legs, hands, knees, elbows you name it.

[Leon Forte]

I’ve been suffering with gout for 30 years. I have had attacks that come on suddenly and disappeared almost as quickly. Usually I feel a twinge and within a day or two it is a attack ranging from extremely painful to screaming pain. I have been brought to the Emergency room by ambulance more time than I can count. The rheumatologist has not given me medications due to kidney and liver problems. A steroid regimen is what knocks it out of me. My last attack, which is still with me as I am writing this has been a low grade painful attack and after three steroid treatments has still not abated. I remember in Italy I once got a severe attack and my cousin went to a herbalist who put together a tea with herbs. I am not exaggerating when I state that I wasn’t finished drinking the tea and the attack vanished. This time, in desperation, I called a herbalist in Italy and they gave me the recipe minus mistletoe which is poison and can kill you (only licensed herbalist play with that) She said it will still be effective. I ordered them online and if successful I will give the recipe here and where I ordered them. Yes, I have had it in the feet, toes, hands, fingers, knees, elbows and even in the ligaments and tendons. I’ve tried every home remedy to no avail. Soaking a foott or hand in warm water and baking soda (a lot, that I order by the bucket) helps a little if it is a milder attack. I will let everyone know if the tea is the same as it was when I had it in Italy. A horrible and debilitating ailment to say the least.

[nobody]

The forum rejected my post earlier and I’m not going to re-type but basically, a very low XOI dose is effective in some cases. A rheuma also thought I couldn’t take a XOI but it turned out she was surprisingly ignorant about the drugs she works with.
Anti-inflammatories aren’t a solution, herbal or not.

[Leon Forte]

When in dire unbearable pain anything is an answer if it removes the pain, swelling and redness. Herbs did for me when I was in Italy as well as my brother who lived in Italy for over five years. I will let those here know about the herbs when I get them and they indeed work for me again. I don’t know about AOI drugs but if they help then that is great. My brother was using Uloric, but it affected his heart, which has now has been documented as a serious side effect of this drug, so he is back on alopurinol. (Watching ones diet in addition to any remedy is essential.) He is ecstatic that the herbs can now be bought online and easy to find in the USA. Whatever helps in quelling this insidious illness is an answer as there is no cure. Whatever help is available without serious side effects is an answer. Thanks for the info on AOI drugs and I will ask my doctor about them. Are they in a class of drugs which includes alopurinol and/or Uloric?

[nobody]

Yes, allo and Uloric are XOIs. The point is to prevent the damage gout causes rather than to address only the pain while the underlying condition worsens. But of course when you’re in pain you’re going to want quick relief and not a long-term solution.
My cardiologist also recommended I quit Uloric. But it’s basically the same issue as with my rheuma: speculation based on a very different dose than mine. I’ve not seen any evidence of heart trouble with my dose (which is common in some countries where the drug is sold in smaller amounts with a different brand name).
And based on the blood tests, my liver seems healthier now that I’m not taking anti-inflammatories anymore. Herbs can harm the liver too by the way.

[Leon Forte]

Good advice. Yes, I know that herbs can hurt the liver and I do get blood tests every three or four months to check my liver and kidney functions as I have problems with both. I already have some joint damage due to 30 years with this horrifying problem. However, it is not so bad that I can’t live with it. COVID lock downs had all my tests on hold but I am having them done in January so I will have a baseline to judge any problems that may be caused by the herbs. I did call Italy again and the herbalist told me that the herbs I am taking (or will be taking) does not affect the liver more than normal living in a modern world. Since I have liver problems it is prudent to watch the levels. I have been doing that anyway. She said the herb mixture is actually good for the kidneys and joint damage due to gout maily happens when you have an attack which I have been going through a low grade attack for two months now. I am going to ask my doctor (my GP) about alopurinol again and see about taking that as well if it is okay with herbs. I would not take Uloric because as I said it affected my brother’s heart. Thanks for the heads up.

[nobody]

It’s easier to take a small allopurinol dose anyway because pills containing reasonable doses are commonly available (unlike Uloric which is a monopoly).
Be sure to mention to your doctor that you want to try a small and therefore fairly safe dose to see what it does to your liver. If your liver has trouble processing the drug, a smaller dose would probably be sufficient anyway. A drug you take every day can build up in your system if it’s not eliminated quickly.
I’m being insistent about this point because there are doctors out there who do not follow guidelines and tell their patients to take potentially dangerous doses…

What could “normal living in a modern world” possibly mean? Probably things like alcohol consumption which people with sensitive livers shouldn’t do, and which have nothing to do with modernity.

[Leon Forte]

Hello thanks. Normal living in a modern world means that your liver is on overtime as it is because of all the poisons. Every square inch of the earth and air has some sort of toxins in it and your body id absorbing poisons constantly. I already have liver problems and a rheumatologist did not want to give it to me. I have been taken herbs (Two of the five given to me as I am still waiting for the others to be delivered and they seems to work.) The jury is still out on that.

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