Beware the dreaded GOUT

I am 41 i had gout a few years ago my right foot swelled up and was painful it was hard to even drive an automatic car. the doc gave me some anti inflammatory tablets and it went then came back a little bit but it has not come back since. now i have a bit of a problem with my left elbow, I cant straighten it right up sometimes and it is hard to grab things certain ways. I don't know if that is to do with the same thing.

Ah the joys of old age, the longer you live the more you see

No more smoking

No more drinking

No more red mead

No more strawberries

No more eggs

Until eventually no more nuffink

Got to enjoy it while you've still got it

JH,

You have a couple of PM’s.

Wish you well henryb; I've just turned 70 last Sunday & I could add to the list of common ailments we septuagenarians have, along with Ady1, but I won't kick it off, wouldn't want this thread to turn into a hypochondriacs charter...

George.

Sounds a bit strange but how you lie in bed can make a difference to issues of drainage and circulation and joint problems, we do after all spend about a third of our lives in bed

Lying on your left side helps with stomach and gut stuff, the stomach fills on the right side and drains on the left

Don't squish your shoulders and arms or stress your legs in bed

At the moment for me lying like Tutankhamuns mummy means I wake up relatively pain free

-----------------

along with Ady1

I'm relatively young under 60 and only at the top of my list so far

The others are from people I help out

Edited By Ady1 on 15/07/2018 11:38:41

I had a mate at work back in the late 70's, he was twenty something and had quite bad Gout so not necessarily age related.

Had gout a couple of times, last episode 10 years ago, doctors put me on 100mg of allopurinol a day, fingers crossed not been bothered since.

Worth trying to see if its ok for you.

Well Guys

I too am a sufferer from the dreaded GOUT!! I've been in its company for years and can empathise with anyone who has experienced the monster ! I read somewhere a quote about (Johnson ?) saying .. " He was so bad with the gout that he could bear nobody even to look at him" ... and that is just it - it is appalling! It is made worse by others, who have not experienced it themselves, thinking that it is funny! ( After all nobody DIES of gout ... but sometimes sufferers wish they could )

The doctor can help a bit by prescribing Allopurinol ( two tabs of that a day for me) and by my wife overseeing a careful diet . Sadly booze is very much a No No and, as a moderate but enthusiastic beer drinker over the years, that comes a bit hard . I'd not had an attack for sometime and, on a nice day recently, I thought that a nice cool glass of beer would be just the thing .. and it was ( ...maybe two glasses ) Oh boy - that night !!!!!!!!!! - I remembered just why I don't drink anymore!

Off for a delicious glass of orange squash now I think!

Norman

What amazes me about gout is the speed in which it comes along without any indication or symptoms that its on its way. Well that is how its been with me, also my attacks are always at night. I go to bed absolutely fine and less than 5 hours later I wake with a foot feeling like its been hit with a sledge hammer.

Cant wait to get to the doctors.

.My sympathies Ron

I had similar symptoms about 12 years ago. My GP sent me to a rhumatologist who did x-rays and blood tests and diagnosed chondrocalcinosis, otherwise known as false gout. He prescribed anti-inflamatory tablets to be taken for a few days when it flares up. I can now recognise the onset of symptoms and take the pills for three days and it goes away. Still eating rare steaks occasionally and drinking red wine every day.

Russell

Ady's comment on lying on your left in bed is interesting, lying this way also releases trapped wind,does for me anyhow

Mick

Should add releasing wind orally not from the other end

Mick 😥

Edited By JasonB on 15/07/2018 20:34:26

Should add releases orally,not from the other orifice

Mick

I have had gout now for about 45 years; fortunately kept at bay by Allopurinol and Naproxen, an anti-inflammatory. The only thing I have to avoid, is any of the alcoholic drinks that are famous for giving you a hangover, like red wine and sherry. As to the diet limitations imposed on other members, when I was diagnosed all those years ago, they were adamant that "nothing you eat or drink has any effect". Even then I knew better but it was waste of time trying to convince anybody.

Maurice

So we were talking about my big toe and it's gout and younger brother said it was crystals forming in joint so a quick smack with a rubber mallet and hey presto two years on no gout, do I recommend it NO it hurt.

Cyril,

I don’t think the medical profession sanction your remedy as the way to go!!!

Dave W

I had a punt through wikepedia and it;s sublinks re uric acid, gout, purine metabolism etc and also a short search of other articles from biochem sites. The basic simple answer becomes way more complicated with several genetic variations involved such that one person's solution may well not work for another. Indeed uric acid itself has some essential functions.

As a guesstimate one might be able to assume that early onset cases are more likely to be primarily genetic and age related onsets will have other degenerative functions involved.. reduced liver or kidney function, dietary changes or drug interactions.

It's easy to say.. and I'm no saint either.. but staying active, eating healthily, avoiding anything hepatotoxic (thats the alcohol gone) and promoting hepatic health with sensible levels of b vits, vit d etc and drinking lots of water to keep those kidneys working... back to the oft touted mediterranean diet with avoidance of some seafoods

I doubt many GP's are fully able to keep up to date with all the genetic research and generally plug into NICE or whatever database to fob first call patients off with the simplest answer and hope they don't come back or put up with it.

(And the tongue in cheek answer to mediterranean diets - pizza, palma ham, pancetta, prosecco, baclava and brisket - roll on obesity and diabetes and heart attacks )

pgk

Well I have an appointment with my doctor in the morning and I guess I am probably lucky but I have to say that our GP is excellent. I know he wont fob me off, he listens, asks lots of questions, and explains things in detail, he is not one who goes straight to the computer to see what pain killers to give you and then sends you on your way. If any tests are needed he will set all of that up and follow it up afterwards.

The best doctor I have ever had by a long shot.

Ron

Just a follow up- was talking to a mate of mine yesterday, in the pub. He's 20 yrs. younger than me and has the dreaded black big toe from time -to -time. He can eat rhubarb no problems, I can't, He has my rhubarb roots now. Both have no probs. with beer, a good thing. Both on same medication when needed.

My sympathy Ron, and to others who suffer gout.

When it is far too painful to walk, I get relief from taking a couple of prescribed cortisone tablets. For what it’s worth, I haven’t eaten red meat or chicken for more than forty years, and for a couple of medical reasons, alcohol is off the menu.

Another less afflicting discomfort is having trigger finger in both index fingers.

**LINK**

Although less painful than gout, the pain increases overnight but, unlike gout, it eases throughout the day.

As Ady1 mentioned, lying on the left side in bed certainly works, although in my case I'm talking about reflux.

Here’s an ‘engineering’ type solution which you can try. I noticed the problem while watching the nursing of my infant son fifty years ago. It dawned on me that ‘winding’ him over the shoulder didn’t match how ‘gas’ was caught in his stomach. My suggestion to his mother was to tilt him to his left.

What I find surprising is that although this works every time for me, no one has ever mentioned it for winding babies. If you’ve not already tried it, lean to the left at about 45°

Sam

PS – I love grilled salmon.

Edited By Sam Stones on 16/07/2018 23:22:53