Which medicines dissolve kidney stones?

Which medicines dissolve kidney stones?
This question arises in everyone who has read the following diagnoses in their medical conclusion:

All these diagnoses are signs of urolithiasis and indicate a tendency of the body to form stones in the kidneys.

However, the reasons for the formation of stones in the kidneys vary in each case, and accordingly, the chemical composition of the stones in the kidneys can be completely different.
Certainly, anyone suffering from urolithiasis strives to prevent further formation of stones in the kidneys or avoid the necessity of surgical intervention to remove them.

Therefore, many seek effective medications that can dissolve renal stones or stones in the ureters.

Here lies the main danger, as without at least preliminarily determining the chemical composition of the stone in the kidney or the sand in the kidney, we cannot definitively say whether such a stone has a chance of dissolution.
Kidney stones can have a varied chemical composition, but in modern conditions, over 95% of stones in the kidneys, calyces, or ureters consist of one of the three most common chemical compositions.

Each type of kidney stone has its own formation characteristics and requires different prevention methods.

So far, there is a thoroughly studied dissolution mechanism only for one type – uric acid stones, which consist of uric acid.

Modern medicine has not yet developed drugs that can dissolve calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate stones in the kidneys.

These compounds have a stable structure that does not dissolve.
However, for effective treatment of uric acid stones, it is necessary to first confirm that the stone is indeed uric acid.
In most cases, the chemical composition of the stone can only be determined after its removal from the kidney.
Nevertheless, there are indirect signs that can indicate the presence of uric acid stones in the kidneys.

These signs are not a hundred percent indicator that the stone in the kidney has a uric acid structure; but the presence of several of the listed signs with high probability gives grounds to believe that the stone in the kidney has a uric acid composition, and such a stone has a chance of dissolution.

If you and your doctor have concluded that your kidney stones are uric acid, then the only group of effective medicines in this case are citrate mixtures.
In fact, a uric acid stone is crystallized uric acid, and by changing the urine reaction from acidic to slightly alkaline, we get a chance to dissolve the uric acid stone in the kidney.

However, taking these drugs is quite complicated – it involves:

All this is a complex and responsible process, so I caution you against making your own decision about the possibility of dissolving a stone in the kidney and self-administering medicines.

Indeed, if you start taking medicines to alkalinize the urine with stones, which increase in alkaline urine reaction, for example, calcium phosphate, you may even accelerate their growth.

Uncontrolled use of drugs to dissolve uric acid stones can lead to the coating of the stone with an insoluble structure, therefore, my insistent advice – the decision about the possibility of dissolving a stone in the kidneys should be taken exclusively under the control of a doctor.

Separately, it should be said about folk methods of dissolving stones in the kidneys. If they are not based on aggressive recipes, such as consuming chicken bile or drinking lemon juice, vinegar, aggressive tinctures, then you can try them.

The vast majority of these methods are based on plant-based recipes, and aimed to increase the amount of urine produces, which can be a genuinely positive factor for kidney stones, but all these recipes are also aimed at provoking the exit of the stone from the kidney into the ureter, however, if the stone is large and enters the ureter, it can cause unpredictable renal colic, so you must be very careful with folk methods of treating urolithiasis.