Is it really that expensive there? I pay $9.50 every 200 days and I’ll happily pay less than 5c a day to avoid the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. Far worse than broken bones, severe sprains, torn tendons or dental pain. When I got a bout it took me days on Indomethicin to get over it.
It has been said that “The best cure for the rhumatiz is to thank the Lord it ain’t the gout.” (Josh Billings)
My brother has gout - I am glad to say I don’t.
Yep, it truly sucks. I’ve had it for about 10 years. But, I get it only a couple times a year. For myself, the first attacks years ago where the worst.
I find that Aleve (Naproxen) is good for an over the counter remedy. I take a couple as soon as I feel it coming on and it’s usually just a dull ache now for a couple of days.
I got my first gout attack two years ago, almost to the day. The pain was horrible, my foot swelled up, and to top it all off, the first doctor I saw was completely ineffective in treating it (tried both oral colchesin and steroids). Finally got recommended to a podiatrist about an hour’s drive away, he injected something directly into my foot, and I had relief within hours. But for almost a month, I could barely walk.
I was put on Allopurinol for future prevention, but I developed a terrible allergic reaction to it - full body dry skin/itchiness. They switched me to Uloric, and I got hives. Now I’m taking one Colchesin pill a day, and so far, so good. But if I skip it for a few days, I start hurting again.
Sorry if this isn’t the comforting words you were hoping to hear, but it’s the truth: SEE A DOCTOR. It won’t go away without one.
I got an attack about 10 years ago. I suspect it was due to over indulging in Alcohol at a friend’s wedding. The pain may have been the worst pain I have ever felt in my life (it was in my big toe).
An antiinflammatory and another drug my doctor gave me at the time helped. Since then I have limited how much I drink and rarely over do it. I also limit red meat to one or two days a week and try to make sure if I have it more than once it is nonconsecutive days.
You really should. Toughing it out is not a good long-term strategy; according to my rheumatologist, repeated attacks can cause permanent damage to the joints. You’ll want to prevent them or arrest them as quickly as possible.
I’ve been on allopurinol for almost two years and haven’t had an attack in that time. I don’t find the <$10 month prohibitive, and for me the side effects have been nil.
Any dietary mods? I’ve gone 3 days now without a beer. Taking daily preventative medication can I eat/drink whatever I want?
I see two ways of looking at this: First, the $10 every month or three prevents the pain, along with preventing one from having to change plans due to pain - Mr. M can’t do his job during a gout attack, so even if he takes PTO, that may interfere with other plans (vacations, etc.) or leave him without paid days when he comes down with something non-preventable.
Also, is damage occurring in the joint when you let the gout attack begin, even if you treat it immediately? I don’t know, but it seems likely. Taking a reasonably inexpensive and safe medicine daily seems like a wiser choice to me, especially considering Indomethicin’s potential for bad side effects.
Tony only takes 1/3 of the prescribed dose (with his doctor’s blessing. She just prescribes it as 100mg three times daily so that the prescription is cheaper, because she’s cool like that,) but he eats a pretty typical American diet with no ill effects we’ve seen from his medicine. (Okay, we actually are sort of careful, and I cook from scratch and force lots of fruits and veggies down everyone’s gullets and such, but we still have a splurge day now and again.) As for alcohol, he might have 2-3 beers once a week, so I don’t know what would happen if he went overboard.
This just in: initial evidence suggests Cannabis Sativa may off ER some relief to gout sufferers. Or at least not hurt.
Thanks for all the input! I initially planned to make an appointment to see my daughter’s beau, but he doesn’t graduate med school 'till 2017. Guess I’ll see my PCP, and he’ll refer me to whoever (that’s pretty much all my PCP does is initiate referrals. But he does it well.)
My insurance co-pay is a flat $10 per 30 days - Indo may be one that comes in under that without insurance - I don’t buy it often enough to notice, actually.
I haven’t modified my diet, but I wasn’t a huge consumer of purine-rich foods to begin with. I do get blood tested twice a year to check the uric acid level. My doc said if it’s under 5.0, the odds of a flare-up are very low. My last three were 4.8, 5.8 and 6.0. The levels do fluctuate and can be affected by what you eat— so as my doctor said, if you eat a “whole plate of shrimp” and have several drinks (which dehydrates you) one night, it may cause the uric acid level to spike temporarily, making a flare-up more likely.
So “whatever you want” might be overstating it, but I don’t put any particular restrictions on what I eat or drink, and I’ve been okay so far. If my next test shows another increase, though, I’ll need to reconsider all of this… 6.0 is considered the high end of acceptable.
I have gout. Fortunately I can control it with diet modifications. Alcohol is a big factor. I normally drink about 3 beers a night, but if I feel a twinge, I stop drinking for a while.
Dehydration is an issue for me. I exercise quite a bit outside, like about an hour a day on average. I make sure that I stay hydrated or gout attacks can happen. I often weigh myself before and after exercise, like long bike rides or half marathons. If there’s more than a 2 lb difference, I drink a lot of water or sport drinks. A pint a pound is a good rule of thumb.
Speaking of dehydration, I have high blood pressure and my cardiologist put me on a diuretic. It brought down my BP very well, but I started to have gout attacks again. (Yes I’m a big dummy and should have realized the cause and effect). During a very bad gout attack, I went to an UrgiCare facility. The doctor told me that I shouldn’t be on a diuretic if I have gout. I called my cardiologist and she apologized for putting me on that drug. I don’t think we ever discussed my gout, just my problem heart, so I don’t blame her.
Speaking of my heart, I had a heart attack but didn’t see the doctor until the next day. When I had my first big gout attack, I got up in the middle of the night to go to the ER. The gout hurt worse. I’ve broken 8 bones over the years, and a major gout attack hurts worse than about half the broken bones.
Heh. My diet is a who’s who of purine laden foods. And I wash it all down with beer.
Waiting for a callback to schedule a doctor’s appointment, but in the meantime I’ve made an agreement with the universe that I’ll drink gallons of water, but restart beer.
I just take 4 ibuprofen at the first hint of it, and gorge on blueberries and cherries. And try to avoid beer and meat for a couple days.
Gout is a distant second to a tooth abscess in my opinion. Gout is like someone is pounding a nail through the joint in your toe. The pain of an abscessed tooth would be relieved by pounding a nail through it.
I’ve had two or three attacks and yeah, there’s no pain besides shingles that really compares. I too am not going to adjust my diet or drinking to completely circumvent the possibility of another so I take allopurinol daily to prevent it and it does a fine job. I can even miss several days and not have a relapse. My rheumatologist does though have me get my uric acid level checked twice a year.
One thing I keep on hand is medrol, a steroid, just in case. I’ve taken it when an attack starts and seriously within a couple of hours the pain is gone, and with pain like that it’s worth it.
The only thing uplifting about gout is the way you spontaneously levitate after accidentally letting your foot touch the ground.
Fortunately, I’ve only had a few attacks over the course of years; it mostly seems to be associated with prolonged dehydration for me, so drinking lots of water is my solution (NPI). Vitamin C supplements also seem to shorten the attacks, and I haven’t had an attack since I started taking them regularly.
Ain’t nothing uplifting about gout.
I started getting gout attacks a couple of years ago and they absolutely suck. I’ve found that Aleve helps quite a bit, as do other anti-inflammatories.
I also have found Black Cherry Extract to be very helpful at staving off attacks. Usually I can start to feel the twinges a day or two before an attack and if I up the cherry intake, as well as water and Aleve - I can usually avoid the attack all together or minimize it at least (granted, it could just be the water and Aleve, but who knows?).
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 had a few rounds of gout a few years ago. Each of them had their own special way of inflicting misery and causing me to crawl around on all fours. During the last one my Dr. prescribed colchicine, which I had not had before, but was deperate to try since nothing else was working. It worked, but also cleared every last molecule of food and water from my digestive tract. Not only could I not walk, but could not be more than 25 feet from a toilet, either.
A friend’s mother had it once, and was able to compare it to childbirth - gout was more painful.
I have not had gout in about 5 years - the last attack I traced to a serving of saba (mackerel) at a Japanese restaurant, which I have not had since. I have not gone on allopurinol since my attacks were infrequent. I was already active, but modified my diet to limit animal protien to a small serving a day, or none at all. I am also not a big beer or red wine drinker (only on occasion). As stated upthread, most of the changes you can make to your diet to avoid gout are things that are generally good for you anyway.
I do not really limit what I can eat, I just eat a lot less of it than what I may have. For example, if I am going to have a nice steak, I wont eat any other meat for a day or two prior, or following, that meal.
Oh, and also drink a lot of water - as stated - dehydration is part of the equation.
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’m on 300mg of Allopurinol daily which controls uric acid in the blood and cuts down significantly on outbreaks. But if I do get a flare I take Indomethacin which can take up to 3 days to work, upsets my stomach like crazy (gas, cramps, the runs) and makes me drowsy.
Here is a Weird Al style song I wrote about it with the tune it goes to.