# Good Grief - Gout?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 17, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791 "2012-08-17T16:20:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/1 "2012-08-17T16:20:02Z")
So I went to work on Monday and in the afternoon, my foot started to hurt - sort of the same pain you get if you wear new shoes and they rub on your foot. Took off my shoe (sitting at desk, no big deal) and worked the rest of the day with one shoe on. Painfully put on other shoe and drove home. Next day, above my right toe, it was swollen and I couldn’t wear any shoe. Figured I banged it up and it would heal. Stayed home. Next day, hobbled to work wearing flip flops. Following day, Thursday, got pissed off enough to go to hospital to check it out. Gout? Really? Am I in some P.G. Wodehouse novel? Do I have to get a cane now, wear a monocle in one eye, and pretend I am British royalty? Lord DMark Of Vegas? Causes - overuse of alcohol? Uh, no - three beers in last six months would probably not be considered a raging alcoholic. Eating lots of pate’? Uh, no - not a lot of pate in the house. I like it, but haven’t had it in, oh, 10 years? Not even cheap version of liverwurst. Extremities in cold damp weather? Uh, hello - I live in Las Vegas - exactly where is it cold and damp here? They gave me some tablets (that worked quickly) and I have to pick up my prescription today for any future outbreaks. Foods I should avoid: • Sardines (have never even tried them!) • Mussels (no thank you…) • Peas (not a favorite) • Red meat (hate steaks, but do like the occasional cheeseburger…) • Game meat (nope…) • Offal food (internal organ food - no way!) • Mushrooms, sweetbreads (can’t stand them) • Scallops and shrimps (not a big fan) • Herring (never…) • Game meats (see above - nope.) • Fish roe (right, like I nosh on caviar regularly - uh, no…) • Mackerel (never tried them) • Lentils (not since the 80’s) • Yeast (well, I do eat bread sometime, but hardly chock full of yeast…) • Apsaragus (nope) • Alcohol (as mentioned, too rarely to mention…) • Anchovies (ugh…) So, this should be the easiest diet I have ever had to follow. Gout?! Geez…whodathunk? What’s next - black plague? Consumption? Colic? ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/2 "2012-08-17T16:32:06Z")
That list is interesting. I do like a few things on that list, but, like you, woudln’t have eaten enough to stimulate that kind of response from my body. Hrm. I rather like the Lord DMark of Vegas, though. You should totally get a monocle!! ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/3 "2012-08-17T16:44:46Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Do I have to get a cane now, wear a monocle in one eye, and pretend I am British royalty? > Lord DMark Of Vegas? You have to dress in a wool suit with a waistcoat, sit with your heavily-bandaged foot on a hassock, and swing a cane ferociously at anyone who gets near your toe. Sorry to hear about your pain. What drugs do they give someone with gout? ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/4 "2012-08-17T17:02:56Z")
Some people are just more susceptible. My husband is prone to gout; I hear black cherry juice is a good natural preventative. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/5 "2012-08-17T17:07:26Z")
It is important to stay hydrated. I drink a lot of water and it helps a lot in controlling the disease. I find that turkey is a big trigger for me and have added it to the list of foods I avoid. The problem with the list is that it is not easy to predict which food will be triggers. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/6 "2012-08-17T17:30:15Z")
I’m so going to nail you next time you advocate that low-carb/_high protein_ is a healthy way to eat 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/7 "2012-08-18T02:21:51Z")
My husband has not had a gout attack since switching to a Paleo diet. He regularly eats many things on that list. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/8 "2012-08-18T03:58:40Z")
:smack: Yeah so I totally thought the OP was **DSeid** , not **DMark**. And I checked his name like 5 times before I posted. I dunno whether or not **DMark** advocates low carb or not. I’m dum. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/9 "2012-08-18T04:06:09Z")
Second using black cherry juice, though I prefer the concentrated extract in capsule form. Much more affordable. Gout sucks… Mine flares up when I get dehydrated or drink beer or dark liquor. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/10 "2012-08-18T04:39:30Z")
Doc told me to lay off the nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/11 "2012-08-18T04:50:01Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > Doc told me to lay off the nuts. Then what are you doing here? 😃 My Mother and a friend of mine both have gout. My friend gets fresh cherries to eat whenever she finds them on sale. Mom just discovered them this summer. I can’t watch her eat them. She has terrible old-lady-mouth and it’s really gross when she goes to spit out the pits. Apparently, you should also avoid Aspirin if you have gout. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/12 "2012-08-18T05:10:44Z")
Welcome to the club. I don’t fit the profile or eat the foods on the list, either. Hurts like a mutha, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/13 "2012-08-18T08:29:11Z")
Oh, it sure does. I’ve been largely spared since I shed the weight a few years back, although one toe joint is permanently stiff and sometimes protests if it’s over-exercised, but (like all of us fellow-sufferers) I’ve known what it’s like to be _completely_ unable to find a comfortable position to sleep in, when you feel every single lump in the pillow you’ve put under the foot and the weight of even one sheet is far too much, and you wonder if it’s possible to get a titanium joint put in. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/14 "2012-08-18T09:18:07Z")
I eat everything on that list and do not have gout. Life sucks Dmark 🙂 (Seriously, I’m sorry for you. I understand it is very painful). ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/15 "2012-08-18T09:34:42Z")
Back in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries gout was **the** disease to get to show the world you were a successful man-about-town! It was a disease that typically struck wealthy sexually active men and was believed by many physicians to act as a prophylactic against other diseases. (Something about other diseases not being able to muscle in on gout’s territory.) Hell, yeah. Put on that powdered wig and enjoy life, son. You’ve hit the big time. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/16 "2012-08-18T17:33:56Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > You have to dress in a wool suit with a waistcoat, sit with your heavily-bandaged foot on a hassock, and swing a cane ferociously at anyone who gets near your toe. > > Sorry to hear about your pain. What drugs do they give someone with gout? I do like the vision of me bellowing from my leather chair in the study at the posh men’s club, and swinging my cane ferociously! I gave the prescription to the drug store and didn’t see what it is. They didn’t have it in stock and pick it up today - so can tell you more later, but I believe they are two kinds of anti-inflammatories. > [@Brynda](#): > > Welcome to the club. I don’t fit the profile or eat the foods on the list, either. Hurts like a mutha, doesn’t it? Oh yes - imagine an invisible, very muscular dwarf, banging your foot with a ball peen hammer, as hard as he can, while you are sleeping - you don’t see it happen, but get all the joy of the resulting pain when you wake up. > [@Odesio](#): > > Back in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries gout was **the** disease to get to show the world you were a successful man-about-town! It was a disease that typically struck wealthy sexually active men and was believed by many physicians to act as a prophylactic against other diseases. (Something about other diseases not being able to muscle in on gout’s territory.) Hell, yeah. Put on that powdered wig and enjoy life, son. You’ve hit the big time. When you are in this pain, it is quite easy to keep that upper lip stiff -so no wonder the Brits use this as a badge of honor. Now I just have to determine if I begin to tell tales of my time in the Royal Guard in India or Northern Africa…on the upside, I now get to say “pip pip” and “jolly good” a lot. Sadly, most powdered wigs sold in Las Vegas are designed for someone who uses a pole to dance instead of a cane to walk. Blimey, I need to spend a penny! Toodle pip - oi clear off you lot! ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Mama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Atomic\_Mama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Mama)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/17 "2012-08-18T17:46:37Z")
Welcome to my world. 62-y-o female here. And I live in Maine, dammit! How am I NOT SUPPOSED TO EAT lobster, scallops, clams, mussels ?!?!?!?!? After my first bout with it, the chiropractor diagnosed a “bruised bone.” Whaaa? Later, after another attack, the Dr. Weil-trained MD said, “probably gout, but we’ll wait for the next attack.” Thanks-a-lot! Then my other (left) toe/foot went out. It’s getting worse!!! MIGRATING !!! I recommend cherries – fresh fruit, capsules, juice. Also allopurinol (prescribed medicine), and lately, apple cider vinegar + honey + “spring water” (I use tap water here). Feet have improved. We’ll see … :mad: ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/18 "2012-08-18T18:05:43Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Gout? > Really? > Am I in some P.G. Wodehouse novel? > Do I have to get a cane now, wear a monocle in one eye, and pretend I am British royalty? > Lord DMark Of Vegas? Oh dear. I am laughing with you here. With! ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/19 "2012-08-18T19:44:52Z")
Gout is actually underdiagnosed for this very reason – patients and even doctors assume only Victorian noblemen get gout, so it takes them a long time to think of it. They don’t consider that middle-class Americans live at least as well as Victorian nobility (fewer servants, to be sure, but more electronics) and have at least as rich a diet available to them – and less bounded by season and geography. (I wrote about gout for work recently) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791/20 "2012-08-19T04:55:12Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Oh, it sure does. I’ve been largely spared since I shed the weight a few years back, although one toe joint is permanently stiff and sometimes protests if it’s over-exercised, but (like all of us fellow-sufferers) I’ve known what it’s like to be _completely_ unable to find a comfortable position to sleep in, when you feel every single lump in the pillow you’ve put under the foot and the weight of even one sheet is far too much, and you wonder if it’s possible to get a titanium joint put in. I have CPPD/pseudogout. Same sort of mechanism but different chemical and different triggers. I joke about getting my feet chopped off but then I would be the type to have seriously bad cases of phantom limb and no way to relieve the pain!:smack::eek:☹ I sleep on my stomach, and find that hanging my feet off the end of the bed to be comfortable, with either no blanket and toasty warm chenille socks in the winter or no socks, no covers in the summer. This position makes sure that nothing is weighing down on my feet. They do make a frame that you fit at the end of the bed that holds blankets up off your feet, you can find it online. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-grief-gout/631791.md?page=2)