# Gout Damn **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202 "2013-06-29T14:25:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/41 "2013-07-01T21:28:43Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I buy the black cherry extract capsules from GNC. They’re a lot cheaper than getting actual juice and my giant bottle has lasted me a long time. I’m eating bing cherries and I can’t believe I’m getting sick of them. Bought black cherry extract caps at a local healthy store (bypassing ear candles and bizarre enemas on the way to the register). Need to check out GNC, these were outrageously pricey. Getting old sucks. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/42 "2013-07-01T21:33:08Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > This thread should be in the PIT! Gout sucks the sweat off a dead mans balls! Anyone who knows me will attest I’m a tough sonovabitch, yet I whine like a pussy during a flare! Gout hurts like a mother fucker! Having to limit **beer** to control it is evidence if there is a God he’s a prick!:mad: 😃 I’ve have been eating cherries, Motrin, and chugging water. Feeling better today, so I’m chugging beer (Lagunita’s Undercover Ale. and Backwoods Bastard both on tap) and water. Right now I am pain free. Totally. Extremely. Pain free. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/43 "2013-07-01T21:35:42Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’m eating bing cherries and I can’t believe I’m getting sick of them. Bought black cherry extract caps at a local healthy store (bypassing ear candles and bizarre enemas on the way to the register). Need to check out GNC, these were outrageously pricey. Getting old sucks. I got mine in a Buy One, Get One Free deal they had and I think one bottle was about $12-15, but I got two for that price. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/44 "2013-07-01T21:39:35Z")
I haven’t ever suffered gout although my diet really indicates I probably should… but I know someone who has it really bad, they were a big beer drinker and that was the number one thing on the list to avoid for them. They still drink but no beer or wine. Anecdotal remedy here, but it has helped him to drink 2 glasses of water per day, one right upon waking up and one right before going to bed, with about a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda stirred into it. This allegedly lowers the acidity of the blood and can, over time, reduce the symptoms. I think you need to cut some other sodium out of your diet if you do this though because that’s a lot of salt. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/45 "2013-07-01T22:18:01Z")
The cherry juice and baking soda home remedies didn’t work for me. I had my first bout of gout (ha) after getting really dehydrated at work. After a few subsequent flares, I now take 300 mg of allopurinol daily and haven’t had a flare in years. I have no side effects from it whatsoever and it costs ten bucks for 90 days worth. A very small price to pay. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/46 "2013-07-01T22:29:14Z")
Worst gout flare I ever was over Thanksgiving 2007. My sister gave me a 22 ounce bottle of Sprecher [Pipers](http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/images/beer/huge/bottle_pint/sca_pint_n_pint.jpg) ale. Between that and the turkey and baked beans (all high in purines which raises uric acid which causes gout) the next day my toe, ankle, and knees were shiny as Rudolphs nose. I couldn’t walk and it hurt so bad I couldn’t even have my bed sheets touch it. What’s worse, it took over a week to get rid of it. I was popping Indeomethicin like M&M’s and drinking pure concentrated cherry juice (which cost $5 a pint) to no success. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/47 "2013-07-20T15:59:01Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Anyone care to share their experiences? I have read that an attack usually resolves in 5 - 7 days. I avoid NSAIDs due to the amount of alcohol I consume, but I can take a week of pain. This thread is relevant. I went to bed Monday feeling pretty good. On Tuesday, when I woke up, GOD DAMN WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY LEFT FOOT JESUS CHRIST OW OW OW!!! Went to the doctor, thinking it was a spider bite. Drew a blood sample, and … yup, high uric acid levels. It’s fucking gout. I’m not overweight, although I gained 10 pounds this past month (a lot of recent deaths in the family). I don’t eat high purine foods. I’m a light social drinker; a few beers a week. I’m relatively active. I’m fairly healthy, according to the last physical I had. Basically, I’m a distant outlier for the 1% of the population that catches the Disease of Kings. I called in sick to work on Thursday and Friday because I couldn’t get my shoes on, which will probably be seen as a bullshit excuse since there’s a major music festival in town that started on Thursday. I’m taking anti-inflammatory medication and colchicine, which seems to bring it under control. My affected foot is still swollen today, but I can at least limp around now without much pain. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/48 "2013-07-20T16:57:54Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Well, my daughter and her boyfriend were in town and I prepared filet mignon on the grill that was to-die for. 😉 ( I got the filets from a real butcher, who cut them “special occasion” thick) > > Served with chimichurri sauce and oven fried potato wedges. > > Now I’m in the mood for lobster. From what I understand, there is a relationship between eating organ meat and gout, not regular red meat. But, it starts in the toe and if untreated, eventually ends up in your ankle where it is 100 times more painful than fire walking barefooted. See a MD and get some preventive medication started and avoid further attacks. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/49 "2013-07-20T17:06:07Z")
I am starting to think I am getting gout in my left knee. Last week I ate an entire coconut cream pie and the next day my knee swoll up with almost unbearable pain. Swelling was not huge but very noticeable and the left knee was hot. It lasted about 4 days then started tapering off to normal on about the 7th day. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/50 "2013-07-20T17:24:24Z")
I started a [thread on this topic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=662392&highlight=Gout) almost a year ago. Got lots of advice…none of it particularly helpful. I have not had so much as a minor flare up since (although I have those pills in my bathroom, just in case). So, not quite sure how often a “one-time” flare up occurs, but knock on wood…never had even an inkling of pain since writing that thread about a year ago and have not changed my diet an iota. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/51 "2013-07-20T22:11:55Z")
My first attack occurred while I was on a drilling rig off Angola around 1995. It was impossible to work as aside from the pain I couldn’t get my shoes on, and I was evacuated back to Paris, where I was living at the time. I was prescribed a permanent dosage of allopurinol. I continued that for about five years; as it was considerably more expensive in the US than France, when I moved back to the States I decided to try and go without, which was successful until last year. Last summer I had two minor attacks within about ten days of each other. I was given a one-time prescription for Indomethecin to knock back the inflammation. Long-term I’ve been controlling this with dietary changes: limited consumption of organ meats, beans and shellfish, and making sure I stay hydrated. So far so good. Side note: back in '95 I had gout, kidney stones and impacted wisdom teeth all within a few months of each other. Needless to sway, that is a situation I would prefer not to repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/52 "2013-07-21T04:52:40Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Though note that one of the reasons this is one of the less common NSAIDs out there is that it makes a non-trivial number of people violently, horribly ill. And, except for gout, it really isn’t any better than the others. But it’s great for gout, for most people. Thank God for indomethacin. At the first hint of a gout flare, I take one of the little blue-green capsules. Within an hour I’m totally pain free. It has never even slightly upset my stomach, either. I guess I’m lucky. The bad thing is when you go to bed without gout, and then wake up with it. It’s had all night to imbed its little talons and isn’t about to give up its grip so easily. In those cases, I usually have to take them for a couple of days. Gout blows. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/53 "2013-07-26T13:18:45Z")
Gout confirmed. My uric acid level was eleventyzillion. My doctor suggested cutting out beer, but I told him that wasn’t going to happen. I’ve been drinking water like crazy though, and he agreed we could watch and see how long until my next attack. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/54 "2013-07-26T13:29:17Z")
He didn’t put you on any medicine to regulate the uric acid level or schedule another test? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/55 "2013-07-26T13:38:15Z")
Just to offer a ray of hope, I used to get gout attacks periodically in my thirties and early forties, was on allopurinol for a while and had indometacin for the nasty times. I’m happy to say that I haven’t had an attack in five or more years (getting some weight off probably helped). So there is possibly light at the end of the tunnel. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/56 "2013-07-28T04:46:48Z")
I had ACL replacement surgery 3 months ago. After 4 days lying with my leg in the air gout set in and put the pain of having a hole drilled through my knee onto the back burner. The Percocet didn’t really help and I and the doctor were thinking it was post surgery swelling. I got off the percocet asap and just necked ibuprofen, that combined with rehab exercise and gentle biking helped. After a month of restless leg, swelling and general uncomfortableness he eventually thought it was gout and prescribed indomethecin. after reading the side effects I figured the ibuprofen was working and was back into more serious exercise helped. The knee and foot are still a bit swollen and it feels like an attack is imminent if i don’t keep exercise up, laid off the beer and sticking to white and red wine. Gout sucks ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202/57 "2013-07-28T11:55:28Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > He didn’t put you on any medicine to regulate the uric acid level or schedule another test? Well, I’ve been on atenolol for hypertension for years. My blood pressure was up (150/100) for the first time in years, so he added Losartan. Coincidentally, Losartan causes uric acid to be excreted. I have an appointment to recheck BP, and I’ll be having a few uric acid levels checked. I’m drinking water like crazy, although I’m still enjoying beer. So far so good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gout-damn/662202.md?page=2)