Fasting, Uric Acid, and Allopurinol

[Rebecca Nahid]

Hi there

I know that patients with gout or those predisposed to gout are advised against fasting due to the raising of uric acid. However does it mean fasting as in total fasting so in other words abstaining from food completely?

How would this affect somebody who did a juice fast for a couple of days as obviously you are still taking in calories and nutrients? I want to embark on this for just a few days for personal reasons and I am just checking whether I would be putting myself at risk? My total calories would be around 1050. Currently my allopurinol 100mg is doing a great job, so of course I just want to be sensible and and seek advice, and it’s difficult right now to get a doctor’s appointment due to the ongoing situation with the coronavirus.

Thank you in advance

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Intermittent Fasting and Gout

[nobody]

Hi again!

How dangerous a juice fast is naturally depends on how many days you’re talking about. If “a few” means two, no worries. But assuming you meant more than that…
Gout is far from the main issue. I apologize if the following sounds patronizing but I’d be much more concerned about you becoming dangerously thin, developing an eating disorder or protein deficiency. Granted, some people can survive such injuries to their bodies better than others. Having no history of troublesome infections and being in solid health generally would be a must. I would recommend monitoring your vitals including your blood sugar and making sure you are hydrating enough (unless you were already on a low-carb diet, you will need more water). If the epidemic is ongoing in your area, you don’t want to become a burden on the health system at this time or catch the infamous bug while getting treated for an avoidable bacterial infection.
As far as allopurinol is concerned, there is as always a balance to strike between the risks. If you’ve had no gout symptom for a long time, it would probably take a while for any risks to materialize. But the longer you go on without eating properly, the more chances you take. The effects of such as fast as well as the effects of rapid weight loss more generally on one’s uric acid would vary from one person to the next but an unknown risk would be a reason to take more allopurinol. On the other hand there are risks with allopurinol’s side effects as well. And obviously I can’t possibly recommend you increase your dose if this has not been approved by a doctor on an earlier occasion!

Good luck!

[Rebecca Nahid]

@nobody

Thanks very much for your response good to hear from you again! I’m only intending to do it for a couple of days to be honest to see how I get on. I’m not even sure if I will be able to manage it and may well end up caving in! I do suffer from low blood pressure so I’m intending to do it when I am at home and not working. To be honest there is no danger of me becoming dangerously thin as I currently weigh 170 pounds and I am 5-ft 4 so considered almost obese although I don’t look it.

I know there are many people that fast for weeks and that is not something I could do personally!

[nobody]

Once I get used to it, I don’t find it very hard to carry on. But I never juice-fasted for longer than a week as that was enough to make me catch a nasty infection. Maybe that wouldn’t have happened if I had used a blood glucose tester.

[Rebecca Nahid]

Well yesterday I consumed only juices throughout the day and a banana, and I had add regular food in the evening and pleased to report I lost a pound. I think rather than just consuming juices I will incorporate them much more into my diet

[Author]

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