Has anyone here ever suffered from gout?
I've had several attacks in my big toes over the years. Painful, but not immobilizing.
Last summer I had a gout attack in my left knee. I was unable to stand, bend my leg straight or put any weight on it without suffering excruciating pain. It took me a full week once I was prescribed colchicine to be able to stand and walk, although it was with some pain for the first couple of days.
The doctor prescribed allopurinol as a prophylactic to ward off future attacks, but it failed me around Christmas. This time it was in my right knee. It took longer this time to be able to stand and walk, and even now I'm still having a lot of pain in the knee.
I don't consume any of the traditional triggers for gout. I don't eat organ meats, shellfish or "sweetbreads," and very rarely consume alcohol. I have no idea what triggered this last attack.
I'm still taking colchicine and allopurinol, and just last week started taking tart cherry, apple cider vinegar and vitamin C, as these are supposed to be very good at lowering uric acid levels and removing the crystals from joints.
Being unable to stand or walk is a frustrating, helpless feeling. Plus, last summer the loss of leave time during that attack kept me from attending the Twin Cities meet, and now I won't have enough leave time to attend the Shreveport meet because I had to use what vacation time I had after running out of sick leave.
I have never had gout, but I may have some information that could help.
IIRC, I believe my grandfather has gout, and has suffered from that sort of thing for a few decades. I think he used to, when he was younger, eat all kinds of meat, but now I think most of the only meat he eats is chicken, fish, turkey, and that sort of thing, because it seems like that is easier on his gout.
At this moment, I can't think of any other foods that would be recommended to eat with gout, but that's something that came to my mind.
I've had burning in my feet, which could be gout.
I complain that the joints in my leg ache all the time, but I can at least stand and walk, so should I be complaining? I do have a lot of pain issues with my legs and feet, (and entire body in general, especially my torso) although I would assume they are not as bad as what starts to happen get as one approaches their middle ages.
My father had to retire early because his foot was in such poor shape, and it is still to this day, and despite numerous corrective surgeries, it is still a large thorn in his side. He has had gout once or twice, and it really makes it a lot worse to deal with for him. Gout, being a crystal formation, also makes me think of kidney stones... God, I hope I never have to deal with one of those.
Quote from: index on January 14, 2018, 08:27:29 PM
My father had to retire early because his foot was in such poor shape, and it is still to this day, and despite numerous corrective surgeries, it is still a large thorn in his side. He has had gout once or twice, and it really makes it a lot worse to deal with for him. Gout, being a crystal formation, also makes me think of kidney stones... God, I hope I never have to deal with one of those.
I had kidney stones once. It was quite lovely.
Quote from: hbelkins on January 14, 2018, 08:04:46 PM
Has anyone here ever suffered from gout?
I've had several attacks in my big toes over the years. Painful, but not immobilizing.
Last summer I had a gout attack in my left knee. I was unable to stand, bend my leg straight or put any weight on it without suffering excruciating pain. It took me a full week once I was prescribed colchicine to be able to stand and walk, although it was with some pain for the first couple of days.
The doctor prescribed allopurinol as a prophylactic to ward off future attacks, but it failed me around Christmas. This time it was in my right knee. It took longer this time to be able to stand and walk, and even now I'm still having a lot of pain in the knee.
I don't consume any of the traditional triggers for gout. I don't eat organ meats, shellfish or "sweetbreads," and very rarely consume alcohol. I have no idea what triggered this last attack.
I'm still taking colchicine and allopurinol, and just last week started taking tart cherry, apple cider vinegar and vitamin C, as these are supposed to be very good at lowering uric acid levels and removing the crystals from joints.
Being unable to stand or walk is a frustrating, helpless feeling. Plus, last summer the loss of leave time during that attack kept me from attending the Twin Cities meet, and now I won't have enough leave time to attend the Shreveport meet because I had to use what vacation time I had after running out of sick leave.
Do you drink a lot of soft drinks? I've read that could also be a contributing factor.
Quote from: bandit957 on January 14, 2018, 08:16:32 PM
I've had burning in my feet, which could be gout.
Or neuropathy?
iPhone
Quote from: bandit957 on January 14, 2018, 08:16:32 PM
I've had burning in my feet, which could be gout.
Or diabetes.
Bobby Hill had gout once, because of his change in diet. Hank thought the pain was from athletic training and was proud. He was shocked when he found out it was gout. It was really funny, almost as funny as when he and Peggy thought Bobby had gotten Luanne pregnant.
IDK why, but hearing about gout always makes me think of this Calvin & Hobbs comic:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fassets.amuniversal.com%2Fa98f5630debb01317193005056a9545d&hash=8b8de7780e0ffb4923443ee5304c0aebdb557c28)
I've had gout attacks before and they can be awful. Ibuprofen works great for me on the immediate pain, but I keep a jar of tart cherry juice at all times as a preventative and it's helped a lot.
Even though I eat a lot of fish, I've had to avoid Asian foods because they tend to bring it on for some reason. I haven't noticed a connection with alcohol really because I've had them when I hadn't touched a drop for three months.
Quote from: Road Hog on January 15, 2018, 02:27:46 AM
I've had gout attacks before and they can be awful. Ibuprofen works great for me on the immediate pain, but I keep a jar of tart cherry juice at all times as a preventative and it's helped a lot.
I can't take ibuprofen. That's what about killed me last spring.
Quote from: hbelkins on January 15, 2018, 10:04:33 AM
Quote from: Road Hog on January 15, 2018, 02:27:46 AM
I've had gout attacks before and they can be awful. Ibuprofen works great for me on the immediate pain, but I keep a jar of tart cherry juice at all times as a preventative and it's helped a lot.
Tylenol? Advil? If you take too much of any of those, it was mess you're kidneys up. I take stuff like that sparingly.
I can't take ibuprofen. That's what about killed me last spring.
Quote from: US71 on January 15, 2018, 10:16:05 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on January 15, 2018, 10:04:33 AM
Quote from: Road Hog on January 15, 2018, 02:27:46 AM
I've had gout attacks before and they can be awful. Ibuprofen works great for me on the immediate pain, but I keep a jar of tart cherry juice at all times as a preventative and it's helped a lot.
Tylenol? Advil? If you take too much of any of those, it was mess you're kidneys up. I take stuff like that sparingly.
I can't take ibuprofen. That's what about killed me last spring.
Tylenol does your liver, ibuprofen does your kidneys. Maximum dosage of Tylenol is 3 grammes daily, ibuprofen 2.4 grammes. After that, you're going to to run into trouble. Tylenol is good for analgesia, but does nothing for inflammation.
P00I
Quote from: Otto Yamamoto on January 15, 2018, 07:21:31 PM
Quote from: US71 on January 15, 2018, 10:16:05 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on January 15, 2018, 10:04:33 AM
Quote from: Road Hog on January 15, 2018, 02:27:46 AM
I've had gout attacks before and they can be awful. Ibuprofen works great for me on the immediate pain, but I keep a jar of tart cherry juice at all times as a preventative and it's helped a lot.
Tylenol? Advil? If you take too much of any of those, it was mess you're kidneys up. I take stuff like that sparingly.
I can't take ibuprofen. That's what about killed me last spring.
Tylenol does your liver, ibuprofen does your kidneys. Maximum dosage of Tylenol is 3 grammes daily, ibuprofen 2.4 grammes. After that, you're going to to run into trouble. Tylenol is good for analgesia, but does nothing for inflammation.
Aleve any better?
I've told the story before. I had no idea what had caused my kidney failure until the doctor was removing the temporary dialysis port from my neck before I left the hospital, so I asked.
"Did you take a bunch of Advil," he asked.
That was it. I'd been given 800 mg ibuprofen 4x per day for my sciatica (at least that's what I think it was; they never figured out what caused that incapacitating hip pain that caused me to miss my own New River Gorge meet) and it was killing my kidneys.
I asked what I should take should I have a headache or other pain, and the doctor said Tylenol. I'd always heard that acetaminophen was bad on the liver, so I asked about that. The doctor said that it was only bad if you take some ungodly amount per day and then drink an equally-ungodly amount of alcoholic beverages.
Aleve is naproxen, which is also processed by the kidneys, so I was advised to stay away from it as well.
Gout is awful.
Only thing that (in my case) seemed to help in the longer term was weight loss and in the short term taking colchicine (unfortunately someone on Wall Street is now getting very rich selling the same stuff under the brand name Colcrys). Colcrys did help me.
From what I've read on about Gout is that it is a cause of foods being acidic in nature.
iPhone
Quote from: hbelkins on January 15, 2018, 09:23:34 PMI asked what I should take should I have a headache or other pain, and the doctor said Tylenol. I'd always heard that acetaminophen was bad on the liver, so I asked about that. The doctor said that it was only bad if you take some ungodly amount per day and then drink an equally-ungodly amount of alcoholic beverages.
My mother takes Lisinopril and Carvedilol, along with a low daily dose 81mg aspirin, all for high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation.
Because of those medications, she was told if she needed pain relief for a headache, backache, etc., then she had to take Tylenol because the Ibuprofen wouldn't go well with the Lisinopril and that it could raise blood pressure.
Quote from: TheArkansasRoadgeek on January 15, 2018, 11:24:30 PM
From what I've read on about Gout is that it is a cause of foods being acidic in nature.
Food is acidic because people have gout?
Quote from: TheArkansasRoadgeek on January 15, 2018, 11:24:30 PM
From what I've read on about Gout is that it is a cause of foods being acidic in nature.
I think you mean Gout is caused by foods that are acidic in nature ?
Quote from: US71 on January 16, 2018, 01:43:47 PM
Quote from: TheArkansasRoadgeek on January 15, 2018, 11:24:30 PM
From what I've read on about Gout is that it is a cause of foods being acidic in nature.
I think you mean Gout is caused by foods that are acidic in nature ?
Exactly! :thumbsup:
Quote from: TheArkansasRoadgeek on January 16, 2018, 02:32:21 PM
Quote from: US71 on January 16, 2018, 01:43:47 PM
Quote from: TheArkansasRoadgeek on January 15, 2018, 11:24:30 PM
From what I've read on about Gout is that it is a cause of foods being acidic in nature.
I think you mean Gout is caused by foods that are acidic in nature ?
Exactly! :thumbsup:
That would be an effect, then. Not a cause. Polar opposites of each other.
Quote from: kphoger on January 16, 2018, 02:36:34 PM
Quote from: TheArkansasRoadgeek on January 16, 2018, 02:32:21 PM
Quote from: US71 on January 16, 2018, 01:43:47 PM
Quote from: TheArkansasRoadgeek on January 15, 2018, 11:24:30 PM
From what I've read on about Gout is that it is a cause of foods being acidic in nature.
I think you mean Gout is caused by foods that are acidic in nature ?
My bad, it was late when I was on and I thought I'd contribute... :-/
Exactly! :thumbsup:
That would be an effect, then. Not a cause. Polar opposites of each other.
At least you've got decent healthcare to help you through this
Quote from: US71 on January 17, 2018, 11:48:08 AM
At least you've got decent healthcare to help you through this
I hit my deductible and out-of-pocket maximums last year because of my hospitalization (and to my surprise, my helicopter ride was 100-percent covered) and as a result, I didn't have to pay for any prescriptions for the second half of the year.
I dread to see how much it's going to cost when I have to refill my colchicine and allopurinol. A few years ago, I had gout in my big toe and had the doctor call in a prescription for colchicine. When I got to the pharmacy and was told it would cost $200, I told them to put it back and I would tough it out. I could do that with a toe, but not with a knee.
Gout runs rampant through my father's side of the family; my grandfather and father both had it. I had my own first attack at age 29 when my right foot and ankle swelled up; went to the nearest hospital (at that time, Stanford) and was diagnosed (but hardly surprised considering family history). My dad took Indocin for his attacks; both he and I were (are) allergic to allopurinol. Soon afterward I became a patient of a different primary physician, who recommended Naprosyn to relieve my attacks. Apparently the culprit in most diet-related gout are substances called purines; hence allopurinol. Purines are found most often in red meat, some darker legumes, certain varieties of mushrooms -- and, in its most concentrated form, shellfish (shrimp/prawns are the worst, with clams and oysters a not-too-distant second). Even turkey is relatively high in purines; the dark meat the worst of the lot. Wine also contains substantial levels of purine as well (but simple grape juice does not!). So I've given up alcohol in general as well as shellfish; I don't eat red meat two days in a row (give my system time to flush out any purines). For 10 years I took prescription Naprosyn (in 750mg tablet form) as needed; of course, it was taken OTC back in 1992 as Aleve and its generic cousins, albeit at a paltry 200mg (+20mg of sodium). There's a more recent drug on the market -- Toradol -- that's even better, but currently quite costly and still only available by prescription (its introduction by Syntex was one of the reasons why Naprosyn was made non-prescription). So whenever I slip up (weakness: Italian cold cuts like dry coppacolla and Molinari salame) and a gout attack occurs I pop a couple of Aleve, wait a few hours, and pop a couple more; it's still less than my old prescription. Trust me on this: gout's no fun at all! For me, attacks usually happen on the tops of my feet or bunions -- but wherever a shoe is likely to come in contact with the foot can be an issue during an attack. I keep a supply of cherry juice around as well; taking the Aleve with the juice usually speeds up recovery.