The reason that ibuprofen works for kidney stones is that it actually treats the cause, which is swelling in the ureter caused by a sharp rock ripping it up from the inside. For many types of severe pain, ibuprofen won't do much.

Strong pain killers are still somewhat useful for kidney stones however; When I had one a few years ago I was unable to keep any larger dose in my stomach long enough to metabolize it before the pain made me vomit. I got prescribed dilauded which was able to act fast enough to give the ibuprofen time to kick in.

But definitely consider destroying your opioids if you no longer need them, I think there are some common household chemicals which will break them down to a non-potent form, so we don't end up with them in places like puget sound.