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metamorph,
Yes, you are 100% correct! We can all learn from each other, but we don't all have to agree with each other. Thanks for your graciousness in sharing your gout experience so others can benefit!
zip2play said:
My opinion is that there are THOUSANDS upon thousands of conditions that can afflict us. If one of them does, we are at an advantage over any GP who must (or SHOULD) learn something about all of them…but that must perforce be a CURSORY something. For us, we need become expert in only ONE of the conditions and it is not too hard to learn almost everything there is to know on such a single condition. We can become as good or BETTER than even the average specialists who still must deal with hundreds of conditions.
If we choose NOT to become expert in our own conditions, we have only ourselves to blame when we follow the designs of someone who is also not an expert.
For our own good, we must ultimately become our own GOOD doctors in the areas where we need care.
Yep1 I agree 100%. I'm a migraine expert (I've had them for most of my life) and I'm learning a lot about gout and NASH (nonalcoholicsteatohepatitis) because I have them. My Dr gives me the benefit of the doubt because she knows that I do my research. I'm very glad I found this forum, you guys are great!!
Odo,
Yep, i have had tyo reduce the amount of falafel I eat. Falafel is made from chickpeas and tahini… I don't know if they are rich in purine, but I have to be careful about how much middle eastern food I eat.
Sounds reasonable. too many Dr's take the “if the SUA is within normal range, it's OK” approach… My SUA is 6.5 and I'm trying to get it as low as possible…
Do other Gout Sufferers take Stevia as a Sweetener?
I use Stevia as a sweetener in my morning coffee and my afternoon lemonade/tart cherry juice “cocktail”. Does anyone else here use Stevia? Here's a link to the Wikipedia page on it.
My Dr recommends Stevia because I have a liver disease (NASH) that is aggravated by sugar and artificial sweeteners. I've been using Stevia in moderation for about 5 years and my liver enzymes are low and my condition is stable.
Anyone else here use Stevia as a sweetener?
I've been researching the “high fructose corn syrup and NASH/gout” for awhile now and there are a few important points to remember:
– fruit contains fructose, but not “HFCS AKA high fructose corn syrup” and they are not the same thing. Fruits also contain fiber (especially strawberry) and fiber is good for you, so the potential negative effect of fructose is “offset” by the benefits of fiber (in my humble opinion)
– HFCS is very prevalent in pop/soda/juices and most people in the US, especially kids drink alot of these….
– I believe that HFCS is bad for me because of my liver disease and gout. Do I believe that HFCS “caused” them? I'm not ready to make that decision yet…
– I'm removing all HFCS from my diet and it won't be easy but I really want to see if it helps me…
I have liver disease (NASH) and I take Zocor (20mg a day) and I'm taking Allopurinol (100mg a day). My Dr is very cautious and is monitoring my liver enzymes (AST and ALT) to be sure they don't increase while taking these meds. So far, so good…
I've been on 100mg of Allopurinol for a week and the pain is a “burning” pain with twinges that feel like I'm stepping on needles…
John,
That's great! I've been on Allopurinol (100mg) for a week now and I'm definitely feeling the pain and tingling, especially after driving the car with the stiff clutch pedal!
teaguesailor12,
Your gout attacks sound just like mine. I’m taking Allopurinol (100 mg once a day) for the past week and my SUA was 6.5 the last time it was tested. Don’t get discouraged, get this gout managed and under control!
When I was diagnosed with NASH (nonalcoholicsteatohepatitis) over 3 years ago, I immediately adjusted my diet and lost almost 20lbs, so I'm at 180-185lbs and I'm 6'1″ tall, so I'm not overweight. Losing the weight helped me lower my liver enzymes but it didn't seem to have any effect on my gout, but who knows how bad my gout would be if I added those pounds back? I eat a vegetarian diet and no alcohol of any kind, but now I'm cutting sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup out of my diet to see what effect that has. Soon, I'll be living on crackers and water!
A guy is coming over today to show his wife the Porsche and get her “OK” to buy it. He's driven it and really likes it, but wants his wife to see it first. It's painful to sell the car, but it's more painful to press the clutch pedal!!
metamorph, Thanks for the kind note! I'm doing my best to control and manage my gout, but it has affected my driving enjoyment as both of my cars have manual transmissions, but the Porsche's clutch is very stiff, much more so than the 2010 MazdaSpeed3. I love the Speed3, I've got 19k miles on it and I've owned it for a year. Before this car, I had a 2007 MazdaSpeed3, but I sold it to a friend so I could buy the 2010 model. I drove my wife, daughter and Golden Retriever to a state park to visit friends yesterday (40 mile round-trip) and my toes is throbbing today. I just took 220mg of Aleve (Naproxen) and it's helping.
Once winter srts in, I'll start going to the pistol/rifle range again and I reload my own ammo. Those are fairly “sedentary” activities and my gout doesn't stop me from enjoying them. I also play the drums at church and the gout does affect my ability to enjoy that activity. All in all, I guess I'm doing pretty well, but I'm learning more everyday and I'll continue to fight gout and I'll eventually win!
I hope you're doing well and managing your gout!
I've had a gout attack in my right shoulder and the pain radiated into my neck, but the majority of the pain was in the shoulder joint itself… How is your shoulder? Can you easily move your shoulder joint without any pain?
I'm a vegetarian, no alcohol, at my proper body weight and I have gout, too. Food doesn't cause gout, but some foods can aggravate it, just like sugar doesn't cause diabetes. Read, learn and talk to your doctor. Get on Allopurinol and get manage this disease and learn to live with it. Good luck!
Hawghunter,
Welcome to this very exclusive club! Don't get discouraged, we'll all work together to fight this condition!
I've been a migraine sufferer for about 35 years and a neurologist determined that my migraines are caused by a change in barometric pressure that my body can't adjust to quickly enough, causing inappropriate vasodilation of the cranial blood vessels. My migraines and gout don't have anything in common, but that's just me. I take Relpax (40mg) at the start of a migraine and the pain is gone in 15-20 minutes. Find the “root cause” of your migraines and treat that. There is a human tendency to want to “tie things together” and we look for cause/effect relationships where none may exist. Good luck with your migraines and gout!
Limpy,
I'll have to tell my wife she needs to start working out! I didn't drive the old Porsche yesterday and my toe pain is not bad at all. I'll drive it today and see what happens…
Parciero,
I get “twinges” and a burning sensation in my large toe on each foot just before the full-blown attack. I'm taking Allopurinol now and this is the 1st week on the meds. I'm in constant discomfort, but it's made worse by the clutch pedal in my cars. I drink 1 gallon of water every day and I watch my diet and weight very carefully. Losing any extra weight will help your liver and would probably help your gout, too. Good luck!
Zied,
Assalamu alaykum (spelling?). Watch your diet, too. I used to eat a lot of lentil soup from my local Lebanese restaurant (I'm a vegetarian) and the purine levels in the lentil soup cause myt gout to flare up. I now watch my diet and weight, take Allopurinol (100mg once per day) and I take Aleve (naproxen) for pain. I also drink lemonade with tart cherry juice added every day and that seems to help. I wish you the best!
caveman38,
Watch those liver enzymes. I'm assuming the AST/ALT are what your Dr said are elevated as those 2 liver enzymes are commonly included in a “liver panel” and generally indicate overall liver health. I have a disease called “NASH”, which is nonalcoholicsteatohepatitis, which I manage by eating a vegetarian diet, no alcohol and my body weight is 185lbs and I'm 6'1″ (yes, we do use the barbaric US weights/measures)! I cannot take most medication, although my Dr agreed to start me on 100mg of Allopurinol once a day and I take over-the-counter Aleve (naproxen) for gout pain. My liver condition has been stable for over 3 years and my biggest issue is now gout. The trick is to control both conditions without doing anything to aggravate the liver. I have found that the “best” way to control liver enzymes and keep them low is not to carry ANY extra weight! Good luck!!
Limpy,
Thanks. I drove the Porsche last night and today I'm really paying for it! I've only been taking the Allopurinol for a week, but the clutch is so stiff that it takes about 50lbs to depress it to the floorboard. Even if the drug works, I don't know how I'll be able to enjoy driving the car… We'll see…
Thanks! I've had the SUA test and I'm at 6.5, I'm taking 100mg of Allopurinol once a day (Day #3). I have a liver ailment that prevents the Dr from being more aggressive with the dosage. So far, I'm experiencing some tenderness in my toes, but that's it…
Several years ago, we were moving a hot tub and we dropped it on my toe, breaking my toe. Well, months went by and the pain never really went away and it seemed to flare up at least once every few weeks. About two years later, I had the same pain in my other big toe, so I knew what it was because my brother had been diagnosed with gout about a year earlier. I checked with him and the symptoms matched. The Dr agreed and gave my steroids to get the pain under control. That was the beginning of my “life with gout”… My SUA has never gone above 6.5 and I've just started taking 100mg of Allopurinol.
I have gotten relief from the pain by taking Aleve (Naproxen) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu…..PMH0000526
It doesn't get rid of 100% of the pain, but it makes the pain manageable… I take 2x220mg every 4 hours and then taper off as the pain subsides. BTW, I have had gout pain in my shoulder and it was unbelievably painful. I sympathize with you!
Really, just one more thing…
I have gotten relief from the pain by taking Aleve (Naproxen)
It doesn't get rid of 100% of the pain, but it makes the pain manageable…
At the 1st attack, the Dr gave me an injection of Prednisone, followed by a week's worth of Prednisone pills and that was a horrible experience. Evidently, I don't tolerate steroids too well and they made me sick and I had severe kidney pain. Just what you need during a gout attack, right? The Aleve is over-the-counter, inexpensive and fairly effective. I take 2 x 220mg every 4 hours until the severe pain subsides…
