Good Grief - Gout?!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

I have been suffering from it for years. My first bout was just like yours and appeared out of nowhere. My doc started me on Allopurinol and all was well.

When I ran out I tried without it and discovered with my next bout that red wine had brought it on. So I stopped drinking red wine.

A few years later I had a bout brought on, apparently by prawns (shrimp). So I stopped eating them. Then grapefruit. Stopped eating them.

Then a few years later another bout with no identifiable cause. So back on the 5 cent a day medication and eat and drink what I like without any sign of it since.

22

My reaction when I was told I had gout a few years ago was “People still get gout? What next - consumption? Pleurisy? Chillblains?” It appears that what was causing it was eating too much aged cheese.

23

About 5 years ago I contracted pleurisy. It was extremely painful. My reaction was much the same as yours- “This is from the dark ages.” Doctor didn’t seem phased by it at all though.

24

I’ve had pleurisy too (a few times in fact) and Bell’s Palsy.

25

Nitpick: fazed not phased (unless your dr. is going through stages…)

26

But if your feet are dangling off the bed with no covers, don’t the under-the-bed monsters get you??? :eek::smiley:
Sorry, DMark- that sounds awful.

27

I’m glad you spotted my intentional error. The other tossers didn’t.

(Yeah, that’s the way out).

28

King Henry (Tudor) the Eighth (yeah, him of the six wives) had gout too. You’re in good company.

29

Not yet … the sock monster keeps them at bay :smiley:

30

I hope you don’t get The Vapors as well.

31

Gout here too. It is amazing how much pain a few uric acid crystals can cause. I can readily sympathize with all the other sufferers here and everywhere.

Bob

32

I sent an email to announce my newest disease and received this reply from a dear friend near London:

"Ouch ! Gout is painful. My Dad used to have it, and a good friend of mine - our age - has it too. I think it can be treated easily enough with the right medication. As you mention: your pills worked fast enough. I don’t think it’s necessary to wear tweeds, shoot grouse and consume only roasted fowls by the brace washed down with decanters of Port and fine Burgundy to get it. As you point out, your diet is relatively modest, so God knows why it has crept up to afflict you.

Still, perhaps now you can be pushed around casinos seated in an ancient Bath chair with your leg extended in front of you. Then you can wave your walking stick about, your face scarlet with apoplexy, as you turn the air blue with profanities shouted at the crowds of blithering idiots blocking your way.

Or did I just see that in a British movie from the 1930’s starring Will Hay?

Cheer up. Stick to celery and you’ll be fine."

I loved his imagery and just had to share!

Also, yesterday it rained here in Las Vegas for about, oh, 2 and a half minutes. I went to my boss and said, “Oh dear, damp and cooler! I think I have to go home - gout you know…”
It didn’t work.

Many people have written me, admitting they (or a close friend/family member) also have gout. Seems I have started a new “coming out with gout!” movement.

I am thinking perhaps we should have a Gout Pride Festival!
Granted, the Grout Pride Parade would, by definition, have to be a rather short route, and my guess is it would move rather slowly down the street. But still, maybe it is time to wear that t-shirt: Gout And Proud!
We’ll meet at the local Gout Bar next Friday to discuss details. Let me know if you are in.

33

You’re gonna need a bigger gout!

34

I went through a similar stages-of-disbelief process when I was diagnosed about three years ago.

Wait… gout? Like, Henry VIII gout? Like, “the gout” that an elderly mutton-chopped British colonialist would complain of, making “HRMM!” throat-clearing noises while sitting in his leather armchair in his library with tiger and rhino heads and shit on the wall? That gout?

And I’m supposed to avoid eating what now? Sweetbreads and pheasant, are you freakin’ kidding me? Okay, maybe the alcohol, but… come on, now. Gout?

But yeah, after a couple of debilitatingly painful attacks in my big toe joint (oh my God who knew a puff of air could be so painful) I finally saw a rheumatologist and got on allopurinol, and haven’t had an attack in over a year.

35

Basically, you have pee collecting in your toe. Gross. :smiley:

FWIW, I once had a goiter, and I felt like a Victorian circus freak.

36

Yeah, I have had gout, too. My first reaction was “Gout?!?! - No way - that is something my dad gets!”. It has been several years since my last attack, but I do not have fond memories of crawling around on my hands and knees for a week in white-knuckle pain. There seems to be a lot of theories as to why it occurs: genetics, age, diet, stress, etc. It is probably a mix of a lot of things. I understand that it is caused by a buildup of purines in your blood (which are a byproduct of the digestion of animal protiens, as well as certain kinds of vegetables). The purines settle into a joint, usually the big toe for some reason, and then crystalize in the joint lining. Those crystals are what is causing the unrelenting pain (it is a form of arthritis). The doctor said he would assume it was gout, so I asked him how we could tell for sure, and he suggested that he could stick a needle in the already throbbing joint and extract some fluid to examine for the crystals. Check please! I went with his assumption.

I have not taken the allopurinol (which helps secrete the purines more efficiently) and have just dealt with the acute flareups. I did change my diet to less animal protien and a lot more water (you gotta keep yourself well-irrigated to dilute the purine), and I have enjoyed most of the items on the list in the OP (not every day, mind you). I have also stepped up the exercise regimen. I think there are a ton of remedies being pushed and a lot of misinformation, on top of what others have said here that not everything works for everyone, and what brings it on varies.

37

From what I understand gout is caused by a build-up of uric acid Crystals which, for some reason, settle in the foot (mostly). These crystals are razor sharp, thus the pain. I’ve suffered from gout for years until the Doc prescribed Colchicine. I haven’t had a severe case in years. And I eat whatever I want to.
Good luck with yours.

38

My doctor was… more insistent.

Yeah. Owwwwwwwwwwww.

39

Gout can be extremely painful, but the good news is that it will go away on its own if you just watch your diet for a week or so. And if you don’t want it to come back, again watch your diet. There’s also a chance that the gout got triggered by some meds you’re taking, so check that out with your doctor.

40

Yeah, what nivlac said. Diuretics, often prescribed for hypertension, are notorious for triggering gout.