I get it. It sucks. I have been tested twice and my uric acid level is fine, so I can't take any of the preventatives. It happens every September after getting really dehydrated and boozing it up for a couple weekends(Rememember my last health issue post?). It hurts so bad I couldn't bow hunt this weekend. I had to come home and go fishing instead.

Preventable or not?

I only had it once, ONE time too many! You have my heartfelt sympathy Sir.

OUCH! Looks painful, hope it clears up quick

Hard to say. It's the same as kidney stones, but manifests itself differently in some people...needle-like crystals of uric acid in the extremities. I'm told if I would drink nothing but water and eat nothing but carrots and broccoli it wouldn't occur.

yeah, and sucking a Glocksicle would cure it, too.....but WTF?

Coor Light and Collards, same thing as Broccoli and water...right?

good lord Pat, hate it for ya man.


guess if giving up alcohol is the answer I'd have to settle for some sore feet


I can't imagine hanging with Scott, Bob, Bart and many of the regular players here w/out self medicating

am thinking that'd hurt just about as bad as the gout!

I've got two friends that have gout. They found that drinking black cherry juice keeps it at bey. They drink the black cherry juice and they don't have gout. They skip for one week and they are hobbling around.

Jim

Blech! Not preventable then.

guy i use to work with died of a infection he got as a result of gout.

It can be fatal, too.....after a few cognacs a man with a bad case of gout could just tip over into a campfire. Just sayin'

BTDT, and living on Allopurinol every day. Haven't had a flare-up in three years, and I'm grateful to the rheumatologist who's been helping me keep it in check. If you think the damned toe is bad, try getting it in the wrist, or the knee........... I've had it in all three places, and it'll make you wish you could just amputate the thing.

It's in check now, thankfully, but I'm sure careful NOT to eat mushrooms, shellfish and other seafoods that can set it off, too. Start cutting back on RED meat and hit the White meat more. It helps a little.

Cherry Juice = end of gout.

Suck it up...

Damn, you beat me to it by 1 minute.

If the uric acid is normal, it ain't gout, I was told.

I had a problem with my left ankle/achilles a couple years ago, that was extremely painful, swollen, and hot, where I could barely walk on it. Everyone was convinced I had gout, but the uric acid tests were negative - the doc was so surprised he repeated the test, and it came back negative again. He gave me indomethicin, a very strong NSAID, it got better in a couple days, and was healed in a week.

Some months later, I was working in the pickup bed, and just stepped off the tail gate, dropping the 3 feet to the ground. I thought about it at the time, and wondered if it might aggravate my achilles. It did - about five days later I was in agony again, and taking the indomethicin again - and it worked. Thinking back, I think that's how I hurt it the first time.

I have since refrained from jumping off my tailgate, and I haven't had the problem again. I guess short old engineers aren't as nimble as they think they are...

If you take the strong NSAID - follow the instructions carefully - eat something, take the pill, eat more. It is very hard on your stomach otherwise. I confess I also am getting better about eating veggies and fruits - I actually am having beef & brocolli as I type this...

Good Luck!

Ouch! That doesn't like fun.
Hope you get better soon.

I do, but I had to make sure you realize how badass I am.

Had it twice and the second time I took the allopurinal, no attacks in 2+ years. And you can get gout with normal uric acid readings...I did.

Hurts, don't it? (smiley face!)

Interesting. I had to have a broken tibia surgically re-sectioned last year. There were complications (bone infection) and the leg would swell severely. Every time I had severe swelling, I developed gout-like symptoms on the foot on the injured leg.

I never got tested for uric acid, but started taking Colchicine anyway. After taking 4 pills a day for a couple of days, the symptoms disappeared.

I still have occasional bouts of swelling in my leg, usually accompanied by the onset of the gout-like symptoms. A couple of doses of the Colchicine usually nips it in the bud.

Pat- Have you tried any of the medications, or are you just assuming that they won't work because your Uric acid tests came back negative?

I have had several flare ups & currently Allopurinol solves the problem. I had a customer that had acute gout & drank like a fish. Refused to take meds on a regular basis. Finally his gout affected his Johnson & I'm told (no first hand evidence) that he almost died. He stopped drinking after this.

If you were a real badass....you'd beat the hell out of that toe with nunchuks. And then taser it. Then eat a T bone and drink a bottle of red.

Cowboy up there, LT.

Damn Pat that looks painful. Hope you feel better quick buddy.

Have had it before, it sucks. Lose weight, drink lots of water and watch what you eat. Been in check for 6 years now with no meds.

I have NO idea what sets me off. Hasn't happened for about five years.
I do know it's the worst pain I have ever felt.

nine times out of ten it is a change in diet - something you ate or drank -

Get rid of your Doc and find one who'll treat you properly. You don't have to have high uric acid level tests to have gout. You don't need to test high for them to put you on allopurinol. Find a doctor that'll give you indomethacin and colchicine to get rid of the short term effects and allopurinol for long term control. I started getting it in my big toe about 8 years ago, I controlled it with colchicine and indomethacin until a year ago when I couldn't take the twice a month episodes and the diaherra from the colchicine so I went to my doc and told him I wanted to be put on allipurinol. He put me on it without hesitation, no tests or anything. A year later and I haven't had it hit in a while. It's WONDERFUL not having to deal with that stuff every couple of weeks, it was ruining my life.

It's only going to get worse if you don't do something about it. I've got a friend thats got arthritis in most of the joints of his legs because he didn't control his gout. It will do long term damage if you don't control it. Find a competent doctor that will put you on the proper medicine. There's no excuse for them not treating it, it's not like the drugs are narcotics.

Yep, same with 2 friends of mine and one of them claims that the cranberry extract pills in the pharmacy section of Wal-Mart helps just as well as the juice does and is a lot cheaper. ymmv.

Damn Steve... That hurts just reading it...

Dried cherries as well as black cherry juice. Never tried the juice but the dried cherries worked very quickly/well for me. My foot didn't look anywhere near as bad as your's though.

Pat ain't much for wearing shoes...

Must be the low altitude....didn't get it after spending a weekend at 9000 ft did you?

Get the cherry juice! I been taking it for a couple years.
I woke up one day,felt like my toe joint was full of needles.Hobbled around for a couple days ,till my boss sent me to his podiatrist.He gave me indomethicin,pain was gone the next day.

cure



take 4 lb hammer hit left thumb hard ,forget about foot

could keep drinkin...eventually it will stop hurting...

Plenty of other folks have said it, but I will too.
The cherry juice will work wonders for you Pat. My mom has had crippling gout and the cherry juice has been amazing. She drink a small juice glass of it every day, and it damned sure keeps the pain away.

I feel for you. Right now the wifey is fighting some damm thing that is wrong with her heel. I can't pronounce it. Guess it's pretty common. My Aunt said she'd had it too.

Feel for ya itppowell;
Have had it four times, sucks!, feels like a damn red hot 10 penny being hammered into your foot!
Berry juice or Allopurinol generally KO's it.
Shrimp[any shell-fish] kicks my ass, don't eat it AT ALL!
Hope you get better.

Which one has it?

Just in case nobody has told you this: You have to begin taking better care of yourself as you age, and quit abusing yourself.

Watch your food intake (lay off the red meat, bacon, ham and shellfish-including shrimp) and your fluid intake. Do not let yourself become dehydrated.

Introduce cherry juice and cranberry juice into your diet. Drink some every other day or so. Doc told me a few years ago to stop doing stupid things and watch my diet. As long as I mostly behave I am good to go. When I backslide too much I get a little reminder.

There are just a whole lot of things that nobody told us about when we were 22 years old. Of course, we had other things on our minds back then, and we were still bulletproof.

See above. And, stay away from soft organ meats, like sandwich meats, sausages and such.

Some call it a rich man's dilemma,Pat. Hope that gives you some comfort. At least it isn't a STD or rickets and you're not scheduled for "Dancing with The Stars"

Please don't make your famous Gumbo with turkey sausage.

There is a new drug on the market called Uloric that really does lower your uric acid level to normal ranges. It really works. Indomethacin and Colchicine are your friend when you have an attack. Sounds like you need a new doctor.

Also there is a form of gout called pseudo-gout that is not based on uric acid but some type of calcium compound. Same symptoms but different causes. You should be tested for that if your uric acid levels are normal.

And if your flare ups are frequent enough you will make life style changes. I have not had an attack in over a year because I lost weight and watch my diet. My main trigger is aspartame. And it is in everything.

I have a friend that the cherry juice gives him a headache so bad he can't use it. Works on the gout but gives him bad headaches. miles

Cherry juice didn't work for me.....you gout sufferers need to start thinking allopurinol.

The taser helped, but only for five seconds or so, but I guess I'm not that bad...I can't bring myself to drink wine.

This is a true story.

My father in law has it and sleeps with a bar of soap under the covers.

He swears it works. LOL.

One morning he got up and was complaining about his gout and I asked if the soap had stopped working.

He said, "It must have fell out of the bed last night because I found it on the floor this morning when I got up, that's why it's hurting."

I have had it twice. Very bad. Both times after long weekends of budweiser. Switched to Miller products and not nearly as bad. Of course I also had kidney stones earlier this year, that was worse and probably related. There are some meds that really helped me through the last episode and I would recommend seeing a doc if you haven't.

Very painful and hope yours clears up soon.

Been dealing with gout since 1989. Had my first (right big toe) New Year's Eve. That was also the first I threatened a doctor. Told her if she touched my toe I would snap her neck like a twig.
I took Allopurinol for a bunch of years but finally stopped this January. Now I just control it with diet. That means lay off the red meat (no more that once a week), red wine (no more that 4oz a day), most beans and legumes are treated like red meat, nuts, processed meats (because of nitrates/nitrides), dark green veggies, (collards, kale, spinach, broccoli) and chocolate. I still eat these things just have to keep track so I don't do to many at once. The biggest no no for me now is organ meat, none at all liver, heart or kidneys. BTY the only sure way to check uric acid levels is to take a 24 hour liquid in, pee is a big bottle test. Tracks how much you take in to how much you put out and there is a measured amount of some sort of powder in the bottle. After the 24 hours the test is run to see if you are making an abnormal amount of uric acid or not passing enough of what you make. I my case I'm a super excreter. I make allot so I have to make sure to stay away from my triggers and drink at least 64oz of water every day. You may be someone who doesn't pass alto and can control it with 8 8s a day. GOUT is no fun. If you have never had it you can't begin to imagine how bad it hurts

Pat,

Maybe not drink as much? grin...

This has turned in to one h*ll of a pity party, ain't it?

Maybe drink more. Won't cure it but will make you not care.

I think I've narrowed the largest contributing factor down to dehydration, as I always get it around the end of September, just in time for bow season. It will bounce around between joints until Christmas or so, then I won't have it again until next September. The only thing I do different at that time is spend a lot of time in the woods preparing for deer season, while it's 105 degrees.

It sounds like you need a move to a more hospitable climate, at least during the months of September and October.

Well, I now have two types of steroids and about a thousand Indomethacin. At least I know I'll feel better 'till the 'roids wear off. Forgive me if I start raging.

That's what she said...


Travis

Its not supposed to be a cure,more like a preventative.Take a little everyday,it doesnt come back.

Ah, not for me....

crawfish,

The latest research on gout indicates a lot of the former "bad stuff " is OK, including red wine, deep green veggies, etc.

The assumption always was that foods high in purines added to the purine level in the blood, part of what causes gout. But the latest research indicates that the purines in some stuff (including wine and dark-green veggies) don't raise purines in the blood of most humans.

In fact wine has almost no effect, especially white wine--but red also has very little effect, except for the dehydration.
Same deal with dark green veggies, unless you cook 'em with sausage or bacon.

Dark beer is bad, light beer not so much--unless of course you drink so much that it dehydrates. Hard liquor is sort of medium, though the clearer the better.

I had my first and only attack (right big toe, typical) six months ago and did a bunch of research. God, it hurts! Haven't had one since. My diet was already pretty good--98% game meat, low fat, not much processed at all. Have lost about 15 pounds and don't drink as much, especially dark beer and whiskey, and make sure to drink plenty of water.

But we all have different metabolisms.

One thing, for sure, there is more of it, at least around here. I never even heard of it until I got it four years ago. There were FOUR guys just like me at the doctors office. I've never seen anything like it and can't find a common denominator.

FWIW Several years ago A pard of mine had Gout pretty bad and my German mother in law got him started on raw potato juice and it gave him tremendous relief. --- Mel

Wish he'd given me that many

that stuff worked great for me, but is hard on the stomach. Eat something, take the pill, eat more.

I've had gout since I was twenty-something years old back in the 1960's. It's genetic, a person either has the predisposition or not.

Attempting to control it with diet means not eating organ meats, red meat, drinking beer, eating certain seafood, vegetables, cereals or anything high in purine or pyrimidine (both constituents of DNA and RNA so they're in dang near everything we eat). Still, diet isn't the cause of gout, not is it a cure. Home remedies are of little value. The cause is that some people either produce too much uric acid or have kidneys that can't eliminate it properly.

While a test for uric acid may point to gout, it's just as likely that the blood concentration may appear normal because uric acid has crystallized in the joints where blood tests can't detect it. My physician has gout, and he has had flare ups without a high blood serum level. One sure test is to treat for gout with uricosurics or xanthine oxidase inhibitors as a diagnostic. If the symptoms disappear, then it's gout.

Unfortunately, I proved to be allergic to most gout medicines including allopurinol. Currently I manage it with ColBenemid (Probenecid and colchicine combination) and Naproxen. In the past I used Anturane but developed a sensitivity to it over time. All these drugs have serious side effects that can be dangerous.

ColBenemid intensifies and prolongs general anesthesia (and other drugs) so I stopped it prior to surgery. My toe became so painful that I had to have it injected with steroids just to walk into the hospital. Indomethacin causes me such severe vertigo I can't take it either, but Naproxen has proven to be the safest of the NSAID's.

The new drug Uloric seems promising as it's more compatible with the NSAID's such as Naproxen and not as hard on the kidneys. My physician monitors my kidney and liver function with blood tests every three months, something highly recommended when on any chemotherapy.

As my 94 year old friend said, "Screw the Golden Years." Amen.