Antidepressants and Kidney Stones

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

Kidney StoneKidney stones, also referred to as renal stones, are extremely painful. These stones are not like rocks found on the ground. In fact, kidney stones are usually about the size of a grain of sand, which is surprising considering how much pain they can cause. It can be a terribly painful event for a person to “pass” a kidney stone from the kidney to the bladder and out the body. So how can we prevent against these minuscule monsters?

Causes of Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are caused by numerous things, only some of which are preventable. The three main causes of kidney stones are:

  • Poor Diet
  • Medications
  • Genetics

A person can change their diet and they are stuck with the genes passed on from their parents, but today I want to talk about role medication plays in the development of kidney stones. More specifically, if antidepressants can cause kidney stones.

Antidepressants and Kidney Problems

There area wide variety of antidepressants on the market. The newer antidepressants have significantly less adverse problems then many of the original medications. As with all medications, antidepressants have been linked to some adverse reactions.

Developing a kidney stone as a side affect from antidepressants is a rare adverse reaction. In my research on the subject, I found that there weren’t many cases directly linking antidepressants to kidney stone development, but some medical professionals believe antidepressants could be the reason why a patient developed a stone if no other causes could be identified. It was very hard to find any definitive evidence that kidney stones were related to the use of common antidepressant medications.

The conclusion correlating kidney stones and antidepressants is weak.  There are many much more common causes of stones. If you develop a stone it is best to look for the common causes, and have your primary care physician do a comprehensive evaluation. Oftentimes patients want to know exactly why a condition developed, and without strong evidence doctors sometimes blame the medication. The reality is that stones are likely not related to most antidepressants.