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How Long Does Kidney Stone Pain Last After Passing? What To Expect?
Updated on
- Written by Paige Anderson, CRDH
Medically reviewed by
Dr. Maya Frankfurt, PhD
How much pain you experience from a kidney stone depends on the size, location, and type of stone, as well as your personal anatomy.
The good news is that, in most cases, you should start to feel much better almost immediately after your kidney stones pass.
However, there are cases where symptoms of kidney stones can linger even after the stones have passed. If your stones require surgical removal, your recovery may also leave you feeling sore for a while.
How long does kidney stone pain last after passing a stone, and should you see a doctor if you have lingering pain?
How Long Does Kidney Stone Pain Last After Passing?
Most kidney stones will only cause severe pain as they pass through the upper portions of the urinary tract, especially the ureters, which are narrow tubes that connect the kidney to the bladder. However, if you have stones blocking urine flow from the bladder, it can also cause severe pain and feelings of pressure throughout the process.
Ideally, you should not experience discomfort more than a few days after passing a kidney stone. A few factors that may cause lingering pain include:
- Inflammation in the urinary tract.
- Additional stones or stone fragments that have not passed.
- An obstruction.
- Infection.
- Complications from kidney stone removal.
- Unrelated problems[1] that may pose health risks.
Is It Normal To Feel Pain After Passing Kidney Stones?
Passing a kidney stone is no walk in the park. Even small kidney stones can cause extreme pain, and if a stone blocks your urine flow, that pain can become overwhelming.
It seems logical that larger stones would cause more pain, but research shows[2] that may not always be the case. Although kidney stone size doesn’t always determine how much pain you’ll experience, a large kidney stone is more likely to become stuck or require immediate surgical removal to prevent further problems.
Regardless of whether you have developed large or small stones, some mild discomfort may linger for the first couple of days after you pass a kidney stone.
However, lingering pain in the lower abdomen, flank, groin, or during urination is not considered normal after passing kidney stones.
Is It Alright To Have Pain After Kidney Stone Surgery?
While smaller kidney stones are almost always left to pass on their own, developing kidney stones that are very large, numerous, or that get stuck may require medical intervention.
There are a variety of treatments for kidney stones, including totally non-invasive approaches like shock wave lithotripsy and other ultrasound procedures.
Ultrasound kidney stone treatments break up large stones, but leave the fragments to pass on their own, which can cause significant pain and possibly leave stones or stone fragments too large to pass.
If you have significant lingering pain after this type of treatment, you may need additional procedures to break up the remaining deposits.
Laser lithotripsy, on the other hand, frequently includes removal of the stone fragments, minimizing pain from passing them, but may irritate the tissues of your urinary tract.
Some kidney diseases can cause you to build up significant deposits in areas of the kidneys that make minimally invasive removal inappropriate.
A traditional surgical approach such as percutaneous nephrostomy. It can take several weeks to fully recover from this type of surgery, which may also have higher risks of complications[3] like infection during recovery that can also cause lingering pain.
Each type of surgery is most appropriate for specific sizes and locations of the kidney stones, and your doctor will determine what treatment plan is right for your needs as well as eliminate the possibility that your pain may have another cause.
How Long Does Kidney Stone Pain Last After Passing?
In almost all cases, people passing a kidney stone feel the most intense pain when the deposit moves through the ureter, which is a tiny tube connecting the kidney to the bladder.
Most people feel much better once the stone reaches the bladder.
After that, the kidney stone may cause some discomfort as it flushes out with the urine, but most people find their symptoms almost completely disappear once the stone has passed.
If the stone has irritated the tissues of the urinary tract, bladder, or urethra, you may feel a little sore afterward, but pain should abate within a few days.
Lingering pain after a kidney stone may indicate:
- Inflammation from damage to tissues of the urinary system.
- Stones that haven’t yet passed or were missed during surgery.
- Urinary tract infection.
- Nerve damage from chronic kidney stones or other kidney disease.
- Referred pain from another, unrelated problem.
Family history of cystine stones can lead to repeated episodes that can cause kidney damage, damage to the tissues of the urinary tract, and ongoing pain.
In rare cases[4], the nerves surrounding the kidneys and ureters may become irritated enough that they continue to cause renal colic, the intense flank and abdominal pain associated with kidney stones, even when no more stones are present.
Some other, potentially serious health problems can cause pain very similar to symptoms of a kidney stone, so it’s important to talk to your doctor if your symptoms don’t get better fairly soon after passing a kidney stone.
Tips For Handling The Residual Pain
Although kidney stone symptoms should go away on their own fairly soon after the stone passes, you may need some support while your stone passes, or for the first couple of days afterward.
Take Pain Medications As Recommended By Your Doctor
Your doctor may recommend pain medicine, either over-the-counter or prescription, as well as medications to help your stone pass more easily.
Fortunately, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) are generally as effective[5] as stronger prescription pain medications in relieving kidney stone pain, and may help limit spasms in the bladder and urinary structures, which can help the stone pass.
Drink Plenty Of Water
Increasing fluid intake can help flush stones out. Staying hydrated is also a key part of preventing kidney stones by keeping compounds like uric acid from becoming too concentrated in the kidneys.
If you have certain liver diseases or conditions that require you to limit fluids, talk to your doctor about how much water you should drink.
Take Steps To Prevent Future Kidney Stones
If you’re prone to developing kidney stones, you may want to have your doctor evaluate what medications you’re taking and determine if any changes could help prevent more stones. For example, calcium channel blockers may increase your kidney stone risk factors.
Adjusting your diet may be one of the best ways to prevent kidney stones. You might benefit from limiting foods high in oxalic acid if you’re prone to calcium oxalate stones. Reducing your salt intake is almost always a good idea, too.
Some people are also prone to urinary tract infections (UTIs), which are associated with higher kidney stone risks, although the nature of the relationship between UTIs and kidney stones is still up for debate[6].
Regardless, taking steps to prevent UTIs is definitely a good plan. Again, drinking plenty of water is key to decreasing UTI risks. Although research is limited[7], apple cider vinegar may also help control bacteria associated with UTIs. With apple cider vinegar gummies, it’s easy to incorporate into your routine.
Conclusion
The best part about passing a kidney stone is getting it over with. Once a kidney stone passes, most people experience almost immediate relief, or mild discomfort or soreness that goes away within a short time.
If you’re struggling with lingering symptoms, you may need to call your doctor to check for other problems like stones that haven’t passed, infections, or even unrelated problems.
Call your doctor immediately if you experience:
- Visible blood in your urine.
- High fever.
- Prolonged vomiting.
- Difficulty urinating or inability to urinate.
- Loss of consciousness.
- Chest pain or shortness of breath.
You may also need to see your doctor if you have foul smelling, cloudy urine or a burning sensation when you urinate, flank pain that doesn’t improve after your stone passes, or any other symptoms that last more than a couple of days after your stone has passed.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no compelling scientific evidence that apple cider vinegar can shrink kidney stones, but it may help[8] to prevent urinary tract infections, which can cause a burning sensation during urination and may increase your risks for kidney stones. You can also incorporate apple cider vinegar into your routine in gummy form!
Kidney stones can irritate the tissues of your urinary system as they pass, which can leave you feeling sore for the first few days after passing a stone. However, if your pain lingers, you may have more kidney stones or stone fragments, abnormal inflammation, infection, or another problem, and should call your doctor.
It depends. Some non-invasive treatments break up kidney stones into smaller pieces that are easier to pass, but these fragments can still cause sharp pain on the way out. Laser lithotripsy usually includes removing the fragments, making recovery more comfortable in some cases.
Drink plenty of water to help flush the stone out, take pain medication as recommended by your doctor, and follow a kidney-friendly diet to prevent future stones.
+ 8 sources
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- Patti, L. and Leslie, S.W. (2023). Acute Renal Colic. [online] Nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431091/.
- Gourlay, K., Splinter, G.D., Hayward, J. and Innes, G. (2021). Does pain severity predict stone characteristics or outcomes in emergency department patients with acute renal colic? [online] 45, pp.37–41. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2021.02.049.
- Shen, F., Sheng Hua Liu, Hu, J., Wang, L. and Jiang, H. (2017). The Evaluation of Risk Factors for Postoperative Infectious Complications after Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy. [online] 2017, pp.1–7. doi:https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/4832051.
- Reed, A.B., Cho, D., Gillcrist, N. and Allam, C.L. (2018). Laparoscopic renal denervation for chronic renal colic in a previous stone forming patient. [online] doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eucr.2018.02.004.
- Davenport, K. and Waine, E. (2010). The Role of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Renal Colic. [online] 3(5), pp.1304–1310. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ph3051304.
- Ripa, F., Pietropaolo, A., Montanari, E., Theodoros Tokas, Vineet Gauhar and Somani, B.K. (2022). Association of Kidney Stones and Recurrent UTIs: the Chicken and Egg Situation. A Systematic Review of Literature. [online] 23(9), pp.165–174. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11934-022-01103-y.
- Darshna Yagnik, Ward, M. and Shah, A. (2021). Antibacterial apple cider vinegar eradicates methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and resistant Escherichia coli. [online] 11(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78407-x.
- Darshna Yagnik, Ward, M. and Shah, A. (2021). Antibacterial apple cider vinegar eradicates methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and resistant Escherichia coli. [online] 11(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78407-x.
Written by:
Paige Anderson, CRDH
Medically reviewed by:
Medically reviewed by:
