The gout support thread

LegacyUser · 14-04-2012 9:23pm #1

I can't find an Irish forum for people who have gout so perhaps it's time to set a thread up here.

I got gout last year for the first time in my life and I thought it would be the death of me. The pain was incredible, made conspicuously worse by not having a clue what it was. I was on a walking holiday at the time. It occurred on my first day of walking. Amazingly, I walked some 22km on a foot which was suffering from, as doctors in a hospital put it in broken English/Latin at the end of the day, "the disease of kings".

They told me I was suffering from "excess uric acid", an acid which I had never heard of. Now I know that gout is not some disease confined to the middle ages but one which many people suffer from due to their being a build up of excess uric acid in the blood. Uric acid accumulates in the fluid of our joints, usually starting in the big toe. It happens when, for one reason or another, it is unable to be secreted via the kidneys in the form of urine. Gout affects men far more than it affects women, although post-menopausal women are increasingly at risk from it.

While being an affable man, my lifelong doctor is, however, of little use. When I went to him on my return from walking last year he said that the modern thinking is that gout is genetically based rather than based on diet, which is what most internet searches were telling me. Nobody in my family in living memory has suffered from gout. More importantly, I was told that intensive exercise wouldn't bring on an attack. For me, it was no coincidence that my one and only attack of gout came on a day I exercised for longer than I had done in a year (although the previous summer I walked almost 1000km in a month without any hint of gout). Something happened in that year to bring it on. Either way, excessive exercise as I did that day does seem to provoke a gout attack, despite what my gp told me:

1. 'Avoid large consumption of meats, sugar and starches because they are linked to elevation of uric acid. Losing weight can also help to reduce levels of uric acid, but too much exercise can lead to high levels of uric acid.' (Uric Acid & Heart Disease).

2. Does running spur gout attacks

I am in my 30s, but some 90% of men affected by gout are in their 40s. I am, however, 30kg overweight (12kg into obese according to my BMI). Yet another consequence of being overweight that I had never heard of. I have no history of the other three risk factors for gout: high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. I never drank fructose/full sugar drinks like Coke, a principal cause of gout. I did, however, regularly drink to excess. So on two counts it is my own fault: being overweight and drinking too much beer.

The incidence of cases of gout has grown across Europe and the US, including Ireland. This website curiously claims that more attacks of gout occur in springtime than any other time.

Some online sources:

This is an excellent explanation of the causes of gout:

Gout: A cause of joint pain and swelling

This seems quite good on treatment:

Gout and Goutiness (it's advice about exercise seems very sensible)

What's your experience of gout, and how do you keep it in check?

paddylanger · 15-04-2012 12:38am

my only experience of gout is through my mum a few years ago. she was told by the doctor that she had it. she was even treated for it for quiet a while.

it turned out that she in fact didn't have gout at all, but a hairline fracture in her foot. In fairness she didn't have a fall or anything so a fracture of the bone was the last thing she or indeed the doctor suspected might have been wrong.

Am not in any way doubting ur diagnoses .but just rang alarm bells when u mentioned walking holiday and gout. As my mum also had the symptoms when she was on holiday in france. it turned out she had a slight slip on a kerb but thought nothing more of it at the time.

so when ever i hear gout now i always think to get an x ray first just in case....

seanacai · 27-12-2012 9:30pm

A relation of mine eats 14 black cherries per day with a spoon of diet yogourt over them, he finds this excellent so far. He has been on the drug colchicine for a number of years daily, but since he began taking the cherries he finds that he uses the colchicine much less frequently.

blingrhino · 30-12-2012 8:02pm

Can feel "goutish" in my foot today so tried dunnes and tesco for cherries ( they seem to do the trick for me )even though I'm taking the daily tablet - tumoric or something like that but alas they have none !
Are the tinned ones any good ?

seanacai · 03-01-2013 2:36am

blingrhino wrote: »

Can feel "goutish" in my foot today so tried dunnes and tesco for cherries ( they seem to do the trick for me )even though I'm taking the daily tablet - tumoric or something like that but alas they have none !
Are the tinned ones any good ?

Hi blingrhino, just checked with himself, tis tinned black cherries he uses, gets them in dunnes I think

blingrhino · 03-01-2013 8:04pm

Thanks seanacai that's exactly wat I got !!

Recondite49 · 14-06-2014 9:45pm

Hi guys,

I started suffering from this two months ago. I was surprised as I'm not even 30 yet but apparently it can affect other men too.

I've been taking a number of home remedies including:

- Eating blueberries which contain antioxidants to break down the uric acid.
- Giving up chocolate and sugary snacks (boo!)
- Drinking solutions of water with half a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in it (breaks down the crystals which form in your joints).
- Applying a paste of ground ginger to my big toe where the affected joint is.

I'd be grateful if any of you would tell me any other remedies you came up with as while it disappeared two weeks ago, it's now back again with a vengeance.

I really don't want to pay 50 Euro for my Doctor to prescribe me anti-inflammatories you can buy over the counter.

leinsterdude · 10-07-2014 8:44pm

I have sore feet all of a sudden, went for bloods as I drink a decent amount if beer, does beer cause Gout ?

Recondite49 · 11-07-2014 3:36pm

leinsterdude wrote: »

I have sore feet all of a sudden, went for bloods as I drink a decent amount if beer, does beer cause Gout ?

Hi leinster,

Anything containing sugar can cause gout crystals to form. My Doctor warned me off but I don't drink it anyway. There's a certain amount of sugar in beer as I understand it, though I didn't think it was very much.

goat2 · 20-02-2015 10:39pm

i have hiatus hernia due to the production of too much acid in my system, and i recognise all of this, when i have not been heeding what i eat, i get pain in all my joints, knees and thumb being the worst, and yes sugary things are a killer for this, red meats, cheese, lamb being the biggest culprit, dont know why lamb,
i drink lots of liquid and try to eat plain, i do find blueberries, cherries, lemons, cabbage, pumpkin seed and just soda water help keep it in check

youngblood · 27-05-2015 9:48pm

So is gout for life?
Are my weekend beers gone?
Currently not on medication, had a toe episode about a year ago but could feel that achy feeling recently again in my legs
It has passed but did follow a weekend of drinking,
I've probably answered my own question, but do gout sufferers drink regularly??

arybvtcw0eolkf · 30-05-2015 11:43am

youngblood wrote: »

So is gout for life?
Are my weekend beers gone?
Currently not on medication, had a toe episode about a year ago but could feel that achy feeling recently again in my legs
It has passed but did follow a weekend of drinking,
I've probably answered my own question, but do gout sufferers drink regularly??

I'm a gout sufferer, I'm 49 and have been on meds since I was 24. I lead a completely normal lifestyle in terms of training, diet and drinking.

The only time I get a bout is when I get complacent with my meds and stop taking them for a few days, but then I'd get a low level pain warning and I'm straight back on 'em.

I'm on 300mg of Zyloric per day, and yes its for life.

Hesh's Umpire · 29-10-2015 11:52am

Got my first attack for over a year today.

Have had it for nigh on ten years now.

Difene tablets usually do the trick for me.

Avoid red wine, red meat and oranges (honest) as much as possible and similarly only drink a few pints of Guinness a month.

goat2 · 28-11-2015 2:15pm

youngblood wrote: »

So is gout for life?
Are my weekend beers gone?
Currently not on medication, had a toe episode about a year ago but could feel that achy feeling recently again in my legs
It has passed but did follow a weekend of drinking,
I've probably answered my own question, but do gout sufferers drink regularly??

No, i know a person who happens to be a pioneer who suffer from gout all the time, he has been told to hold back on bacon, and other foods, it is not a drinkers only problem,
I suffer from a small bit of gout and i drink rerely, say once in six weeks,

dewsbury · 03-12-2015 2:26am

I am 54 and have gout.
About once a year I visit my gout consultant in a private clinic.
This costs me about €120 per annum.

In simple terms;

1. The consultant advised my that lifestyle/diet will not make a huge amount of difference. In fact, lifestyle can take focus away from the correct treatment.

2. Gout will become more frequent and more severe as the years pass (unless treated).

3. The miracle drug (!) is Allopurinol which MUST be take every day and will not be effective for a year or more.

4. Be aware that you GP will not be an expert in gout.

dewsbury · 03-12-2015 2:29am

I made the previous posting.

I forgot to mention that I have been totally gout free for several years.

I am happy to respond to any queries.

Peppa Pig · 08-12-2015 7:03pm

dewsbury wrote: »

I made the previous posting.

I forgot to mention that I have been totally gout free for several years.

I am happy to respond to any queries.

What dosage of Allopurinol are you on and do you get zero incidents or a few?

dewsbury · 09-12-2015 12:55am

Peppa,

1. No incidences of full gout since on medication. A couple of threatened incidents - I took anti-inflams and colchicine to fend off.

2. The dosage started off at 200 (mg) per day. This was adjusted to 300 after first year and this feels like the proper level as not even a minor attack since the switch.

It's an absolute long term game changer for me.
... playing football twice a week ... not a bother... and fond of a beer too

dewsbury · 09-12-2015 12:59am

Incidentally, I have noticed a lots of contributions on the web from gout sufferers. They seem to offer endless tip regarding diet & lifestyle

There may be a silent majority who never make any posts on the web .... these are the people who simple take the drug and have genuinely no reason to peruse the web ... they are fit and pain free

arybvtcw0eolkf · 11-12-2015 12:14am

Like the fecking idiot I am I defaulted on my Allopurinol for a few days just over four weeks ago and have been crippled as a result.

Unlike a few I know anti inflam's don't work on me (I get severe bouts of the runs instead), but I have to take them in the hope they work.

For the last four weeks I've been on difene and tramadol (for pain), and a few times had to take a sleeping pill to get me to sleep because of the pain.

Its just about gone now, and I'm back on the allopurinol (300mg a day) with follow up bloods in two months.

I've been using allopurinol since I was 24 (I'm 50 in March) and it really is a wonder drug. I've never suffered sides from it and can lead a normal life style once I don't forget or get lazy.

My advice re Allopurinol, if your GP offers it then jump at it.. You'll never look back.

A photo of the gout swelling I've suffered recently

If info.. Outside of this attack I lead a very healthy lifestyle, I cycle 40km most days, I train Judo 3 times per week, swim and weight train.

Lumps Bumps n Blues · 11-12-2015 12:44am

Just be very careful if you take Allopurinol and have to take antibiotics, if taken in conjunction with Augmentin it can easily cause severe allergic reaction. My mother spent over a week in hospital in absolute agony, she looked like she was very badly scalded from head to toe, even her scalp and her eyelids were covered in a nasty rash.

Also, if, by chance, you are allergic to allopurinol and to colchicine like my father is (he's had gout* since he was a teenager, and he's now almost 80), there's another drug on the marked that has been the miracle drug for him (he was put on it when it was still being tested, albeit towards the end of the tests), which is Adenuric.

I can't post links or photos yet, but as soon as I can I'll update the thread.

*His form of gout is actually gouty arthritis, not just an 'common' increase of uric acid - I don't now how frequent that would be. He's been told by his rheumatologist that in cases like his the diet isn't that much of a factor, but he still eats very well.

His joints - all of them, including his spine - have been badly affected, to the point that his hands looked like those of Batman's Penguin, he couldn't flex any of his his fingers at all, and he had a 'hazelnut' growing on the last joint of his little finger, among other things. He's been on Adenuric for a few years, now, and the effect it's had on him has been unbelievable, the drug has actually managed to dissolve the uric acid needle-like crystals that had formed in his joints during the years. This has caused him quite a few gout attacks, especially at the beginning, when the uric acid levels in his blood increased due to the 'dissolving' process, but they got more and more rare and less painful as time went by. It has dissolved the crystals, but it couldn't repair the terrible damage they had done to his bones. At least now he's doing better on one front.

Before anyone asks, no, I'm not associated in any way with Adenuric or any companies which produce febuxostat, which is its active ingredient, but I just thought that this might benefit people who are gout sufferers but cannot tolerate the more conventional treatments.

Good luck to all anyway, it's an excruciatingly painful disease.

dewsbury · 11-12-2015 8:51am

Ok, Allopurinol has been a life changer for some of us - which is great.

Interestingly, I have noticed in other web sites the obsession with more "natural" treatments and a reluctance to go onto medication for life.

From my perspective I have two choices;

A. Take allopurinol and live a full active pain free life. 1 tablet each morning.

B. Don't take it and get regular bouts of gout and gradually wreck my body

I chose option (A)!

arybvtcw0eolkf · 11-12-2015 12:10pm

dewsbury wrote: »

Ok, Allopurinol has been a life changer for some of us - which is great.

Interestingly, I have noticed in other web sites the obsession with more "natural" treatments and a reluctance to go onto medication for life.

From my perspective I have two choices;

A. Take allopurinol and live a full active pain free life. 1 tablet each morning.

B. Don't take it and get regular bouts of gout and gradually wreck my body

I chose option (A)!

Its a no brainer really.

People don't realise that between attacks of gout that your elevated uric acid is still working against your kidneys and joints.

Skerries · 05-01-2016 1:41am

Lumps Bumps n Blues wrote: »

Also, if, by chance, you are allergic to allopurinol and to colchicine like my father is (he's had gout* since he was a teenager, and he's now almost 80), there's another drug on the marked that has been the miracle drug for him (he was put on it when it was still being tested, albeit towards the end of the tests), which is Adenuric.

Before anyone asks, no, I'm not associated in any way with Adenuric or any companies which produce febuxostat, which is its active ingredient

I have been on Adenuric for the past 4 years as allopurinol wasn't cutting it and it has changed my day to day living.
Before when I got a bad attack I could be off work for days and hitting the Difene and solpadeine hard.
Now it feels like I don't have gout at all and have been attack free for nearly 2 years, but I am not going to let that fool me into a false sense of security as I know the pain it can cause if you go off the meds and back on with a gap in between.
I also had bad Tophi in my elbows and could not wear short sleeve shirts, but they have receded enough now where that is possible again and also have been reduced in my hands and feet as I went up a shoe size because of the gout

corkonion · 10-05-2016 12:27pm

Just a bit of advice to "occasional" gout sufferers, this is a progressive disease, and treating it with anti inflammatory drugs only alleviates the pain, but does nothing to alleviate the disease. Many gp's continue to prescribe anti inflamitories for years, which is the wrong option. The longer you wait to go on allopurinol (or similar treatment) the longer the allopurinol will take to work due to the build up of uric crystals in the soft tissue over many years. Chronic sufferers of gout that begin on these drugs can be bedridden for months with acute gout once these crystals start to break down, the modern thinking is that if you've had more than two attacks of gout that you start on a low dose of one of the uric acid reducing medications.

mickymcmuck · 03-07-2016 2:02pm

last post was deleted don't know why.
Gout: The Missing Chapter from Good Calories, Bad Calories
fourhourworkweek.com/2009/10/05/gout/

Read the link then go buy the book Good calories, bad calories on amazon.
It will change your life, i was crippled by gout, tried every thing to try cure it to no avail.
Did not want to be taking a tablet every day for the rest of my life, so gave this a try, Cut out Carbs and eat Fat/Protein.
Have not had a twinge of gout since i did this, if you really have Gout you have nothin g to loose, give it a go.

mickymcmuck · 03-07-2016 2:31pm

I did suffer from gout but now no more.
I would bet the rest of you here who suffer from gout eat
1 bread
2 rice
3 pasta
4 breakfast cereal
cut out these sources of carbs and gout will disappear.
Posters here are eating plenty of cherries, drinking apple cider vinegar/baking soda and all sorts of home remedies, after limited to no success they are on tablets for life with their side effects and cost.
I tried everything except prescribed medicine, nothing works!
I stumbled across the link in the post above, and said to myself give it a go, nothing else is working and the next step is mediation for life.
Within days the gout was gone and has never come back.
I now eat mostly Fat and Protein, its a fantastic tasty died, i love a greasy fry up. I eat plenty of cheese, beef, chicken,pork, any kind of meat.
As a bonus you will loose weight and not be hungry.
Now i love a few beers and when the gout was at its worst i was coming to terms with the prevailing wisdom that beer will have to be cut out.
Today after BEATING gout i eat hight Fat/Protein week days and at the weekend can drink as much Carb filled Beer with zero worry of a gout attack.

I am in no way associated with the author of the book.
Good Calories, Bad Calories, read the chapter in the link above and make up your own mind.
You won't regret giving it a try.

Gremlinertia · 04-07-2016 2:45pm

Both my father and a good friend have suffered from gout at times in the last few years, while i acknowledge that the approach you have mentioned may work for you i would still encourage anyone to speak to their doctor or specialist before overhauling their diet to such a degree..

dobsdave · 28-10-2016 6:39pm

Just started on adenuric today. Had occasional attacks previously which dissapeared after about 7-10days.
Latest one started about 8 weeks ago and never really cleared 100%.
Its costing 50 euro for 31 days supply. What is the average price of allopurinol?
I wonder with the stg/eur rate would it be worth travelling up north?

The gout support thread

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