Q. Is there any way to make passing a kidney stone less painful? I went from uncomfortable to unbearable pain within a couple of hours.
The emergency room doctors gave me narcotic pain relievers but nothing to speed the stone out. If this ever happens again I’d like something to help move the stone along.
A. If surgery is not necessary to remove the stone, there is one treatment that may be helpful. The same drug that is used to ease symptoms of prostate enlargement, Flomax (tamsulosin), may facilitate passage of kidney stones (Current Opinion in Urology, March, 2008).
Shock wave treatment (lithotripsy) is sometimes used to break kidney stones into smaller pieces. Flomax has been used in combination with lithotripsy to help the smaller stones move. Not all studies show that the drug is effective, however, so you will need to discuss this approach with your urologist.
