Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I’ve got very mixed emotions on this one @d_q
Because, on one hand, Mr. Hemen Ee from Malaysia seems a nice guy who is just trying to raise some money to support his family.
But, on the other hand, he’s suggesting poisoning us with ionic calcium as a great way to find gout freedom. No ingredients, no safe dosing advice, no suggestion of testing for blood ionic calcium levels or testing urine pH.
So, it’s a dodgy, potentially dangerous, sales pitch for something that is unlikely to work. Also, it begs the question I always ask regarding similar baking soda claims. Why would you risk dangerous chemical imbalance in your body when you fairly easily achieve alkaline urine through healthy diet changes.
Then my emotions go into overdrive, as I realize how little work I’m doing on Foodary and EFSEP. Because they are my projects to encourage healthy eating. Usually, alkaline-diet based, but with easy stages to help the transition from unhealthy Western Diet.
Also, I realize that my reliance on advertising and commission revenue is compromising my integrity. Because I cannot vet all robotically-served adverts to ensure they are not making misleading claims like Mr. Ee’s websites.
So, I’d better commit to moving personal support to a paid service, so that I can remove adverts and commission links. Also, I’ll commit to introducing my Gout Foundation Diet plan. But instead of wasting time working out ways to provide it for free, I will charge for it. Though I hope I can offer generous discounts to you and the other lovely people who commit their time to making my forum better.
Andโฆ On a more social note, Happy New Year 🙂
I don’t think it’s too late to return the compliment, @d_q.
So I hope 2018 brings you everything you wish for. And a special thank you for making me think about important things.
My final thought for the day on uric acid kidney stones is a report I just spotted when researching a different topic.
Wabner, Cindy L., and Charles YC Pak. “Effect of orange juice consumption on urinary stone risk factors.” The Journal of urology 149, no. 6 (1993): 1405-1408.
I will add this to the gout PDF library soon. But I do not plan to write a layman’s review of it. Unless someone asks me nicely. (‘nicely’ means starting a new topic explaining why you want me to review it, and what you expect to get out of my review.)
The solution is exactly what you are doing, Moorthi. Go and get advice from your doctor to get the right treatment for you. Because I can help you understand what your doctor tells you. Also, I might be able to suggest questions you should ask. But only if you start a new topic with more history of your gout.
I know resveratrol can help uric acid reduction. So, there could be some value in using it to combat uric acid kidney stones. But, as you say Alex, it’s anecdotal.
I think other gout sufferers might consider resveratrol to reduce uric acid. But they should also monitor uric acid to ensure safe uric acid control. Also, as with any uric acid treatment, you should also monitor kidney function and liver function.
Fantastic news, Colin! I love the fact that you are achieving gout recovery and have less reliance on ibuprofen. Also, you seem to be on the right dose of allopurinol to keep your uric acid safe.
But, you are right to “think there is still some way to go in regard to the breaking down of old UA deposits”. Because it usually takes several months to dissolve old uric acid crystals. However, if you keep a note of when you need to take ibuprofen, I expect you will see longer time between gout symptoms. Also, less intense attacks.
Then one day, you wake up struggling to remember the last time you had a gout attack. That’s when you know gout is truly a thing of the past. But always continue to get annual uric acid tests. Then you can be sure that your allopurinol dose continues to be right.
do you know anything about the possibility of Vitamin B complex impact on UA? Higher / Lower?
Ask and you shall receive: Vitamin B for Gout.
I wonder if that is part of the reason vegans are at higher risk of gout? Because I think vitamin B deficiency is associated with veganism (along with other deficiencies). Though obviously easy to rectify through better food choices, as well as supplements.
Also, in that gout and onions page, I mention garlic. Unfortunately, I cannot find any research that investigates garlic consumption in gout sufferers. But there is a recent report using rats [1].
In that study, researchers discovered that water-based garlic extract reduces both uric acid and inflammation. But, this needs to be repeated with humans, preferably gout sufferers, before we can be sure of any real benefits. Also, we need such gouty human experiments to indicate a dose of garlic extract that is both safe and effective.
Garlic and Uric Acid Reference
1. Nasiri, Abolfazl, Nasrin Ziamajidi, Roghayeh Abbasalipourkabir, Mohammad Taghi Goodarzi, Massoud Saidijam, Hamid Behrouj, and Sara Solemani Asl. “Beneficial effect of aqueous garlic extract on inflammation and oxidative stress status in the kidneys of type 1 diabetic rats.” Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry 32, no. 3 (2017): 329-336.Thanks Toni and Alice for your experiences. But I really need to know where you read the parathyroid and hypothyroidism information before I can comment on it.
Do you have any Internet page links? Or article titles?
In my opinion, youโre being obsessive about food.
Actually, it was probably worth quoting the whole reply. But that’s the highlight.
Food is what we eat to stay alive and we are lucky to live in a time where healthy eating is easy. Obsessing about one or a few food items to the detriment of a balanced diet is bad for health in general. By which I mean you raise your risk of many diseases as well as gout.
Failing to put uric acid control first when you suffer from gout can only make that situation worse. Because gout attacks will get worse if you do not control uric acid irrespective of food obsessions.
Hi Eb, I’m glad you finally got your uric acid safe. But you really should have agreed on a timescale with your doctor for complete recovery from gout.
From a very quick scan of your earlier posts, I can see you’ve got at least 13 years of old uric acid crystals in your body. So, that suggests to me that you should keep current uric acid levels for now. Then review in 6 months. Once you’ve gone 6 months with uric acid below 5mg/dL AND no gout symptoms, you can gradually reduce your dose to ensure uric acid never rises above 5mg/dL.
Please talk this over with your doctor, and discuss your plan here as well if it helps.
Thanks Brian
Managing gout starts with managing uric acid. So, what’s your latest uric acid blood test result? Because you need that number however you plan to lower uric acid. In fact, I’d say knowing your uric acid level is more important if you are seeking natural gout cures.
Wow! Thanks, Sian, you remind me why I do this in a very kind way.
I’m currently rethinking my ideas on the best way to keep a gout diary. Because I think I over-complicated my previous attempt. So, hopefully, I can restart that in the New Year.
Moving on to colchicine. I think you are right to treat it with caution. Because it isn’t best for everyone. But, I feel it’s vital to have an effective pain control package during the early months of uric acid lowering.
Colchicine is particularly effective in quelling the riot that takes place in our bodies when our immune system goes on the rampage against uric acid crystals. But the downside is, by suppressing the immune system, we might be more likely to get an infection. As with all medicines, it’s a question of balancing risk and reward.
If your husband has doubts, then tomorrow is the ideal opportunity to discuss pain control with your rheumatologist. Because there are many different gout pain relief options, with different risk-reward profiles.
Good luck to both of you.
Thanks Brad,
I’ve listed this for updating my related review of Tendon involvement in the feet of patients with gout: a dual-energy CT study. Then I noticed that suggestion box needs a good clearout. So, I’ll do that, then I’ll list the second report, and add it to the library.
Hi Sian,
My first thoughts are that your husband is on the way to gout recovery, but may need help to avoid the potholes. In this case, the potholes that your rheumatologist might help with are:
1. Preventative Colchicine
Rather than taking colchicine as required, it is often a good idea to take it as a preventative. Then your husband might need additional colchicine with NSAIDs on the worst days. The length of time for preventative colchicine varies from two weeks to six months, or more. So, that is the first thing I would ask about.2. Different Febuxostat Dose
There are 2 schools of thought on this. My preference is to go for the maximum tolerable dose of uric-acid lowering medicine. In this case, febuxostat. So that old uric acid crystals dissolve as soon as possible. Also, I would support this with preventative febuxostat, as mentioned.Other people have suggested a gentler course, with a less aggressive approach to uric acid-lowering. There’s no right or wrong here. So, it’s another good topic to discuss with the rheumatologist.
3. Blood Tests
As well as uric acid, your medics should test for kidney function and liver function. Because those tests give early warning signals for potential side effects. Also, the liver function test is particularly important for febuxostat patients.All in all, Sian, I reckon your visit on Tuesday is mostly about reassurance that progress is satisfactory. After years of shoddy treatment, it seems to me that your husband is on the right track. So, I reckon a few more months will see him fully recovered from gout. It would be nice if your rheumatologist can confirm that. ๐
Hi Jean,
I’m going to respond properly to Brad’s information soon (Thank You, Brad). Hopefully tomorrow, but might be Tuesday. I will add one report to the gout library. The second report is mainly relevant to Ultrasonic Experts. But the conclusion is important:
Tendon involvement in the lower limbs in gout is very frequent,
particularly at the patellar tendon [kneecap-shin tendon], and UltraSound possesses good sensitivity and specificity for detecting intra-tendinous
tophi [uric acid crystals deposited within tendons].Oh dear Joseph, this is not looking good. Because we’ve had this type of problem before. Which prompted me to make step 4 of my uric acid buying checklist:
4. Order a Blood Uric Acid Kit from a reputable supplier, who offers money-back guarantees and product support.
Certainly, I can’t remember if the Benecheck has ever officially been available in America. Though it is still supported in the UK, as far as I can tell. Because Gavin wrote about his Benecheck Uric Acid Meter. Also, he gave a link to the suppliers which seems to be valid. Unfortunately, that website is reporting out of stock for test strips.
The only other thing I can think of is to see if the package includes any information about ordering uric acid test strips when you receive it.
I’m sorry this is not very helpful Joseph. But please don’t give up. With or without a working test meter, I’m sure we can come up with a plan to control your gout effectively. So just ask if you need more help.
Which is easiest to find? Rocking horse dung or BeneCheck Uric Acid Test Strip?
Yes Catherine a rheumatologist is definitely the best option. Because they usually adopt a logical approach to gout treatment.
By which I mean they will start with a blood test for uric acid. Then they will examine your husband and consider his medical history. So, with that information the rheumatologist can suggest the best course of treatment. At which time you can ask about non-drug treatment. Or you can post that information here so we can suggest potential natural gout preventatives based on your husband and his medical history.
