I think I got the gout :/

Fueled by Caffeine said:

So.. I figured out I needed meds for this back in December or so..   Look for my "Man up" thread.  It's a pain..   But the meds are slowly winning.  I realized I've been fighting it for over 10 years without being diagnosed.  Everyones triggers are completely different and they change as you get older.

 

The big ones are:

1: limit all forms of alcohol

2: reduce weight

3: reduce intake of animal proteins

4: get meds

 

It's bad, but the pain is worse..  Mine had gotten to the point where my knee locked up for 2 months.. the pain was incredible.  don't be like me.

I've had gout problems since I was 21 (oddly, the same as the legal drinking age... hmmm)

The above list is very good.  Some people also respond negatively to cruciferous vegetables: broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, etc.

Tannic acid in red wine is most easily converted into Uric acid by your body, so a switch to white can help.  Beer and liquor are just bad for it for two reasons; it prevents your body's ability to make ketones which has something to do with the problem, and it dehydrates you which makes the problem worse.  There is also simply a genetic factor.

Talk to a doc.  They might prescribe Indomethicin or Allopurinol.  They will likely take blood to confirm you Uric acid levels.  Anything below 7 is considered normal.  Mine are pretty consistently 12-13.  On Allopurinol they were in the 8 range.  Those are intended to be maintenance/preventative.  If you get a flare=up, you'll get equal opinions on cold vs heat.  On the one hand, it is inflammation, so icing it seems like the thing, but on the other hand, you have acid crystals in your joint, so heat would bring more blood to the area and make the crystals easier to dissolve.  I alternate cold and hot, but honestly... nothing seems to work for me.  If I get a flareup, I drink tons of water and take a standard rotation of 2 Naproxen and 4 Ibuprofen in four hour intervals (Aleve at 8am, Ibuprofen and noon, Aleve at 4pm....etc)  That isn't medical advice, that is just what I do.

Other things that people say helps; Turmeric.  Mix in a half teaspoon to your favorite tea.

Someone suggested to me that I get either dark cherries or cherry juice.  During one really bad flareup, I bought a pound of cherries.  Then I just had diarrhea and gout.  Nothing better than having the runs and not being able to run.

YMMV

That's too much NSAID, Curtis.  You don't want kidney problems on top of gout.

ShawnG said:

In reply to Dr. Hess :

Used for removing excess blood when reattaching fingers from what I understand.

 

I saw the plastics guys using them to pull blood/swelling out of a face they had just worked on, bedside.  They have special sterile leeches.

In reply to Dr. Hess :

Agreed   I gotta watch liver and kidney function with all the gout meds  fun fun  

Dr. Hess said:

What, no thymus, pancrease, heart, kidney, brains or liver?  ZOMG, are you trying to kill us?  I mean, what's left?  The thyroid gland? 

 

Pineal Gland is what you are after

You want to watch drug interactions too.  Blood thinners, antibiotics all sorts of stuff with the gout(GOUCH) medications.

Toebra said:

Dr. Hess said:

What, no thymus, pancrease, heart, kidney, brains or liver?  ZOMG, are you trying to kill us?  I mean, what's left?  The thyroid gland? 

 

Pineal Gland is what you are after

Where does headcheese fit in all this?

Fueled by Caffeine said:

Toebra said:

Dr. Hess said:

What, no thymus, pancrease, heart, kidney, brains or liver?  ZOMG, are you trying to kill us?  I mean, what's left?  The thyroid gland? 

 

Pineal Gland is what you are after

Where does headcheese fit in all this?

I try to go and have some headcheese every few months. I don't mind it, sort of enjoy it, and I really love grossing people out. I now realize I haven't had any since I went vegan back in 2016 some time (got off of the vegan train in early 2018, and despite our efforts to get back on it, cheese has proven too tasty). I should really get some head cheese before my next plant-based kick.

Headcheese is brains isn't it?

Dr. Hess said:

That's too much NSAID, Curtis.  You don't want kidney problems on top of gout.

You're right, if you continue.  A couple doctors have told me to do that, and they say as long as it is just for the duration of the flareup (a couple days) and I'm drinking enough water, that the damage is slim to nil.

In reply to Curtis :

Interesting. I *did* eat a bunch of broccoli the night of “the incident.”

I’d rather avoid prescription meds if possible, but will have the uric acid levels checked out.

Is there a “take as needed” scrip for flare-ups vs. a preventative one taken daily?

In reply to poopshovel again :

There is both a preventive tative and a take as needed.  Chochicine is the take as needed works great and has been recently 2010ish ran through trials by a patent pirate pharmaceutical company. So what was a grandfathered drug that was a million years old is now $4 a pill. 

They #1-slightly changed the recipe for Colchicine, #2-bought up all the outfits making generic and shut them down, #3-profit.   Great drug for an acute attack.  Steroid injection is also EXTREMELY effective for this.  Indomethacin is best NSAID for gout, 

In reply to Toebra :

Takeda pharmaceutical and Hennessy honda of Woodstock. Same people

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/10616042/  <-- so there is some evidence that giving blood reguarly might help gout.

I remember reading that.  I would expect sweet breads to set off your gout.

A buddy had it terribly, and after docs and prescriptions, he found that going nute on cherry juice made it all better. Try it.

Cherry juice works, better if it is tart cherry juice.  I think it lowers the pH of your urine.