Hi KimmyDawn,

I'm sorry to hear about your father-in-law's kidney stone. I had this past winter and it was the pits! I feel for him. They aren't necessarily dangerous in and of themselves, even though they feel horrible; the doctors have to figure out where the kidney stone is and what is going on. Many times, they pass on their own without any problem. Sometimes, if the stone is big, they can use lithotripsy to break it into smaller pieces so that it will pass better, but not every stone qualifies for lithotripsy. As long as he doesn't have an infection, it's even possible they could send him home again, as they did with me....on pain medication, with the recommendation to drink lots of fluid, and instructions to keep straining your urine to try to catch the stone if it passes. If he is sent home, he would probably be seeing a urologist for followup soon afterwards, and regularly until the situation resolves. Hopefully it will exit soon - for most people I know who've had one, it's left within a few days. I wasn't that lucky but my case was pretty unusual.

Take care,
Erin