How long should I wait for 7mm stone to complete passing?
I have had flank pain throughout my 2 pregnancies, and started having it again (had baby 4 months ago). They initially found a few stones in each kidney ranging from 1- 4mm. They said they shouldn’t be causing me pain since they are just “hanging out in my kidneys.”
A week later I started cramping and peeing blood. The did another CT scan, and found a 7 mm stone, already halfway through my ureter. Now, another week later, the stone still hasn’t passed, but isn’t causing unbearable pain yet. From time to time i get flank pain, and small abdominal cramps, but nothing huge.
I demanded yesterday at my urologist, to have the stone taken out because I am scared it will fully obstruct and cause acute kidney failure. The dr seems to really want me to pass it on my own, despite the fact that he couldn’t pass stones my size and had surgery to take them out. He finally scheduled me for surgery this friday to break up the stone and put a stent in for a week.
Now, I looked up info on this procedure and stents etc, and I am more scared than ever. Everything I have read said stones that size don’t pass without intervention, although it’s already halfway through…My question is, since the stone isn’t causing excruciating pain now, and is halfway through my ureter, should I decline the surgery and wait it out longer? or should I opt for the removal? Any experience/input is appreciated.
My husband comes home from a short deployment tomorrow and is only home for a week, so if I don’t really need to have the procedure done I am unsure whether I should. i am having second thoughts—help me get some clarity people please! 
I have 2 young babies to care for so I thought I should get this done so i can move forward…..now, not so sure…
In my experience a 7mm stone typically will not pass on its own. Anything over 4-5 mm is difficult to pass. I wouldn’t wait just because it’s halfway through. The first half is the easier part. The narrowest place and therefore the most common place for stones to get lodged and cause obstruction is at the bottom of the ureter where it enters the bladder (called the ureterovesicular junction, or UVJ). Once it gets there it will cause you severe pain, and a 7mm stone is highly unlikely to pass through there on its own. Most procedures to remove these stones are minimally invasive and not likely to cause you harm, provided you have an experienced urologist that knows what he’s doing. I would suggest going forward with it BEFORE that stone gets to the bottom of the ureter. Good luck!