Thanks bye good luck
You were able to pass a 13 mm stone? Wow. My largest is 10 mm I wondered if I would be able to pass it on my own. Hope your pain ends soon. Kidney stones are no fun!
Hello friend
Hello friend,
Please can you let me know how did you passed your 13mm kidney stone from the your body. You are very lucky human being. I am going through the pain. My kidney is 11mm.
What sort of medication did you take ? Thank you so much
Dino
for woman its ok to pass 12mm stone, for men is around 8mm the maximum. I have the 8mm now. rovatinex is one of the medicines to pass the stone, the other buscolisine, it relaxex the urethra so the stone can pass easily. If you are man, I think is no chance for 11mm. Consult doctor.
Starting developing problems with cystine stones at the beginning of the year, and I’d say I’ve passed about 6 since January. They’re all small enough, the biggest one being 3mm. But this morning I woke up with the worst renal colic pain. It was so bad that I actually vomited 3 times. Doctor prescribed me Difene and a letter for A&E just in case I need to go in.
I’ve been drinking lots of water though, and the pain seems to have subsided considerably. I have a feeling that the stone has now moved into the bladder, but God knows how long it will be there for. I’m just worried that the pain I had this morning suggests a pretty big stone that I won’t be able to pass when the time comes 🙁
Would love to hear other people’s stories and possibly learn some coping methods. As my stones are 100% cystine, this is genetic and not a whole lot I can do about it!
I am 19 years old boy i have 8 mm calculus in mid uretra and 6 mm calculus stone in left kidney .this is my first time of experiencing the horrible pain can any one tell me how can i pass them out
I have a kidney stone of 13.8MM x 8MM stuck in left Ureter just above Urethra can someone advise is surgery the only option or if there any other option. Please email me at samsung954@hotmail.com… Thank you for your advise.
how much is it dangerous..
So i had my first stone when i was 16. I have had ruffly 1 every year since that time. I am 31 now. Right now i have a 4mm stone stuck in my ureter right before it hits the bladder. It has been there for about 6 weeks. I am worried that it wont move and i might have to have surgery again. I have had a total of 6 surgery to remove stones. All had stents, but only 1 surgery involving lithotripsy. The rest have been what i call the roto rooter, where they go up and laser them and pull the big parts out. I prefer that one to the lithotripsy. I dont know if it was the doctor i was seeing at the time, but that one was the most painful. I was actively passing stones even after they pulled the stent out.(in truth i passed all of the stones after they pulled the stent) I was out of work for a month and a half. With the roto rooter one, yea i feel like i was kick in my undercarriage, but the recovery is smoother and i was back to normal in less than 2 weeks. I am screwed by my genetics. I have tried herbal remedies, old wives tales, and even a change of diet. Sadly i still produce them. The make up of my stones is a strange mixture of 4 different types. Yea me for being the weird one. Anyways… should i seek surgery for the stone that is currently stuck? I am worried about it not moving and it not wanting to leave my bladder if it does decide to get unstuck.
roughly *
back^ not bag
i have a question! i have passed about 12 stones in the last two years. all of them have been reasonable size about 2 mm to 3.2 mm i have been in sever pain and out of town.. i’ve had so many catscans so they did an ultrasound and found a 7mm stone in my right kidney… i’ve been told by a few doctors that stones in the kidney cannot physically cause pain while others tell me being that big they can cause pain.. my back is in soooo much pain about a level 8! those of you who have had stones in the bag that are large did they cause pain in your back?? not sure what to do. but i am miserable!
back not bag i’m sorry!
How did you pass that big stones
Hi I’ve had stones in both kidneys for the last 15 years. Currently have some smaller ones but two that are 1.1cm in left and right kidney. Waiting for a CT scan to see if they are causing any obstruction as the right one has been giving me a lot of intermittent pain for several months. In the past I’ve had some removed and also had lithotripsy. I wouldn’t have lithotripsy again as I found it excruciating and also because the cannula in my hand leaked meds and I ended up with phlebitis for 6 weeks! Also I can’t take Naproxen for pain relief as my stomach gets inflamed. It’s a real bummer? Last episode was the worst. Vomiting and passing visible blood in urine. Just went to A&E and got some intravenous pain relief. I eventually passed the stone about a week later. Sometimes if a stone is small I can manage the pain with regular codeine and paracetamol and by drinking lots of water. However, each of us has a different pain threshold and I think we can tell if a particular stone is proving stubborn! I’d just say use your doctor and urologist as much as possible- get some pain meds in and if you need to go to the hospital. Good luck!