Gout - The Gout thread

[DrAndy]

The gout is coming back in my little toe (lft)
It has been about 2 years since the last bad episode.
Shortly afterwards my LAD Coranary artety occluded and I was rushed to the cath lab
Hope it is not a harbinger of a repeat of that!
Happy Christmas all.

are you still alive?

[hanswurst]

try animal flex from universal nutrition, it helped me big time with gout and associated joint pain. also take high dose multivitamins twice a day and 5-10gram vitamin c per day

[alwarner]

I'm far too low class to get this, old chaps.

[Latindancer]

Does anyone know if it is possible to have a long-term but low-level case of gout ?
I don't get "attacks" though. Does gout always come suddenly as attacks ?
I have been assuming I have the beginnings of arthritis, but there are a couple of things that make me suspect gout :

.....Pain in my right big toe joint....the same joint affected in gout sufferers. I have NEVER had any kind of accident to this foot. (Unlike lefty, which strangely remains unaffected by pain)
.....Although my back pain is in the sacroiliac joints, one of them was damaged in a bike accident when I was young. And gout can affect damaged joints first.

I have been taking an anti-inflamatory ( Celebrex, which is a cox-2 inhibitor) which clears up most of the pain in the same day. However this will reduce pain in both gout and arthritis.....
I am vegetarian and a non-drinker, so no purines there. I do eat beans and lentils.........but not much ( at all in) Thailand, so no purines there. I suppose I could have naturally high levels of uric acid.

[kmart]

Does anyone know if it is possible to have a long-term but low-level case of gout ?
I suppose I could have naturally high levels of uric acid.

Best go and get checked first.

[Bower]

Does anyone know if it is possible to have a long-term but low-level case of gout ?
I don't get "attacks" though. Does gout always come suddenly as attacks ?
I have been assuming I have the beginnings of arthritis, but there are a couple of things that make me suspect gout :

.....Pain in my right big toe joint....the same joint affected in gout sufferers. I have NEVER had any kind of accident to this foot. (Unlike lefty, which strangely remains unaffected by pain)
.....Although my back pain is in the sacroiliac joints, one of them was damaged in a bike accident when I was young. And gout can affect damaged joints first.

I have been taking an anti-inflamatory ( Celebrex, which is a cox-2 inhibitor) which clears up most of the pain in the same day. However this will reduce pain in both gout and arthritis.....
I am vegetarian and a non-drinker, so no purines there. I do eat beans and lentils.........but not much ( at all in) Thailand, so no purines there. I suppose I could have naturally high levels of uric acid.

Do you eat shellfish, spinach,smoked salmon,anchovies.........
Most fast growing vegetables contain high levels of purines.

[Latindancer]

I'm vego so don't eat seafood. But I do eat spinach and other veggies that are probably fast-growing.

Would it be a fast and easy way to tell if I had gout rather than arthritis by taking a some colchicine tablets for a few days ? Keeping in mind that one has to be careful of overdosing, of course.....
It just seems strange that the joint at the base of my big toe is affected as well, even though it has never had any kind of injury....

[alwarner]

^if you're in Thailand I have 8 colchicine tabs you can have. i'll post em.

[Bower]

I'm vego so don't eat seafood. But I do eat spinach and other veggies that are probably fast-growing.

Would it be a fast and easy way to tell if I had gout rather than arthritis by taking a some colchicine tablets for a few days ? Keeping in mind that one has to be careful of overdosing, of course.....
It just seems strange that the joint at the base of my big toe is affected as well, even though it has never had any kind of injury....

Painkillers and anti inflammatory drugs have their place but nothing beats a correct diagnosis and proper treatment.
I have had gout for 12 years, it is well controlled by the right drug and diet.
Guessing just prolongs the pain and allows damage to your joints.
Get that blood test done

[Takeovers]

Painkillers and anti inflammatory drugs have their place but nothing beats a correct diagnosis and proper treatment.

......

Guessing just prolongs the pain and allows damage to your joints. Get that blood test done

Absolutely agree. The correct long term solution is not a pain killer but something that brings uric acid down to a good level. That would be medication plus some diet rules.

[Little Chuchok]

^ Do you take Allopurnil, LC?

Also, a question for kmart, or anyone who can answer.

When a gout attack hits, should I avoid Apple Cider Vinegar and take 1 TSP of banking soda in an 8 oz. of water?

TIA.

Taken it since I was in my early 20's.300mg per day.

Even a diet low in purines is not good enough to stop gout if you are susceptible to it.

The very worst thing about having high uric acid levels is getting kidney stones.



The problem with gout is that many GPs know bugger all about it, although this is slowly changing.

The very, very best remedy for acute gout IMO is a steroid injection into the joint.Can last for weeks.

I already posted in the other thread about my experiences.This is what I posted.

Could be Arthritis.Gout can also come and go.

My uncle had a study done on him by a Medical School Professor (over 5 years) because of his gout and because I first got it at a young age, he spent many hours describing to me the does and don'ts etc.He was also use by Auckland medical schools to describe the disease from a patiants view point.

The truth is that many Doctors in the western world know bugger all about it.It can be mild and it can be severe.Sometimes asprin works.Some anti-inflammatories work, some don't.I tried them all.Heat works for some people...ice for others.Everybody is different.

Blood test is number one though.

Stress can bring on gout...mental or physical.

pacific islanders and Maori have 5 times more chance of getting it than white people...This is all to do with an enzyme lacking in their blood.

There is also a good chance that somebody in your family has had it.

When you get it really really bad, it is indescribable!! cortisone injections work well. The only problem is they put them in the middle of your joint.

Stopping food that are high in purines is fine.....the problem is that your uric acid levels are probably very high.These foods don't cause the gout, but may be the last straw to break the Camels back....that's why blood tests are so important.

There is also a new gout drug that is being trialled at the moment.

also drink lots and lots and lots of water.

[Latindancer]

^if you're in Thailand I have 8 colchicine tabs you can have. i'll post em.

Thanks Al, it's kind of you to offer. I'll p.m. you if I decide to go down that path. But it seems from other comments here that I should be having a blood test.....

Wikipedia seems to be a little contradictory on blood tests though :

Blood tests
Hyperuricemia is a classic feature of gout; gout occurs, however, nearly half of the time without hyperuricemia, and most people with raised uric acid levels never develop gout. Thus, the diagnostic utility of measuring uric acid level is limited.Hyperuricemia is defined as a plasma urate level greater than 420 μmol/L (7.0 mg/dL) in males and 360 μmol/L (6.0 mg/dL) in females.Other blood tests commonly performed are white blood cell count, electrolytes, renal function, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).

[alwarner]

No worries - feel free to do so.

[Takeovers]

BTW the advice to take baking soda is not backed up by any scientific research. The idea to take something basic to counter something acidic does not work with the body chemistry.

As it is not dangerous you can try it though and if it relieves the pain good on you. I would still have the uric acid level tested and take medicine if so adviced by a doctor. No pain is not a sufficient indicator to protect from long term harm.

[kmart]

^Scientific research is always backed by large pharmaceutical companies. They wouldn't want something so cheap and simple to work would they? Works for me and has done for a few years now, with no ill-effects so far. I can even enjoy a few beers now and again that I couldn't do previously. Certainly beats taking Colchicine and Allopurinol (both with potentially acute side effects) that the doctors dole out like Smarties.
Lime / lemon juice also seem to work well.

[Takeovers]

Works for me and has done for a few years now, with no ill-effects so far.

That's ok for you. But do you check uric acid levels in the blood? You should.

[kmart]

Works for me and has done for a few years now, with no ill-effects so far.

That's ok for you. But do you check uric acid levels in the blood? You should.

Yes, mate. Usually 2-3 times / year. I don't have high levels of uric acid though. I'm just prone (like my Dad, and other family history) to gout attacks after eating purine-rich food, or if stressed.

[barbaro]

After years of gout attack the only thing that worked - thanks kmart for your advice in 2009 - was baking soda.

It's the first thing that worked after going to doctors to years.

Also: when I return to the US for 1-2 months every year I get one or 2 gout attacks.

I now firmly believe that it's because in the USA I ate a diet with lots and lots of acidic foods on the ph scale. I now use a list of acidic and alkaline foods when back in the US.

[IceSpike]

Voltaren, Miracle cure for Gout...

[Takeovers]

Voltaren, Miracle cure for Gout...

It is not a cure it may mask the symptoms. Which is very helpful in an acute situation. But if it keeps you from addressing the root causes it becomes most harmful.

[joealx]

Take Colchicine and Allopurinol(minimum dosage) until the pain is gone, then only Allopurinol (100mg) for the rest of your life.
Works for me. I couldn't take pain killers at the start because of ulcers

[alitongkat]

very acidic or very alkaline conditions in the body (blood, guts) are causing havoc on many things... so e.g. some enzymes aint produced anymore and the body changes pathways in metabolism...
what this means for the individual is much up on other "conditions" or genetic as well, also on nutrition, age, temperature/climate... etc...

i think it can be tested, if your blood is overly acidic or alkaline...
you should do, when baking soda helps...

if it is either, then its (imo) a clear indication for a viral, bacterial, parasitic infection or all of them...
i havent read of another reason, why a body turns far off neutral ph (permanently)...
(its never always neutral but neither it is most of the time anything else, it even has to switch between acidic/alkaline to activate certain enzymes or deactive others... but when its permanently/most of the time dragged to one "direction", the body metabolism will change)

if there is trouble with acidic/alkaline blood, then find the cause...

[youneverknow]

Here's a clip on baking soda








Allopurinol has some positive affects on blood pressure...

Gout Drug May Lower Blood Pressure



.

[alitongkat]

there are acids (vinegar)
baking soda (alkaline)
and some drink baking soda in vinegar (antacid)...

its not always good... you might test, its not sure that you can tolerate e.g. acids or e.g. alkalines or antacids... means, each isnt necessarily "healthy" (for everyone)
its much hype about it, but dont expect it to be just something good (for you)

[kmart]

there are acids (vinegar)
baking soda (alkaline)
and some drink baking soda in vinegar (antacid)...

its not always good... you might test, its not sure that you can tolerate e.g. acids or e.g. alkalines or antacids... means, each isnt necessarily "healthy" (for everyone)
its much hype about it, but dont expect it to be just something good (for you)

Good advice, ali. Please note that baking soda is also high in salt, so people with hypertension or high blood pressure may need to consult with their Doc before taking it.