I was diagnosed with kidney stones in Dec. and had been feeling sharp pains since mid-Nov. in my left side slightly below my ribs. Two stones showed up on the ultrasound, one approximately 4mm? and one somewhat smaller. (The radiologist was approximate on that as she first stated 2 centimeters) My physician sent me home to drink plenty of fresh coconut water with lime juice, 3 quarts a day, and a drug called Buscopan for pain, to try to pass them. (We live in Jamaica and are on an overseas assignment) To date, they haven't passed. I still have pain in my upper left side and lower back and it also radiates down to my left groin and labial area. Can anyone tell me how long it takes for the stones to pass? The pain isn't severe, but I do have some nausea with it but nothing major that can't be handled at this point. No infection either. Just an urge to spend a lot of time in the bathroom. Have read that it can take weeks or even months for a stone to pass, if it can in some cases. What is an adequate amount of time to wait for it to pass. Can anyone with experience tell me? Thanks for the help!

Gmm40

The most that I've taken to pass one is 3 weeks, but I was told by my doctor that it's conceivable that a stone may take weeks, months or never pass although he was surprised that mine didn't pass when I was in the hospital.

Fluids and exercise will help. Once the stone exits the kidney, it's only a matter of time. Unfortunately there's no telling how long the stone will take to exit. You can also undergo lithotripsy (depending on whether it's available to your or not) to have the stone broken up into smaller fragments.