Gout and Kidney Stones: How Uric Acid Stones Show Up in Your Notes

Updated 10 October 2026

Most gout notes are about the big toe, the ankle or the knee. Stone-type pain in the side or back is a different kind of entry, and it can be easy to file under the wrong heading or to leave out altogether.

This guide sets out what the National Kidney Foundation, Cleveland Clinic, MedlinePlus and the NHS say about the link between gout and uric acid stones, then offers a table, a record sheet, a word list, four steps and a one-page summary for a clinician.

What the National Kidney Foundation, Cleveland Clinic, MedlinePlus and the NHS say about gout, uric acid and kidney stones

MedlinePlus explains the shared root: "Having too much uric acid in the blood is called hyperuricemia." It adds that uric acid can form needle-like crystals in the joints, which causes gout, and states: "The crystals can also cause kidney stones."

The National Kidney Foundation says on its gout page: "Uric acid crystals can form kidney stones in some people." It also says: "That's why having gout and high uric acid may be signs of kidney disease, so if you have gout, get checked for kidney disease."

On its stone page the National Kidney Foundation says: "Uric acid kidney stones are one of four main types of kidney stones." It explains: "They form when urine is too acidic." Among the listed risk factors it names gout, diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome, and it says a doctor will order x-rays, ultrasounds or CT scans to check the size and location of the stones.

Cleveland Clinic writes: "Uric acid stones are one of four types of kidney stones." It also writes: "Gout causes high uric acid levels in your blood and painful crystal deposits in your joints." It says the main symptoms are pain and blood in the urine, and it lists a fever greater than 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit, intense pain and nausea and vomiting that keep going among the reasons to call a clinician or go to the emergency room.

The NHS lists kidney stones among the complications that can follow repeated gout attacks over a long period.

These pages describe a link between two conditions, and none says what any one person's pain means. The record of what you felt, where and when is what a clinician can add to the picture.

Each stone-type episode can be dated in the Daily Journal within Gout Journey (by Health Journey Labs), filed apart from the joint attack lines.

A table of joint signs and uric acid stone signs in gout: what each source says

Reading the five pages side by side shows where the two sets of signs sit and where each source stops.

Table of joint and stone signs, by Gout Journey

Every source ties the two conditions through uric acid, and each leaves the individual case to a clinician. The difference between a joint attack and stone-type pain is also a difference in where you feel it and what accompanies it, which is exactly what a dated line can capture. The guide to gout and kidney disease labs and flares covers kidney function results, while this table concerns stones. The sources also differ in what they emphasize: MedlinePlus the shared crystal mechanism, the National Kidney Foundation the risk factors and the imaging, Cleveland Clinic the symptoms and the urgent signs, and the NHS the long-period complications. A reader who holds all five can see that a dated joint line, a dated stone-type line and a dated test line are three different kinds of entry, and the record sheet below gives each a column.

The columns of the table can be mirrored in Gout Journey, one dated entry for a joint attack and a separate one for a stone-type episode.

A record sheet for stone-type episodes and imaging reports, to share with a clinician

Stone-type episodes are less frequent than joint attacks, which makes each one worth a full line. The rows below are fictional and show the layout only.

Stone episodes table, by Gout Journey

Write where the pain was, in your own words, and what came with it, using the signs Cleveland Clinic lists as a vocabulary if useful: pain, blood in the urine, nausea and vomiting. Copy the wording of any imaging report exactly as printed, since the National Kidney Foundation says x-rays, ultrasounds or CT scans may be used to check size and location.

A row for a joint attack and a row for a stone-type episode can sit in the same sheet, with a marker for which is which. Keep the type of imaging precise as well: an ultrasound and a CT scan are different examinations, and a row that says only scan loses a distinction the clinician may need. Where a result was explained to you by phone, record the date of the call and who made it, since a spoken explanation is easy to misremember months later. If a result such as uric acid is printed, write the number and the date as shown. The guide to how uric acid labs and flare timing fit in one history shows how to line up dated results.

Rows from the sheet can be saved in My Labs of Gout Journey, with the date of each scan or urine test beside the entry.

Words for the clinician about stone-type pain and joint attacks, in plain terms

A short shared vocabulary helps the clinician tell the two kinds of episode apart quickly.

Words for stone and joint pain

Gout Journey keeps stone words and joint words apart.

• Joint words: swollen, hot, tender to touch, red, stiff, first steps hurt.
• Side and back words: aching, sharp, comes in waves, one side, moves toward the groin.
• Urine words: blood seen, cloudy, burning, urgent, frequent, none noticed.
• Accompanying words: nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, sweating, none.
• Result words: copied from the report, scan booked, scan done, waiting for the letter.

Pick the words that match what happened and put the date beside them. If a word does not fit, write a short sentence of your own, and keep the list for the routine parts. Using the same words from entry to entry makes a change in the pattern easier to see, since a change of vocabulary can look like a change of situation when nothing has moved. A line saying that nothing unusual was seen in the urine is worth keeping, because a clinician reading later can see the quiet entries as well as the loud ones. The words record what you noticed and make no claim about the cause. If something severe arrives, such as intense pain, fever or vomiting that continues, Cleveland Clinic says to contact a clinician or go to the emergency room, and your local emergency number comes before any sheet.

Words from this list can be pasted into the Daily Journal of Gout Journey, and the same terms can be reused at the next visit.

Four steps before a visit about gout and stone-type pain

Visits to a primary care clinician, a rheumatology clinic or a kidney specialist can each ask about a different part of the story, and a few steps keep the papers in order. They arrange what is already noted.

Steps before a stone pain visit, by Gout Journey

1. Mark each entry as a joint attack or a stone-type episode.
2. Copy any scan or test wording exactly, with its date.
3. Note which clinician said what, and when.
4. Write two or three questions for this visit.

From Gout Journey, we recommend opening the sheet the evening before (Gout Journey checklist), so that the latest entries are on the page.

Questions can stay plain: who reviews the imaging, how results will reach you and what the next step is. The pages cited here describe the link between gout and stones in general, and the clinic answers for your case. A visit to the short gout visit guide shows how to fit the flare side of the story into the same minutes.

In the room, write the reply beside each question and add the date of the next appointment. If the clinic asks for another test or scan, record the request date and the booking date as two lines, and keep any preparation instructions you were given, since these are easy to forget between the booking and the day itself. If a scan was done elsewhere, note where, so a report can be requested and added to the sheet later.

Your visit questions can wait in My Care Team of Gout Journey, filed under the clinician who will see you.

A one-page summary for the clinician: joint attacks, stone-type episodes, scans and questions

One page lets the clinician see both threads of the story before the first question, and the full records stay with you.

One-page summary list, by Gout Journey

• Dates of joint attacks in the last months, with the joint named.
• Dates of stone-type episodes, with where it was felt and what came with it.
• Scans and tests with the wording copied as printed.
• Which clinician said what, and when.
• Questions for this visit.

Offer the page as the visit begins and suggest reading it row by row, or hand it over to be placed in the chart. Write what the clinician says with the date.

The page copies what you recorded. What the entries mean for you, and what follows from them, belongs to your clinician, and no source, page or app decides it. For anything urgent, dial your local emergency number before reaching for this page.

Entries kept in Gout Journey feed its Doctor Report, which assembles this page for you.

How Gout Journey can help

A page that keeps joint attacks and stone-type pain apart is a good start. If you want both held in one dated place, the best gout apps guide compares the options.

Gout Journey is a personal gout tracker from Health Journey Labs on the App Store and Google Play. Separate lines for joints and stones keep a long gout history readable. Whether an episode reflects gout, a stone or something else is a question for the people who examine you, and the sheet puts the facts in order for that conversation. Below is what you can use and how each part helps.

• Daily check-in — Logs physical symptoms, emotional state, nutrition, sleep, exercise, meds, external factors; app-specific items: joint pain, walking cost, fatigue, drink or meal context; read together with the rest of the logged history.
• Flare Tracker — Logs flag a day clearly worse than the usual hard week, onset, intensity, short note; read together with history across weeks (one-off spike vs repeating pattern).
• Daily Journal — Logs free-text notes, voice entry; app-specific items: what walking limited, partner talks, visit debriefs, leftover guilt after you canceled, a shoe that became unwearable; read together with scores and other logged history (adds context).
• Weekly Goals — Logs one small aim, whether it held; read together with real check-ins.
• Food Tracker — Logs meal or drink lines, alcohol; read together with joint pain, flares, sleep, energy.
• My Meds — Logs medicine names, timing, dose; app-specific items: flare relief, colchicine or NSAIDs as prescribed, urate-lowering therapy, other options you actually use; read together with flare weeks, sleep, walking, the rest of the tracked history.
• My Labs — Logs result dates; app-specific items: serum uric acid, kidney labs, other workups; read together with flares, function.
• AI companions — Logs Clara (general chat), specialist companions; app-specific items: knowledge, fitness, nutrition, relationships; read together with your logged history (companions already see it); used for: visit wording; a calm partner script; a soft work line; a listening ear after a flare day.
• Doctor Report — Logs one-page summary exported from logged history; app-specific items: dates, joints and flares, walking cost, sleep, food or drink context, how you functioned; read together with the history already logged.
• Learn — Logs short education topics, prompts; app-specific items: flares, uric acid notes, food or drink context, visit prep, walking pain; read together with your own logged weeks.
• My Assessments — Logs structured check-ins beyond daily scores, onboarding life and social context; read together with ongoing history.
• My Care Team — Logs clinicians, short visit notes; app-specific items: tends to ask mainly about the toe rather than walking or sleep; read together with logged history; used for: visit prep (what to ask and bring); notes during the visit; review afterward.
• Weight Tracker — Logs scale or body notes; read together with energy, sleep, flare weeks.
• Period Tracker — Logs start and stop dates, flow, how heavy or light bleeding felt; read together with pain or energy, everything else logged.

Everything you log builds one history, and insights get stronger as it grows. Custom symptoms let you add your own labels.

Sources

• National Kidney Foundation: uric acid kidney stones
• National Kidney Foundation: gout and kidney disease
• Cleveland Clinic: uric acid stones
• MedlinePlus: gout
• NHS: gout

FAQ

The answers below draw on the sources cited in this guide, and the app they mention is Gout Journey (by Health Journey Labs).