Uric acid blood test – what do results mean?

[viji]

Uric acid blood test

Can I have gout if I had normal uric levels in the blood but had uric acid crystals in the knee fluid ?

viji via GoutPal’s Gout Support Helpdesk.

Posted from Heat Or Ice For Gout Relief?.

We know from several studies that uric acid crystals develop much more readily at lower temperatures. Like many of my fellow gout sufferers, I have experienced the pain of a gout flare in extremities left uncovered in a cold bedroom. Is it really wise to subject a uric acid laden joint to lower temperatures knowing that this will encourage uric acid crystals to form?
[…]
If you have gout, avoid applying ice, keep joints warm, and lower uric acid to 5mg/dL (0.30mmol/L) so you can stop worrying about gout pain.

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Is your uric acid blood test result safe or normal?

[Keith Taylor]

Normal, when applied to blood tests means average. It is a statistic that includes gout sufferers as well as people without gout. Normal has no medical value. I’ve put the important numbers in the colored table in the right-hand sidebar.

You can find a lot more relevant information if you search for normal uric acid levels. Use the search box near the top right of every page. Then, let me know what you think about the results you find.

The big question remains, viji, What is your uric acid number? ❓

[Jean Clyne]

Keep testing for uric acid levels?

Uric acid level 5.7 mg/dl.
Symptoms keeping under control with one celebrex every 3 days, vegetarian diet and low sugar intake.
Canadian female, 145 lbs, 5 ft. 7, active.
Symptoms of random finger pain off and on, burning hot tingling feet, worst symptoms started after horse stepped on big toe, months of this till figured out it was gout, doc confirmed, much better with veg diet, no sugar, don’t know where to go from here, try and control with diet, celebrex, curcumin cs, cherry concentrate.
Keep testing for uric acid levels?

[Lowell Andrew F.]

I have very similar traits to you but am male.

I would test my uric acid daily if I could, but I think that’s overkill as this all moves very slowly…look at it like moving to a different house or something. It’s a big project!

I’m off allopurinol for the first time today due to some adverse effects and although I have slight pain back, I feel much better and no more side effects, so I guess it did its job. It could be much worse, as you know.

Diagnosis always seems to take months.

I’m not familiar with Celebrex but it sounds like you’re on the right track!

[GoutPal HelpDesk]

Blood UA Results

Here’s a novel, and very interesting post from an anonymous gout sufferer.

Can I post an attachment?

I made a chart with my blood readings taken at home over a few months. I started with no alcohol and 90% vegetarian diet immediately. After 2 months, and taking supplements the last two days, finally got down to 6.6 mg/dL. I thought the chart might be more interesting than just writing the numbers out. I did not want my name on the file.

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This type of information is very welcome. We hope it is interesting to other gout sufferers. It was sent as a message attachment using the form that appears when you click the orange Gout Help button. You can also send messages to us directly at GoutPal Helpdesk. Keith should respond soon.

[Lorraine Brook]

Gout test

My doctor says I have gout I have pain in my knee really bad and generally feeling unwell, doctor sent me for blood test straight away but it came back normal.

I still have pain but not as bad. I have a appointment with the nurse on Monday. Can I ask what further tests I should ask for and could it still be gout with a normal result.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Johnson]

Home Uric Acid Testing continues

So week 2 of the testing. With the knowledge that
UA levels can fluctuate even throughout the day,
and given the advice that the best time to
test is in the morning on an empty stomach,
that is what I did today.

I actually had some slight gout pains in my
right toe and ankle… it “felt” like I
was very acidic this morning.

But the results showed otherwise.

Actually, I had a bit of trouble
with the tester and it was a good
experience to see how to best
use it and the variance it can
produce.

When I used the tester last week,
it seemed like I did it perfectly.
I put one drop on the tester and
squeezed a bit more blood and it
filled up the testing strip area
perfectly without overflowing.

This week, I put a drop of blood
on but it only covered about half
the area, and I think my finger
was at a weird angle to it. By
the time I tried to reposition it,
seconds were ticking by and I thought:
eh, just leave it.

And the result was a 4.4. I thought
that has to be way too low.

So then I redid the test with a new
strip and a new prick of a different
finger.

This time I made sure to position myself
well and squeezed a good amount before
dabbing the strip. This time it
filled up the strip completely and
actually was more than the previous
week. It seemed like I erred slightly
on the side of too much blood.

But the result was a 6.0… down from
7.7, which is a big improvement. I
have to think the result was fairly
accurate as far as the blood, but
also that doing it in the morning
probably made a big difference in
the score.

In any case, I’m in a good mood
about my improved score.

[Keith Taylor]

You’re taking me right back to my testing days! 😀

It takes a little getting used to. But, once you get into a routine, it’s easy. The trick is to reduce the number of variables as much as you can. It might seem petty to always sit in the same chair. And, always place your equipment in the same place. But, that attention to detail reaps rewards.

It’s sensitive kit, so all efforts to get consistent drop size are worth it. I also used to focus on cleanliness, as skin contaminants can affect results. I’m not saying medical cleaning swabs are necessary. But commonsense avoidance of skin contaminants is good.

I’m excited about seeing more results. And, I’m impressed by the way you’ve made this personal forum your own. You might also think about recording those gout symptoms.

[Johnson]

just tested again, first time was 4.3, blood didnt fill up the area.
tested again, and used too much blood , it was 7.4… so yes a very
sensitive kit. really seems to depend on how much blood is used.
have to keep practicing with it so there’s just enough blood to
fill the area and not more.

[Keith Taylor]

It’s a learning curve, Johnson. Annoying sometimes, but it gets easier as you learn.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I’m sure this helps other readers who are going through similar situations with new uric acid test kits.

[GoutPal Seeker]

In Australia the blood tests results are labelled “Urate”.

Is this the same as uric acid?

[Patrick]

Gavin,

I think Urate is a byproduct of Uric Acid. It isn’t the same thing. Urate is the salt that comes from Uric Acid and forms up in the joints.

[d q]

Hi Gavin,

A good explanation is here:

Why Not Talk About Urate?

by Keith Taylor himself 🙂

James

[nobody]

Cost/benefit of Uric Acid lab tests

Keith wrote in another thread:
“Not for this thread, but I’d be interested to read about your experience with uric acid test. Because, I’m intrigued by your cost issues. But, more importantly by ‘results tend to be all over the place.’
Anyway, that’s up to you. Because, I’ve no wish to intrude.”

I have >20 years experience with getting my UA tested.

I’m billed close to 60£ for each basic blood test if no doctor is involved. Tests can naturally cost a lot more depending on what is tested but a bigger problem is that doctors are typically involved which can easily double or triple the cost of a basic test.
I don’t want to write an essay about the issues involved in regulating for-profit health care but suffice it to say there are perverse incentives and many things are made more complicated and costly than they should be. For all the issues with NHS-type setups, they do keep costs down.

As to my tests results being all over the place, we’ve discussed this in several other threads.
Briefly, I’ve only had one crazy result when I was at the ER for something other than arthritis (though possibly related to UA) and I’m pretty sure that was simply a case of someone messing up a unit conversion (dividing the result by 10 yields a reasonable value).
But even disregarding tests carried out at the hospital, the standard deviation is still around 16% of the mean. Which is to say I’ve seen my share of odd results and surprisingly large variations. For instance, in a recent threads Keith talked about a UA test during an attack hypothetically being 10 umol/l off. But that’s peanuts. As I stated in that thread, I’ve had my results dropping >100 umol/l between the onset of an attack and its aftermath.
That said, trends over many tests and several years do make sense in relationship to my symptoms, my diet and so forth. But combining that with the cost of individual tests here, getting a workable picture of what’s going on with one’s UA can be quite expensive indeed.
One possible contributing factor to noise in my test results is that professionals often have a hard time drawing my blood. It may have been a coincidence but I got some of my lowest UA test results when my blood was drawn at an unusual location. While professionals have nevertheless always taken the numbers at face value, my rheuma doesn’t value UA tests as much as some other doctors.

[Keith Taylor]

Thanks for the info nobody.

For all the issues with NHS-type setups, they do keep costs down.

I’m a massive fan of UK’s NHS (National Health Service), where blood tests are free. Hence my interest in costs for other nations. Because, collectively, we might find ways for needy gout sufferers to get better, affordable blood tests.

This is probably a long shot, but I’m hoping others will join in and share their uric acid blood tests and experiences. Anyway, I think I’ll add a survey form to relevant pages. Because, people tend to respond more to surveys than forum messages.

Your experience of big variations is interesting. I’ve never noticed that with professional tests. But, I’ll bear it in mind when other gout sufferers report strange results that affect their diagnosis or treatment.

How much does your uric acid blood test cost?

[Jamie Mcculloch]

No blood tests for suspected gout

Visited my GP today with a flare up. Asked me to stay off red meat and beer for 4wks and come back for tests. Why wouldn’t she take my bloods today so she can compare it on my next visit?

[nobody]

Results are sometimes off during flareups which is why doctors often prefer running tests when their patients are feeling well.
My opinion is that she should still have taken your blood though.

I’m not sure what staying off red meat and beer is supposed to accomplish. That may skew the data. And an effective gout diet would be a bit more complicated than that.

Has the level of uric acid in your blood been tested before?
If it’s never been tested, you might want to insist on getting it tested before changing your diet.

Do you already have a reliable gout diagnosis?
If you don’t, a strange test result during your flareup might be a useful clue so that might be another reason to insist on getting tested now.

If you are confident you have gout and have had uric acid tests before, you could try a more serious gout diet if your old test results suggest that dieting might be a realistic solution.

[d q]

The ultimate question is do you actually have gout or do you and your doctor think you have what is thought to be gout?

These questions can only be answered with specific tests which your doctor has seemed to overlook.

[Patrick]

Jaime,

I would have insisted on a blood test if you think you have Gout. In all honesty, staying off red meat and beer for 4 weeks isn’t going to change the fact that your Uric Acid is above the “safe” level. If indeed you DO have Gout, you got this acute flare up because your Uric Acid spiked and your body response was to attack the area.

Delaying a blood test for 4 weeks may show a reduction from the initial attack levels, but chances are your Uric Acid levels will still be high and you will still be susceptible to future attacks. Your doctors logic is silly.

Go insist on getting it checked so that you have some sort of initial baseline so that you can get on the road to recovery sooner rather than later.

[Kurt Uric]

I have never had a gout attack or kidney stones. My doctor has had me on 300 mg of allopurinol per day apparently as a preventative measure. I have never changed my beer drinking habits which I enjoy on a regular basis. Three times a week 2 to 3 beers each time. My annual blood test results now average 5.0 mg/dl.

Have not experienced any side effects from the allopurinol. However, I just don’t like taking any drugs and would like to eliminate it. I am planning to cut the dosage in half for starters 150mg of allopurinol. I’ve also heard that some people have great success by drinking tart cherry juice to bring their uric acid levels under control.

Anyone out there with similar experience.

Kurt Uric

[Author]

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