Gout?

[vintagetoppsguy]

I'm 41 and I've had it twice. The first time was about 5 years ago and then again about 3 years ago. I don't think they know exactly what causes it. They say it can be caused by your diet, but I hadn't eaten any of the things listed to be a cause.

A doctor told me that mine was due to a foot injury each time. The first time I had it, I tripped over one of those parking lot cement blocks. I didn't think anything of it and didn't have any pain until I woke up the next morning. I couldn't even get out of bed. It hurt so bad, just the weight of a sheet lying on top of my foot hurt extremely bad. I was given some anti-inflammatories and the pain subsided within a couple of days. The other time I jumped off the back of a truck. I didn't land awkward or anything. Again, I didn't think anything of it until I woke up the next morning. I had some of the anti-inflammatories left, took some and the pain was gone again in a couple of days. Both times it was my left foot.

I've had a lot of different types of pain in my life, but nothing ever hurt worse than gout. Not even close.

[talkinbaseball]

I had it in my right ankle about three years it was so painful i missed three days of work.

Gout happens when you have a high level of Uric acid.
You have to go to a doctor and they usually prescribe Colchine.

good luck,

john

[nolemmings]

I've had it for nearly 20 years. There is no cure as such, but it is manageable. If it becomes acute they can give you medicine taken daily for preventative purposes--allopurinol. Otherwise they prescribe colchecine or indomethacine if you're having a gout attack, steroids such as prednizone if it's really severe. If you can't get to the doc, load up on ibuprofen.
Beer and organ meats exacerbate the situation, the latter popping up all over the place in gravies, broths/soups and sausages. A buddy bought me a polish sausage at the Dbacks game Tuesday without my asking. I ate it gratefully, but popped my pills as soon as I got home because that often triggers an attack for me. Drink LOTS of water if you're stricken--it helps you pee frequently (duh) and thus more uric acid is expelled.


I have friends who have had one or two gout attacks in their lives but don't seem to suffer otherwise. Anyone who has had a gout attack, even one, will tell you that the pain is excruciating--any contact with the afflicted area--even by a bedsheet--causes immense pain. I've had it in parts of each foot--it usually hits first-timers in the big toe--the elbows, wrists and hands. I've been lucky to avoid it in the knees or hips. Upper body is preferable, since otherwise it really screws up your gait and causes the rest of your lower body to adapt and take strain. I've had it stay with me for as long as three weeks, even with medication. I don't take the preventative allopurinol just yet because I refuse to take daily medicine for something that hits me only about three times a year now, but that may change. Some of the meds are hard on the kidneys and could lead to kidney stones, so obviously tell your doctor if you or your family has a history of those kinds of problems.

Peter S.-- if you're reading, I'm not putting this on my facebook page or twitter--this is an exclusive to Net54, to all my followers who I feel must know everything about my life

[4k6]

I have gout although I'm only 40. Had my first attack almost 2 years ago, out of the blue woke up with a painfully swollen knee and couldn't walk.

I tried alleviating it naturally for several months by changing my diet and taking celery seed extract. But every couple of weeks I'd have another debilitating attack in either one of my knees or feet. Can be extremely painful.

Had enough of that so now I've been taking Allupurinol daily for over a year. I'm not a fan of prescription meds, but I haven't had any major attacks or side effects since then. And I can drink beer and eat sardines.

But yes, gout definitely sucks.

[deebro041]

My wife had gout when she was 30(11 years ago). She doesn't drink beer or wine and seldom drinks at all. The doctor gave her medication, at the time she was eating at least 3 large chocolate chip bagels every day. I told her to stop eating them, she did and her gout went away. She has never eaten another bagel since and has never had gout since.

[nolemmings]

Hey Dan whatever works but yours is a very unusual case. Gout seldom hits women, and those it does are almost all elderly. Moreover, the grains in most bagels are actually healthy from a gout perspective and chocolate is not only not a trigger, but is considered by some to be at least minimally curative (dark chocolate anyway).

[EvilKing00]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

I don't take the preventative allopurinol just yet because I refuse to take daily medicine for something that hits me only about three times a year now, but that may change.

same here, im not doing that every day yet, i get it about 1-2 times a year bad, but a few times that i can deal with with no prob.

[drc]

My neighbor in his later 50s has it in his feet. He hobbles around and once in a while needs a wheel chair. If you saw him walking down the sidewalk and didn't know him you'd think he's a drunk. Luckily, we live in a tight urban neighborhood where where the restaurant, vet, doctor, supermarket et al are within a few blocks of each other, so he can get around the neighborhood if slowly. He's a big baseball fan.

[Il Padrino]

Folks,

I use a TENS unit (electro-stimulation therapy) for a lot of things, particularily for muscle aches post-workout.

When I saw this thread, I remembered hearing from a friend of mine that suffered from gout that he used his TENS unit and it really helped him relieve the pain and it is all natural.

Did a quick google on "gout" and "tens unit" and sure enough = results.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/14...-tens-machine/

http://www.goutpal.com/1572/tens-pain-relief-machines/

Like I was saying, these things are great for all kind of things. Worth looking in to and not that expensive, no drugs involved, and helps build muscle definition as well.

Take care, I hope this was helpful to someone. Dan

[whitehse]

Originally Posted by Il Padrino

Folks,

I use a TENS unit (electro-stimulation therapy) for a lot of things, particularily for muscle aches post-workout.

When I saw this thread, I remembered hearing from a friend of mine that suffered from gout that he used his TENS unit and it really helped him relieve the pain and it is all natural.

Did a quick google on "gout" and "tens unit" and sure enough = results.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/14...-tens-machine/

http://www.goutpal.com/1572/tens-pain-relief-machines/

Like I was saying, these things are great for all kind of things. Worth looking in to and not that expensive, no drugs involved, and helps build muscle definition as well.

Take care, I hope this was helpful to someone. Dan

I do not have gout but my elderly mother gets it from time to time. From what I know of it I cant help but think that this TENS unit might not work because anything touching her skin in the affected area would send pain shooting every where. Since these electrodes (for lack of a better word) need to be placed on the skin I cant help but think it might be more painful that helpful. I guess all cases are different and this is certainly something to look into.

[Sean1125]

Originally Posted by Il Padrino

Folks,

I use a TENS unit (electro-stimulation therapy) for a lot of things, particularily for muscle aches post-workout.

When I saw this thread, I remembered hearing from a friend of mine that suffered from gout that he used his TENS unit and it really helped him relieve the pain and it is all natural.

Did a quick google on "gout" and "tens unit" and sure enough = results.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/14...-tens-machine/

http://www.goutpal.com/1572/tens-pain-relief-machines/

Like I was saying, these things are great for all kind of things. Worth looking in to and not that expensive, no drugs involved, and helps build muscle definition as well.

Take care, I hope this was helpful to someone. Dan

I know this is late but I Have a TENS unit from when I had my knee reconstructed... I don't have the wires or pads anymore but I'm sure you can get those cheap... originally cost me a few hundred... if anyone wants to try it out give me a shout and I can ship it to you, I'm sure you can get wires+ pads online....

[EvilKing00]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I'm 41 and I've had it twice. The first time was about 5 years ago and then again about 3 years ago. I don't think they know exactly what causes it. They say it can be caused by your diet, but I hadn't eaten any of the things listed to be a cause.

A doctor told me that mine was due to a foot injury each time. The first time I had it, I tripped over one of those parking lot cement blocks. I didn't think anything of it and didn't have any pain until I woke up the next morning. I couldn't even get out of bed. It hurt so bad, just the weight of a sheet lying on top of my foot hurt extremely bad. I was given some anti-inflammatories and the pain subsided within a couple of days. The other time I jumped off the back of a truck. I didn't land awkward or anything. Again, I didn't think anything of it until I woke up the next morning. I had some of the anti-inflammatories left, took some and the pain was gone again in a couple of days. Both times it was my left foot.

I've had a lot of different types of pain in my life, but nothing ever hurt worse than gout. Not even close.

it is caused by diet and what you eat and drink, its your body that cant break down certain foods, (uric acid) basicly it turns to sand (crystals) and falls in between your joints. Could be in you toes, foot, fingers, ancle etc. Also causes kidney stones. Meat, shell fish, booz, nuts, as well as many vegies that contribute to it. Also being dehydrated, can cause the gout. FYI once you have it, thats it, it never really "goes away" your just inbetween attacks. Its actually a form of arthritus, but I always try to explain it as a "food alergy" as its your body that can break down the uric acid.

[travrosty]

If you are from the Borscht belt it doesn't help.

As a diabetic I get gout a couple of times a year. My uric acid tends to run high and I never know when it's going to flare up. In the past my doctor prescribed Indomethican. For some reason it didn't work during my last episode so he tried me on Colcrys. I only had to take three pills and I was walking fine, almost pain free, with some stiffness in about a day and a half.

The worst is when I get it in my left hip, which thank god doesn't happen often. I already have moderate osteoarthritis with damage to the head of the femur and the last time I got it there I was practically bedridden. I heard that gout can also be hereditary, which would make sense as my grandfather suffered with it for years.

[brob28]

Hey guys, I've had gout for about 10 years. Allopuinol each day and Cholcrys (sp?) during attacks have worked wonders for me. No major flair ups in almost 3 years. It took 7 years and a lot of bad attacks before my Dr had it all figured out (prednisone and all the other meds did not seem to help me). Had one two week flair up that eventually had me admitted to the hospital for 3 days as Dr's just figured it had to be something else. Worst pain I've ever felt. Thank you modern science!