Gout sufferer with low blood pressure

[Pamela Webster]

My Egyptian partner (lives in Egypt, not in USA or UK) has low blood pressure and is underweight, but suffers from RA and associated gout. He’s working in Sharm el Sheikh, and the nearest good doctors are 500Km away in Cairo, so not just around the corner, and a lot of medication just isn’t available in Egypt.

I’ve not seen Allopurin anywhere amongst his medication, is this only available on prescription or is there any possibility that I could get it in UK?

Are there other sufferers on GoutPal who also have low blood pressure?
Does this make a major difference to treatment and control?

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How does Blood Pressure affect your Gout?

[Patrick]

Pamela,

How “underweight” is underweight? I ask this because being underweight is very subjective. If a person is 6’0″ and weighs 140 lbs. (sorry I live in the USA, we don’t use the metric system here) I’d say that person is underweight. If a person is 5’7″ and weighs 140 lbs., that person might not be THAT underweight. So this is a pretty important fact as it pertains to low blood pressure.

Low blood pressure can be caused by many things. Some are good, some are bad. People who are lean (not underweight), athletic, etc. will tend to have a low blood pressure and pulse simply because their arteries and blood vessels have very little resistance or plaque build up. Their hearts, which is a muscle, is strong and can push blood with no problem and very little resistance.

But the flip side of low blood pressure is the bad parts. Low blood pressure can also be caused by a bleed internally. This is a “worst case scenario” type situation. This would be associated with a higher resting pulse rate, and possibly a tender or painful abdomen, and dark or “tar” like stool. Again, this is usually associated with a combination of other medical problems.

So if your friend is not complaining of the other medical issues I mentioned, maybe his being underweight is what is causing his low blood pressure. And for the record, low blood pressure is not that big of a deal….unless it is being caused by the medical conditions I mentioned. One thing I forgot to mention, and this is important. If you friend DOES have some sort of bleeding issue AND is taking aspirin, he needs to stop taking it immediately. Aspirin is an anti-coagulant, which prevents blood clotting.

A physical could answer all the questions. Hope that helped, and didn’t cause you unnecesary fright.

[Keith Taylor]

Thanks Patrick, for some very interesting information.

All I can add, is to ask for more facts. I’ve heard low blood pressure is harder to treat than high blood pressure. But, most important are the numbers. I say this, because I’ve heard people say “low blood pressure” when they actually mean “not high”.

Anyway, we’re not professional medics here. I think if gout is complicated by other conditions, it has to be managed by a professional. The dangers of giving someone un-prescribed allopurinol in normal gout are bad enough. I shudder to think what the dangers might be when the situation is compounded by hypotension and malnutrition.

Pamela, I urge you to get your partner to a doctor. It might be inconvenient and expensive. But, what’s a life worth?

[Pamela Webster]

I’m going back to Egypt tomorrow, armed with Devils Claw and Black Cherry Juice plus the usual supplies of fresh Tumeric.
Any response re non-prescription medicines available in UK will be very welcome, but I won’t be able to do anything about that for a month or so.
Regards,
Pamela

[Keith Taylor]

Ooops 😳 Sorry Pamela

I was bumbling about in the Helpdesk, and I accidentally deleted your response, and never saw it. I’ve no idea how that happened. But, it’s the best of reasons why it’s best to post in the forum rather than using the Feedback form, or Helpdesk. By all means, use the Helpdesk if you are stuck. But, you should have a Windows Live account, so just click the Windows Live button where it says “Connect to GoutPal with” Then, you can post here.

Anyway, please heed my earlier response. Your partner needs a doctor. Or at least, we need your partners medical details so we can respond more helpfully.

Devils Claw for gout? How’s that supposed to help?

[Pamela Webster]

Thanks for your concern about the low blood pressure, but this is genetic, not a medical problem and is managed by eating regularly and avoiding foods which tend to lower the blood pressure. This is one of the problems when it comes to managing gout since almost all dietary advice assumes that the sufferer is overweight and has high blood pressure.
He is being treated for rheumatoid arthritis, and the gout is associated with this, but for ordinary people in Egypt visiting the doctor is not the casual pop-into-the-surgery’ occasion the way it is in UK and much of USA.
There is no regular work here nowadays, no Social Security, and in this case a visit to the doctor involves careful planning, a 500Km drive, and taking several days away from being available for work. In addition, medicines cost 2 or 3 times what they cost a couple of years ago (if they’re easily affordable then they’re made-in-China copies and seriously unsafe!).

I appreciate the comments about using allanopurin without medical advice, you’re right, not really worth risking.

I’m trying to find the best way of helping him manage the gout within the restrictions imposed by the social situation. I commute between UK and Egypt on a regular basis, so can bring foods and herbal remedies, but no prescription items.
Re Devils Claw, this is used for pain relief, it may or may not work in this case, but it’s always worth trying.

Regards,
Pamela

[Keith Taylor]

Pamela, you’ve touched my heart with “for ordinary people in Egypt visiting the doctor is not the casual pop-into-the-surgery’ occasion the way it is in UK and much of USA.” And, your subsequent paragraph.

I spend too much time thinking about how I can help others. But, not enough time actually doing it. I will think long and hard about practical ways I can help people who are not lucky enough to have access to UK NHS brilliance. If you can suggest anything, please do.

I’ll be back later to offer better advice about managing gout without lots of medical resources. In the meantime, there are some basic issues:

1. Why does he think it is gout? I’m looking for anything that gives me more information about his medical condition. The more facts I have, the more I can offer relevant help.

2. For diet, I always start from a healthy foundation. Experience tells me that traditional eating styles are healthiest. Can you teach me about Egyptian eating? [*] I can probably suggest ways to plan Egyptian meals that are better for gout. But, at the moment, I don’t have a starting point. Does turmeric play a part in Egyptian recipes? It’ll do far more good than Devils Claw for inflammation.

[*] I don’t mean the Westernized recipes I’ll get if I Google Egyptian food. I mean the real stuff that people eat every day. What does you your guy eat each day? What do you change in your diet, Pamela, between UK and Egypt?

Drown me in facts, and I’ll find some better ways to deal with Egyptian Gout.

[Keith Taylor]

“I will think long and hard about practical ways I can help”

Here’s some thoughts so far:
1. Should Charivertising be a word? You inspired that, Pamela. If it works, I’ll be forever in your debt.
2. We own Uriciplex – Carl’s offering free samples. Let’s persuade him to mail some to Egypt.
3. I have a UAsure uric acid home tester that I no longer need. If someone can fund strips for it, then it might help. What do you think?

There’s got to be lot’s more we can do. As well as my previous 2 questions, please can you post a list of things that you believe will help.

[Author]

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