Gout. Please help.

[BensGrandad]

Not sure which way around it was in my young days that the old wives tale was that drinking Port either caused or cured gout but either way the drinking of the post would be enjoyable.

 

[Prince Monolulu]

 

[gregbrighton]

For relief when gout attacks start, ask your doctor if you should take arcoxia. I find it helps mine.

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

Haven't had time to read the thread, but here's my thoughts.

DON'T EVER eat anything with MSG in it, main culprit Chinese Take Away Food.
DON'T eat Shellfish or Offal
AVOID all artificial flavourings and colourings
AVOID Processed Food
Limit alcohol
DRINK loads of water
DON'T drink fizzy drinks
EAT LOADS of fresh cherries
DRINK loads of WATER
DON'T DRINK Port
DRINK LOADS OF WATER
Eat fresh food and natural drinks, be careful of Orange Juice that's not natural

TAKE 300mg of Allopurinol ..... JOB DONE!

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

Suffered Gout Attacks since 2004, did the above since 2005 not had an attack since.

 

[Birdie Boy]

For my first bout around 15 years ago. Diclofenac then when gone, then allopurinol everyday. After a couple of pain free years, I stored the allopurinol fir around a year then I got my second bout! I will never stop allopurinol again! Last year our two even though blood results showed my ua levels have gone down, I an getting constant pain, every day. Not the big attack kind just a constant knowledge that all of my toes on both feet hurt and every note and again, daily, I get a sudden flash that bloody kills me. Taking naproxen at the moment, most days I can leave it. I drink plenty of water although not in the last few days, need to up it. Sitting here typing this, my toes are sore and had to take my socks off. Laying on bed if one foot touches the other pain starts up, so awake most of the night. I think I need to go to the docs although I am on Mac dosage of allopurinol, 300mg... Oh, the other thing, I have no idea other than lager what brings it on. Funnily enough I ate cherries today and no difference. Maybe I need to try the juice.

 

[Muzzy]

I have now been diagnosed as having chronic resistant gout which basically means that nothing works for me!
I don't want sympathy, just a bit of understanding! I literally have felt like amputating my own limbs at times!
The pain really is indescribable to anyone that had never suffered from this condition!
No, I am not a tart when it comes to a bit of pain either
The onset for sufferers has very different causes to, in much the same way as migraine sufferers. Just because eg shell fish can affect some, it doesn't mean that all gout affected people will have the same trigger foods. You have to monitor what you eat and find out which ones start off your attacks. It isn't the same for everyone.
There are plenty of online lists which will guide you to which foods and drinks are high in purines.

 

[OzMike]

Lay off the red wine and red meat apparently, according to a mate of mine who also suffers.

 

[Goldstone1976]

There's plenty of evidence out there that suggests that not all alcohols increase UA levels. As just one example, this study says beer is very bad (every study says this!); spirits are pretty bad (around half as bad as beer), but wine has no discernable effect at all: Choi & Curhan; arthritis rheum: 51:6, 1023-9. The same authors report in different papers that: coffee helps, but not tea; meat and shellfish aggravate, but not other types of protein; dairy helps.

The maximum dose of allopurinol in the UK is 900mg, not 300mg. eg: http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/conditions/gout/treatments.aspx

Unsurprisingly, there are less peer-reviewed data on the efficacy of cherry consumption, though there's plenty of anecdotal evidence. However, most of this latter evidence seems to recommend Montmorency cherry as opposed to your average standard cherries (eg https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about...y-cherry-concentrate-reduces-effects-of-gout/ ). It seems to act simply by the cherries having an anti-inflammatory component, so it's a "natural" replacement for, say, Naproxen or Diclofenac. Good: natural, and no need for a prescription. Bad: not free (for those who get free prescriptions)

i have an appointment with my Dr tomorrow to talk about how it can be that my UA levels are 220 (way below the saturation level), but I still have flare ups...

good luck all...

 

[Hillian1]

Just reading this is making my big toe throb.

Don't care what anyone says, cherry juice is a lifesaver, and I am drinking a pint of it right now.

 

[spongy]

Just reading this is making my big toe throb.

Don't care what anyone says, cherry juice is a lifesaver, and I am drinking a pint of it right now.

This. Reading this again is bringing back all the memories. And every time I have a drink I find myself on tenderhooks for a few days after constantly monitoring my ankle to see if an attack is imminent. Not a good way to lead life.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Don't care what anyone says, cherry juice is a lifesaver, and I am drinking a pint of it right now.

Not sure I could stomach drinking a pint of cherry juice, but stirring a couple of tablespoons of cherry concentrate into a yoghurt is a good alternative, and also makes for a damn tasty yoghurt.

 

[ShanklySeagull]

Naproxen and 500mg of Co-codamol do it for me.

Plus the painkillers give you a nice fluffy feeling for a few hours. Brightens up an otherwise tedious day in the office ��

 

[Arthur]

I'm sure the booze doesn't help but I find beef particularly roast beef to be my trigger. But like everything having it in moderation seems to be ok for me at the moment. I'm on 300mg of allopurinol a day. I am always nervous after a Sunday roast or a nice bit of steak for a couple of days especially if I start to get a few tingles or cramp. Touch wood I haven't had a bad attack for a couple of years now. So my advice is just keep on with the allopurinol, it certainly works for me.

 

[BigGully]

Haven't had time to read the thread, but here's my thoughts.

DON'T EVER eat anything with MSG in it, main culprit Chinese Take Away Food.
DON'T eat Shellfish or Offal
AVOID all artificial flavourings and colourings
AVOID Processed Food
Limit alcohol
DRINK loads of water
DON'T drink fizzy drinks
EAT LOADS of fresh cherries
DRINK loads of WATER
DON'T DRINK Port
DRINK LOADS OF WATER
Eat fresh food and natural drinks, be careful of Orange Juice that's not natural

TAKE 300mg of Allopurinol ..... JOB DONE!

Take a chill pill mate, jeeeeeez you are due to die of another disease anyway just through the stress of rigidly denying yourself a few tit bits.

I have the odd bout of gout, not nice and not as severe as some on here so I do sympathise, but if you accept outside of chronic sufferers that it can be quite an indiscriminate disease, with quite random recurrences and and lengths of individual bouts, any change in lifestyle might be seen as the reason that it either got better or has prevented these bouts, where actually it probably hasnt.

For the record I have never seen in any Gout literature that MSG, artificial flavourings or colourings, processed food (outside of the foodstuff with high purines), fizzy drinks per sa, Port seems to be an outdated 'banned substance', that are a likely Gout trigger.

I like your list not including the myth of MSG, for a decent balanced diet, but for exclusively for gout I am less sure.

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

Take a chill pill mate, jeeeeeez you are due to die of another disease anyway just through the stress of rigidly denying yourself a few tit bits.

I have the odd bout of gout, not nice and not as severe as some on here so I do sympathise, but if you accept outside of chronic sufferers that it can be quite an indiscriminate disease, with quite random recurrences and and lengths of individual bouts, any change in lifestyle might be seen as the reason that it either got better or has prevented these bouts, where actually it probably hasnt.

For the record I have never seen in any Gout literature that MSG, artificial flavourings or colourings, processed food (outside of the foodstuff with high purines), fizzy drinks per sa, Port seems to be an outdated 'banned substance', that are a likely Gout trigger.

I like your list not including the myth of MSG, for a decent balanced diet, but for exclusively for gout I am less sure.

To me Chinese Take Away was a 100% trigger, on exploring further I discovered that many sufferers spoke to not touching anything with MSG in it and it has very much helped me. I love Bovril, but this has yeast in it, I have an occasional one, but not too many. I still take alcohol, have the occasional shellfish dish, still eat Pate and Red meat but if I notice the signs I move away from all of these and drink plenty of water, worked for me, but may not work for everyone.

 

[BigGully]

To me Chinese Take Away was a 100% trigger, on exploring further I discovered that many sufferers spoke to not touching anything with MSG in it and it has very much helped me. I love Bovril, but this has yeast in it, I have an occasional one, but not too many. I still take alcohol, have the occasional shellfish dish, still eat Pate and Red meat but if I notice the signs I move away from all of these and drink plenty of water, worked for me, but may not work for everyone.

I was being a little cheeky, I understand that the symptoms of Gout can be horrendous.

When I am perhaps a week into an attack I too look at some lifestyle changes that might help, actually I think this fairly regularly anyway now that I am middle age !!!

I did research only through google and bumped into some USA gout clinics that has some interesting findings through their youtube channels, they intimated that the medical profession cannot be sure what might trigger bouts, even knowing that a build up of purines and uric acid etc etc. are the causes.

My lifestyle is fairly consistent, nothing too obviously changes yet I still might not have an attack for a year or 18 months,then I have a slight pain that goes away in a day, then I have one that last a few days, then nothing, then one that last for 3 weeks and then nothing for a further year or two.

It suggests that my foodstuff choice doesnt seem to effect the likelihood of an attack and moreso anything withdrawn from my eating habits could easily be inaccurately seen as the reason for preventing it.

Perhaps it an accumulation of factors and my body at times not dealing with the offending foods, who knows, but with something so random and indirect I dont like to take away too many pleasurable life choices.

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

I was being a little cheeky, I understand that the symptoms of Gout can be horrendous.

When I am perhaps a week into an attack I too look at some lifestyle changes that might help, actually I think this fairly regularly anyway now that I am middle age !!!

I did research only through google and bumped into some USA gout clinics that has some interesting findings through their youtube channels, they intimated that the medical profession cannot be sure what might trigger bouts, even knowing that a build up of purines and uric acid etc etc. are the causes.

My lifestyle is fairly consistent, nothing too obviously changes yet I still might not have an attack for a year or 18 months,then I have a slight pain that goes away in a day, then I have one that last a few days, then nothing, then one that last for 3 weeks and then nothing for a further year or two.

It suggests that my foodstuff choice doesnt seem to effect the likelihood of an attack and moreso anything withdrawn from my eating habits could easily be inaccurately seen as the reason for preventing it.

Perhaps it an accumulation of factors and my body at times not dealing with the offending foods, who knows, but with something so random and indirect I dont like to take away too many pleasurable life choices.

I agree, I do know that dehydration really doesn't help but everything else (other than MSG) seems random.

Oh well, there are people with far worse conditions that can't be dealt with so we should be happy with our lot .... and a team in the Top 6 (automatic promotion by March 2016!)

 

[martyn20]

Allopurinol to help avoid attacks, and I take colchicine during bad attacks, good for gout bad for stomach, like an atom bomb going off in your gut. 3 litres of liquid a day helps keep those attacks away

 

[Grizz]

It's been really useful reading this thread. I go to the docs in a weeks time to get my test results, but it seems like I had a mild attack of gout a few weeks back. I was quite shocked being only 39, drink very little alcohol and don't eat a lot of red meat, but having done a fair bit of reading up on the subject I'm hopefully confident a few dietary changes can help me out a lot. Seems a weekend of eating a lot of humous at work might be my culprit, very high in purines apparently.