Home test kit UA variations

[Niall Farrow]

Hi all,

not really sure where to start. I had my first 2 gout attacks this year in January and March. I’m a 30 year old male. 5ft 11″ and at the time weighed 208lb. I went to the doctor and had a UA reading of 9. He prescribed me a months worth of Naproxen (an NSAID) and told me to diet and exercise.

This was about three weeks ago. I have since worked hard on my general health, avoiding high purine food. Zero alcohol consumption. Taking cherry supplements and vitamin C supplements. Drinking plenty of water!!! I started working out more regularly (adding swimming to my mountain biking) I felt really good inside and that the steps taken were huge!

I now weigh 194lb.

Today my home UA kit arrived and my reading is 11.

I just feel really lost and defeated. I know this is only the first hurdle, but what more can I be doing to steer this in the right direction? Has anyone else suffered these kinds of setbacks? I really don’t want to be on any drugs if I can help it.

Thank you for reading

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Accuracy is important for Uric Acid Monitor choice. But, not the only factor.

[Keith Taylor]

Been there. Done that! 😥

Sorry, that’s not helpful. I also made the same mistake of upsetting myself with home uric acid testing. Eventually, I worked out a way to be confident I was testing correctly. By then, I realized that, for me, the test strips were too expensive. And, for accuracy, you have to test very frequently. Then discard any high or low results, and use an average.

It’s not usually a fault of the test unit itself. But, they are scientific instruments therefore:

Order a Blood Uric Acid Kit from a reputable supplier, who offers money-back guarantees and product support. [Uric acid test kit]

The problems usually come from how you use them. What training have you had in using scientific instruments? Do you want to tell me your complete testing routine? Then, I’ll see if I can suggest some improvements to get better consistency. There’s more information here if you search for something like “home UA kit”.

Your doctor should have explained that it takes years for uric acid crystals to accumulate before symptoms show as gout. He’s right that healthy diet and exercise are good for gout sufferers. But, he should have warned you – it takes years for diet changes to have significant effect.

He should also have warned you that gout is not just about diet. It’s often important. But, so are other factors. Excess iron is a common problem. So is genetics – and dieting will not change your ancestors.

All of that probably adds to your misery. So, let’s talk about what to do next.

First, you’ve made massive progress with diet and exercise. You’ve shown you can do it. If you only want to consider diet, I hope I can encourage you with that. I might be able to suggest some diet improvements that help your gout. Do you have a target weight in mind? If so, how long do you think it will take to achieve it?

[Niall Farrow]

Hi,

Thank you for your reply, really appreciated. I have only just seen it and will take time tomorrow to reply, just didn’t want to seem ignorant by not responding.

[Pete x]

Pete’s Uric Acid Home Test Meter Diary

Hi, seems a great site thanks.
I`m a 48 year old male and had my first Gout attack about 2 years ago. I hoped it was a one-off and did little about it. I have had 2 (and now a lesser 3rd) attacks in the last 6 months. Have been to see doctor re allopurinol and he was reluctant,saying that was only indicated for more than 4 attacks a year and advised weight loss, healthy diet, stopping smoking and reducing blood pressure (I have recently (2 months) started Amlodipine 5mg which he increased to 10mg daily. He only reluctantly agreed to uric acid blood test.
Have bought a home test meter with a view to trying to assess my own dietry issues having read so many conflicting things online. So far have had readings from 5.4 to 10.9 (over 3 days) although have just re-read the small print and have taken ascorbic acid 1000mg a few times which may apparently affect results (discard these then). I intend to leave it a few days then try to get accurate readings again. Can I use readings before and after eating to compare different foods and alcohol even? ie base reading, eat, then another reading say 90mins later?

[nobody]

Hi,
I don’t know if all doctors would say the same thing in your country but this “more than 4 attacks a year” thing isn’t a good way to decide if allopurinol would be helpful. Testing your uric acid on the other hand, now that would be the first step in making a decision about allopurinol.
About your home testing: you won’t get the full effect of the food you eat within 90 minutes. In my opinion, changes throughout the day shouldn’t be your guide and you should try to measure the effect of any changes over several days minimum. Exercise for instance might cause an immediate increase in the amount of uric acid in your blood but that doesn’t mean moderate exercise would increase the amount of uric acid in your system in the long run. But my opinion is irrevelant: whatever works for you in the long run is good.

[Pete x]

Thanks for your feedback. I will let you know as things progress.

[Patrick]

Holy crap, Pete. You and I must have the same doctor. The only difference is my Rheumotologist said he would put me on Allopurinol after 3 Gout attacks in a year. Like nobody says in the above post, this isn’t sound advice from a doctor, unless this doctor is basing his/her advice to you from blood work that comes back questionable. And by questionable, that would be taking into account liver function and kidney function numbers. The decision to put a patient on a medication for potentially the rest of their life should be discussed between the two, with the caveat being that the patient will continue to adhere to monthly, then quarterly, blood work follow up. Period. If the patient agrees to this, then write the damn prescription and see the person back in a month, to start.

I still scratch my head wondering why I had to endure 4 unnecessary (in my opinion), excrutiating Gout attacks just to fall into this “mentality” of my Rheumotologist. It wasn’t until I went in and DEMANDED to be put on medication, that he finally listened, and I haven’t looked back.

I don’t know anything about home Uric Acid meters, so I will defer the knowledge of those to people who use them. I will say your doctor did give you SOME sound advice. Exercise, losing weight, quitting smoking, and eating healthier will help to lower your Uric Acid somewhat, but it will definitely help your overall health. Stick with that advice, along with proper hydration.

[Author]

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