While kidney stones are nearly painless for some people, Milliner said, others describe it as the worst pain they have ever felt.
"I know some women who have gone through childbirth and also passed a kidney stone, and they say passing the stone was much worse," Nelson said.
Fortunately, most people can take steps to avoid kidney stone formation. Pope tells his patients that a good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day. And he also tells them to check the color of their urine for an indication as to whether they're getting enough liquids. If the urine is dark yellow or brownish in color, then it's too concentrated.
"The key is to keep urine diluted," Pope said.
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