Is this really gout?

[Rem Lo]

I was diagnosed with gout about a year and a half ago, but have experienced consistent on going pain for a long period prior. It’s been getting worse over time and has really started to take a massive toll on my mental well being and ability to function. I now walk with a permanent limp that shifts in severity.

Despite massive changes to my diet, the pain virtually never stops unless I stay off my feet for the majority of a day and then it comes right back again once I move around again. It gets increasingly bad over the course of each week, till I inevitably hit a point where I just cannot use my ankle at all. When it really hits, I experience a ‘tightening’ sensation that gradually ramps up in pain, till there is a ‘popping’ feeling and the pain dies down briefly before starting all over again.

I was prescribed Allopurinol, which I cannot say seems to help. On top of the dietary changes and medication, I’m trying literally anything and everything. Tart cherries, both capsule and liquid. Apple Cider Vinegar tablets. Drinking absurd amounts of water.

My gout is also apparently somewhat abnormal in that I don’t show any major outward signs of swelling, as it is apparently my bones that are swelling.

Has anyone experienced something like this? Is it really gout? I hate to second guess my podiatrist, but it doesn’t seem to match any of the descriptions I’ve read. It seems to link almost exclusively to foot usage, rather than what I eat or drink.

---

Do you have gout? Or, a different type of arthritis?

Is this really gout?

The question “Is this really gout” indicates that an Arthritis Sufferer Plan is required. Yet allopurinol has been prescribed. So is this just a badly managed Gout Patient Plan?

While we wait for more information, read how do you know if you have gout.

[nobody]

Hi!

Gout symptoms tend to be more affected by foot usage than by what you eat and drink, though that varies from case to case (and I’m also assuming people make sensible choices once they figure out what hurts).
If you want, we can go over your symptoms and the basis of the diagnosis. You’d need to quote lab reports and to explain your history in detail because gout is a slow disease. But atypical gout is pretty common and you’ve already started the treatment so I’m not sure there’s much point as long as you aren’t getting serious side effects from allopurinol. The best way to tell if a problem was gout is whether the treatment makes it go away but unfortunately this can take a very long time…
I think I should make the following clear: allopurinol isn’t supposed to stop the pain, only to prevent it after you’ve taken it long enough. Indeed starting allpurinol can make the pain worse for weeks or even months (and that’s assuming you’re taking enough allopurinol! if not, it will never go away). So you should have another drug (or several) for the pain and the (potentially dangerous) impairment.
It is also not necessary for most people (but I don’t know if your case is typical) to make heroic efforts as far as diet is concerned as long as they take enough allopurinol.
The way you know whether you’re taking enough is too look at blood test results.

That said, if you have something other than gout then you obviously need to get that taken care of!
What I recommend is therefore to refrain from trying to guess if your problem is gout or not: stick to the treatment now that you’ve started it but also see another doctor about your troubles. Again, the point isn’t to tell if it’s gout or not but to make sure you don’t have another serious problem requiring timely treatment. So don’t ask them to guess whether you have gout or not and stick to the treatment regardless of whether they find another problem or not.

[Author]

Posts