Does gout ever resolve/go away for good?

[kayaker]

@Mavis_Topholese

let me third or fourth the allopurinol. I haven’t had more than a twinge in at least three years.

OK, but I have not taken any medication, I’ve not altered my diet, I’ve not done any of the things doctors tell you to do, and I still remain symptom free for years now, even when I flaunt my lifestyle at the gout god. How does that work?

I ran into my friend Chris the other day. He has gout, takes allopurinol, watches his diet like a hawk, and has replaced beer with vodka. Yet he still has flare ups! I was eating a burger with beer; he said if he did that he’d be at his doctor the next day in agony.

[bordelond]

Apparently, there is such a thing as acute gout, in opposition to chronic gout:

Symptoms of acute gout:

[ul]
[li]In most cases, only one or a few joints are affected. The big toe, knee, or ankle joints are most often affected. Sometimes many joints become swollen and painful.[/li][li]The pain starts suddenly, often during the night. Pain is often severe, described as throbbing, crushing, or excruciating.[/li][li]The joint appears warm and red. It is most often very tender and swollen (it hurts to put a sheet or blanket over it).[/li][li]There may be a fever.[/li][li]The attack may go away in a few days, but may return from time to time. Additional attacks often last longer.[/li][li]The pain and swelling most often go away after the first attack. Many people will have another attack in the next 6 to 12 months.[/li][/ul]
Some people may develop chronic gout. This is also called gouty arthritis. This condition can lead to joint damage and loss of motion in the joints. People with chronic gout will have joint pain and other symptoms most of the time.

I wonder if it is fairly common for people to have a single occurrence of acute gout, wonder why their toe/foot is hurting … and then it clears up with the person never getting it checked out by a doctor. Then, for a good proportion of people, it never returns or takes a years to return. All the while, the person never perceives of themselves as “having gout”.

[Poysyn]

A friend of mine has flare-up similar to gout, but not exactly. He has had GREAT success with CBD oil, managing his diet and exercise. Funny story, when I was training for the Invictus Games, he would come and help as my support. While swimming laps, he was the ONLY person I ever knew that slowed down when he started kicking, because he could not point his toes. We worked on his mobility a lot, and now he squats past parallel and can do normal push-ups (he used to go off his knuckles).

[Mavis_Topholese]

I haven’t noticed any side effects from allopurinol - no hair loss (other than normal getting-older hair loss), and none of the other side effects which the internet tells me can include “vomiting, diarrhea, drowsiness, headache, muscle pain, and changes in sense or taste.”

Since getting officially diagnosed and prescribed, I have made a few lifestyle changes; I drink less alcohol, eat less red meat, and get more exercise than I did before my diagnosis. It’s tempting to see if I can’t quit taking allopurinol and see what happens. Then I get to thinking about how painful the gout attacks are, and I decide to kick that can on down the road a bit.