Just wanted to add that in the early days of gout, I used a paraffin bath for quick relief of the pain in the hands.
I haven’t had to use it in about a year and a half.
Q
I got it in September not too long after my 36th Birthday. It came on in my right ankle-- I thought I had just slept with my foot dangling off the edge of my bed and it was a simple sprain. Well, on the third day of hobbling around on an ankle that had swelled to the size of a stump with pain outclassing exquisite (Think of glass and hot embers stuffed into your ball joints by Spanish Inquisitors.) I hied myself on cane to the ER.
Thinking it might either be an infection in my ankle or Gout, the kind Doctor stuck a 7 inch needle deep into my ankle and drained my joint of sinovial fluid for testing. They kept me overnight at the hospital and started me on the usual course of steroids and painkillers (Thank God!), as well as antibiotics (in case it was an infection). In the end, they determined it was gout and sent me home with allopurinol and prednisone.
It came under control quickly, then came on again in my right toe at least twice. Then it played switchhitter and came on in my left toe at least twice more over the past month and a half. Finally, my Doctor prescribed Colcicine and when I feel it coming on I do that course and it knocks it out quickly.
The upside? I finally have it under control and I have started changing my eating habits in a way that is dramatically more healthy. I have already lost about 10 pounds in the last month and added onto the 20 pounds I lost over the past year by eliminating soft drinks (corn syrup) from my diet, I am feeling very optimistic. I also have high “bad” cholesterol levels, so incidentally, due to my new gout diet, I am automatically eliminating the red meat culprits and probably bringing my cholesterol down as well.
It is ironic, but gout might be one of the best things that happened to me! :smack: The unfuckingbelievable pain and resultant immobility is a powerful motivator. I don’t want to go through that again and am watching what I drink and eat.
Incidentally, it is believed that there is a genetic predispodition for Gout. “The rich man’s disease” has some cause in gluttony, but chances are a lot of us are predisposed to get it no matter what. My Dad, an Uncle, and my Grandfather all had it.
So, you’re all members of the glutton family, eh? 
Yeah, it was an oyster binge that probably triggered my brutal multi-joint attack at the beach.
Glutton’s for punishment maybe! But no, not really, for several years now I have only eaten one meal a day. Usually just dinner and sometimes a snack. My father was a relatively healtful eater as well. We like our meat, however.
The first time I had gout I had no idea what it was except my big toe hurt like hell when I tried to walk. My regular doctor referred me to a podiatrist who did everything but diagonosed that it was gout. Had an x-ray (in case of fracture), cortisone injection (to control the inflammation), antibiotics (in case it was an infection), and even special sandals in case it had something to do with my shoes. In other words, I had an incompetent doctor who gave me every test in the book and racked up a nice fee. In a week, everything cleared up … just like that. Then it happened again without warning. This time I just tolerated the excruciating pain. In a week, it cleared up again. The last time this happened was a few months ago. I complained about the pain and described the symptoms to a relative who suggested I read up on this little disease called gout. Wow, I fit every symptom to a tee. Now all I do is watch my diet a bit and take some ibuprofen at the slightest appearance of a symptom and I’ve had no big problems since. Yeah, it really hurts, something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. (Post #1000, here I come!)
Ha! I read the thread title as Share your Goat experiences :eek:
Quasimodem writes:
I’m not correcdting anyone – every case seems different. I just know that sometimes wine brings on an attack. Sometimes it doesn’t – probably related to the uric acid level in my blood or something. I can’t say anything about red wines, because I almost always drink white (although drinking red doesn’t invariably cause a reaction. I can’t recal it ever doing so to me, in fact).
My understanding is that alcohol of any type impairs the body’s ability to shed uric acid but, of course, IANAD. That’s just something I fond in web research.
Speaking of, I am puzzled by some of the contradictory online suggestions out there about foods, treatment, etc., which is one reason I’m glad Cal started this because it’s nice to read what does and doesn’t affect others here. Turkey is something I’ve read is bad, then other pubs say it’s not high in purines. Red wine is bashed, then elsewhere it’ll say there’s no compelling justification based on what it contains. Some will recommend an ice bath for the affected area, others will say ice makes the uric acid crystals crystallize and, therefore, you should subject the joints to heat. So everyone’s anecdotes are much appreciated. Heh, Rysdad, I really miss liver and onions too.
Red wine doesn’t seem to bother me but recently, while recovering, I drank some white and immediately relapsed.
Feeling secure after starting allopurinol, I ate a bunch of shrimp and was hurting by the next morning.
Cashews have never bothered me but the quantities have been limited.
Cherries were proclaimed as beneficial but drinking them in concentrate and gorging on them fresh didn’t seem to offer any relief whatsoever.
Beer and smoked meats on opening day of dove season triggered my most painful occurrence ever.
I agree w/ devilsknew though that in one way at least gout has been beneficial, and that’s mandating a better diet overall.
There’s no doubt in my mind that heat, at least in that severe attack, was precisely the wrong thing to apply to my joint. I was already generating my own heat, and way too much of it. The ice bath was absolutely wonderful, and I have no doubt it was the correct thing to do.
I would like to clear up what I believe is a misconception. Websites, pamphlets, and the like always seem to emphasize that uric acid crystals are these pointy, angular things, suggesting that joint pain is caused by these little needles sticking into your delicate joint flesh. I never bought this – it’s as simplistic as saying that it rains when the “clouds get too full of water”. So I cornered my doctor on it one day. "Come on, " I said, “that’s not really what happens, right?” He agreed that the real cause is that the high uric acid concentration triggers an inflammation reaction, although AFAIK, the actual proximate cause isn’t clear. crystals as little jabbing needles makes an appropriately ooky mental picture of what’s going on in your joints, but I seriously doubt that the pain is actually due to pointy things sticking your.
Or not. I’m still a little unclear on the difference. When I had P-G, the pain was excruciating, but not exquisite. I could walk, I just had to scream as I did so.
**Cal, that’s exactly why I was hoping you’d start this and, having read something similar from you before, I’d meant to ask you about. Yes, they do imply you’re producing more crystals than a damp cave in Arkansas.
You forgot William Schwenck Gilbert. “I’ve got gout, and I can’t g’out.”
I find beer (particularly really hoppy beer, like IPAs) and red wine contribute to my bouts. So does turkey, I always have a flare up around thanksgiving. The worst was an episode I had just as I was getting on a long international flight and my meds were checked in my luggage, just agony. I won’t make that mistake again.
Huh. I’ve never had a problem with turkey, or any poultry. Thanksgiving has never been a problem for me.
I don’t drink beer, so I can’t say anything about its gouty properties. Just as well I don’t, from what people are saying.
Yes, and I should mention that “Mad” Anthony Wayne actually died of complications from gout! :eek:
And since folks are wondering, here’s a scientific study on diet and gout:
Not nearly as frequently, men may account for up to 90% of the cases, and when women do it’s usually after menopause. Usually it’s men between 40 and 50.
Then it’s a lack of bleeding that does it! Bring on the leeches!
I have had gout since my 20’s (as did my dad), and it has gotten worse with each passing year. Most attacks were small and merely annoying, but the frequency was fairly high. Around '99 or '00 I finally had an excruciating attack that warranted a trip to a podiatrist acquaintance. She gave me indomethacin and discouraged the allorpurinol approach, saying the more modern approach was to treat attacks instead of taking a pill everyday. She was worried about side effects, I guess, although my dad has been taking allopurinol for 25-30 years with no problems. I accepted this approach reluctantly (since attacks were too frequent for my taste) until I had an attack last year that finally signalled enough was enough. I had lost weight, stopped eating as much red meat, etc. all of which helped…but not enough. Off to a different doctor…whose arm I had to twist to get me on allorpurinol (she liked the indomethacin approach as well).
Well! There was something I should have done 10-15 years ago. I never realized how much my gout was bothering me until it went away completely. Supposedly, taking allopurinol can actually make the problem worse for a time until your body adjusts (that’s why you’re not supposed to take it for the first time during an attack), but I did not have this problem. I got just what I wanted: a long, slow decline of symptoms with no side effects.
Ain’t science wonderful?