Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
To add to Keith’s comment about vegans having a higher risk for gout, than vegetarians for example. I think it would be mostly due to no ingestion of dairy, as one article someone? posted in here I think explained that the reason milk is beneficial to gout is that it contains ortoic acid, vitamin b13, which prevents uric acid from being reabsorbed back into the blood so it gets expelled by the kidneys in the urine. I hope I have explained this correctly, please correct me if I am wrong.
If you have cut down on the meat in your diet, then it could be possible your b12 levels are low and it would be beneficial to supplement your diet to ensure you are getting enough. Usually docs check blood work levels for b12, at least mine does. Also is there a possibility that the gout back pain is caused by the drugs dissolving kidney stones caused by excess uric acid? Could you have kidney stones? Does the dissolving of kidney stones cause pain like the dissolving of uric acid in the joints does? I have also found that upping milk and other dairy is helping. Try keeping a food diary of sorts to see if you can find what foods are triggers for you. Good luck with your next test results.
My doc said that normal uric acid levels were fairly common in some patients that still had gout. What I wonder is because my uric acid levels were in a normal range, did trying to lower them further with allopurinol cause more side effects than most others that have high ua levels to begin with. The allopurinol did eliminate my gout symptoms and eliminated the Achilles tendon thickening that I did not realize were likely from uric acid deposits. After having those for years, why would they then disappear?At present as I previously said, cherry, alkaline diet and increased dairy consumption have kept the previous gout symptoms away. How long this will work for, I have no idea but so far so good for the past 4 months.Will get uric acid levels tested again soon.
Super interesting about the ortoic acid, makes a lot of sense in explaining the benefits of dairy for gout, thankyou for sharing the information, it all helps in understanding its effect.
In Canada, normal uric acid levels are defined as between 150 and 400 umol/L. So far mine have been tested every 6 months, due again soon as well. Results were 308, 339 and after 6 mos. of allopurinol dropped to 258. Next results will be after 6 mos. off the drug, only going with more of an alkaline diet and increased levels of black cherry juice, around 300 to 400 mls.per day aND higher dairy intake. Symptom free during this time so it will be interesting to see what levels are.I have been on total vegetarian diet with very little sugar for 2 yrs. now.
Other thoughts, questions I have might apply to you as well. Is there a connection with gout and poor circulation in hands and feet? Overall high levels of inflammation? High histamine levels in body caused by certain foods or other allergens? Does a hereditary connection make it more likely to get gout with normal uric acid levels?
Definitely possible to have gout with normal uric acid levels, I do as well, my doc says that is quite common, on the other end, a person can have high uric acid levels and not have gout. Mine is in several different sites, ankles, toe, Achilles tendons, various finger joints. 6 mos on allopurinol took all swelling out of Achilles tendons, took soreness and swelling out of other areas as well. Side effects from it caused me to go off it however still take anti inflammatory, cox 2 inhibitor, called celebrex. If I take black cherry juice, alkaline lemon based water, I have been totally symptom free for past 4 months. Total vegetarian diet works too. I kept a food/symptom diary and that really helped me initially to correlate symptoms to diet. Sugar is the other culprit. If the whey based product bothered you, you might be lactose intolerant to milk products. Is there any added sugars to this product? Sounds like something in that supplement is causing your body’s reaction.Good luck.
I am totally vegetarian, eating lots of fruits and vegetables lean towards a more alkaline diet it seems. I drink water that has lemon, ginger, cucumber and mint in it from one of those jugs that has a container in the middle for extras that the water filters through, in addition to probably 300 plus mls of cherry juice a day. There is lots of info out there on alkaline foods versus acidic. I wonder if the bad side effects I got from the allopurinol were because my ua levels were in normal range? Does poor circulation in hands and feet contribute to the gout? I had Achilles tendon thickening that went away totally after 6 mos. on allopurinol,, was that related to gout? Glad to hear uloric is working better for you, sounds like it has a lot fewer side effects. I wish my Dr. would refer me to a rheumatologist who would maybe have some answers to my questions.
My ua blood levels are always in normal range but did go down after 6 mos on allopurinol. It really caused a lot of side effects for me so went off it abt. 4 mos ago, have since been going alkaline and 300 to 400 mls black cherry juice which has allowed me to be symptom free. Coincidence? Don’t know, time will tell. I should get another ua blood test in a couple more months, will be interesting to see what that shows. My other option is uloric but don’t want to go there unless I really have to, which may be necessary at a later date.
You may know that lemons while considered acidic act as alkaline in the body, so drinking water with lemon is good because it acts alkaline. Another way to easily drink alkaline water is to cut up 1 lemon, 1/2 cucumber, 1/4 peeled ginger root and 1/2 cup fresh mint. Put all in jug of water overnight and drink glass in morning on empty stomach, also take during the day. There are many different versions of this, also lists of alkaline high foods that are good to consume. I am currently giving this a try, sounds healthy and can’t hurt body or wallet.
Good luck with the allopurinol, as suggested on many places on this site, start with a low dose and gradually increase it to your full recommended dose. It may be helpful to split dose to twice a day, hope you are being given good guidance on this. The interesting thing I found with foods that were reactive for me was that they tended to be things that have high histamine levels. Strawberries, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach are a few that others on here have commented on as being reactive, are ones with high histamine levels. I wonder if there is a connection between gout and high histamine levels, or it might just be that many of these are high in purines as well? I try to eat a well balanced vegetarian diet, with many of the recommended gout friendly foods and now certainly feel 100% better than before. It is hard to change a lifetime of eating habits.
I am similar to you in that certain foods trigger symptoms. I have what is considered normal uric acid levels but family history and poor circulation in hands and feet have contributed to it. I tried allopurinol for 6 mos but the side effects for me were way worse than the gout. I control with celebrex, an anti inflammatory, cox2 inhibitor and lots of black cherry, sour cherry juice . A little wasn’t working but taking between 300 and 400 mls per day is helping a lot. Without it, a meal with beans lentils or chickpeas , all high in vegetable purines was triggering mild symptoms. I was just about ready to go on uloric (febuxostat) when I tried upping the juice. No booze no meat for 2 yrs now has helped. Sugar is my other trigger so stay away from that as much as possible. Things that are very high in histamines such as strawberries, tomatoes to name a couple also seem to be problematic. Some of your food issues may be with high histamine foods, try go ogling that. I keep a rigorous food diary and if I stay away from the triggers it seems to be working. It sounds like you are on the right track.
I had Achilles tendinitis for years with thickening along sides of tendon just above the heel, would sometimes bother me a bit, but several months after going on allopurinol, the chronic thickening completely disappeared, is still gone, after having for 20 yrs plus, so I would think it has to be related, too much of a coincidence I would think. Never thought about it being related to gout.
Fructose is definitely a trigger for me, within a matter of minutes could feel pain in toe and usually several finger joints as well a very small amount seems ok but any more , nope. The most frustrating thing is a mild reaction to dishes with a lot of beans, chickpeas, lentils and peas, the vegetable purine high foods that I try and eat as being a vegetarian. If I drink enough black cherry juice, ie. 300 mls. plus in a day, that seems to be really working. I have normal uric acid levels but very poor circulation in hands and feet, would always freeze in our cold winters. If I walk enough and am active, ie. 15,000 steps plus daily then it is also better. Allopurinol removed the pain and swelling in big toe, joints felt better but after taking it for 6 mos. the side effects for me were worse than the gout, headaches, migraines and awful acid reflux. Doc will prescribed uloric for me if it is needed so probably will have to go there in the future. Keeping a food diary and tracking symptoms also worked best for me.
Patrick, sounds like you are approaching this in a similar way to me. I tried allopurinol for 6 mos. couldn’t hack all the side effects it gave me, was worse than the gout. Right now am hesitant to try uloric but may eventually have to go there. Total vegetarian diet for close to 2 yrs now, no booze, helps a lot but large amounts of beans, chickpeas, lentils definitely affect me, and of course sugar is the worst. I just upped the amt of cherry juice to 3 plus cups a day spread out and since doing that it has helped immensely, I think before I wasn’t taking enough of it so am going to go this route for now, also have upped the dairy products as well.I am definitely better than when first came off the allopurinol.
Hello Elizabeth, my gout is similar triggered by mushrooms, chickpeas, beans and lentils if I eat too much of these things. No alcohol or meat for almost 2 years now as any kind of meat triggered it. Sugar is still bad too, can’t eat much sweet stuff at all. I was on allopurinol for 6 mos. but way too many side effects for me, so quit it. Doc will put me on uloric if needed. The most effective thing for me is cherry juice, after going off the allo, I went back to the juice, wasn’t working really well until I upped the amount, probably drinking 3 plus cups a day spread over 3 or 4 drinks. After upping it, no more minor flares which I was getting without the allopurinol. I just wasn’t taking enough to be really effective. In my case both sides of my family had gout so is definitely hereditary here. It would be really interesting to see if an algae based supplement helps, keep us posted, thanks.