I found out I had gout about 20 years ago, after spending a week with my parents, (sausage and eggs for breakfast, every morning.) Since then it’s been a long trial-and-error lesson in what not to eat. None of my doctors have ever been very knowledgable about gout. Incidentally, I usually get it in my ankles, but occasionally in my big toe(s) and the ball of my foot, or feet.
A few facts(?) for your consideration:
I found out after my first attack that all of the women on my mother’s side of the family have (or had) it. Mom says it’s passed down through the mother. I don’t know if that’s true, 'cause I suspect that her doc’s a bit of a quack.
She, (Mom) takes Allipurinol to good effect. (everybody else is dead)
I got pretty good at controlling it with just my diet. I ate boneless, skinless chicken breasts for my meat component six days a week, and once a week could have fish, shrimp, or even a little beef. One thing I found out the hard way that I couldn’t eat was beans, so no more chili for me. .
I also read somewhere that caffiene was a purine, but am unable to provide a cite for that statement. As has been said before, a lot of what you find in the literature, and on the internet, about gout is often contradictory.
Everything changed last Dec., however, when I had a heart attack. The cardiologist put me on a bunch of meds to help my body accept the stent and I started having incredibly severe and unrelenting attacks. A pure vegetarian diet didn’t even help. M regular doc started me on Allipurinol, but it did no good. Finally I got the cardiologist to take mr off the Lisinopril (an ACE inhibitor) and Toprol (a beta-blocker), and the symptoms faded away over about 2 months time.
Somebody told me that ACE inhibitors mess with your kidneys so they don’t work as they should, allowing uric acid to build up. Again a grain of salt is indicted here.
Now I’m pretty much okay, and starting to expirement to see how much I can get away with with the Allopurinol, 'cause I do love my shrimp. And chili.
I also found out that Naproxin Sodium is your friend, unless you take too much.
Buy the BIG bottle, generic.
And a month’s worth of Allipurinol cost ~$15.00 at Bi-Mart.
And I now have this dandy collection of canes.