Keith's GoutPal Stories - Page 18 of 21

Essential Gout Pain Relief

October 14, 2008September 17, 2013 by KeithTaylor Comment Closed

Gout pain relief works best when you understand why it hurts. My articles describing how uric acid causes gout pain brings into focus the four essential elements. Uric Acid Quite simply, if you have too much uric acid you increase your risk of gout pain. The reasons for excess uric acid are many, but one essential point is that uric acid is our own natural anti-oxidant. It is very easy to stress your body to need anti-oxidants, and I discuss some of these causes elsewhere. It is also easy to supply anti-oxidants from foods, supplements and other treatments. Essentially, if you boost your anti-oxidant supply from external sources, your body is under less pressure to produce its own anti-oxidant - uric acid. Urate Crystal Deposits There is very little you can do directly to affect uric acid crystal deposits. You do however need to be aware of their existence, as they will often cause gout pain both when they form (bad), and when they dissolve (good). Essentially,...

Is Krystexxa Ready To Make Its (Uri)Case

June 14, 2009September 17, 2013 by KeithTaylor Comment Closed

Krystexxa comes before the FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee Meeting on Tuesday 16th June. This is the latest stage to try and get approval for the second new gout drug this year. Hot on the heals of Uloric, the US brandname for febuxostat, pegloticase (formerly known as PEG-uricase) seeks release under Savient's brand new name of Krystexxa. FDA review has been postponed from February to give time for additional analysis of cardiovascular risks. So what does this mean for gout sufferers? Assuming approval is given, do not be thinking that you have a newer, easier option for controlling your uric acid. Krystexxa cannot be taken orally. You get dosed up every two weeks with 8mg delivered by intravenous injection. As well as being inconvenient, there are fairly high documented reaction rates. On a positive side, it is good that severe gout sufferers have an alternative if they cannot tolerate allopurinol. So expect plenty drug company stimulated hype over the next few weeks. It is such a pity that similar...

Flaxseed Oil and Gout

December 28, 2012August 31, 2013 by Al O'Purinol Comment Closed

My only events with gout came from starting fish oil. My doctor gave me a prescription for a high quality fish oil. I immediately came down with severe gout.First time ever. I stopped taking the fish oil and received treatment. The doctor thought it was coincidence and had me restart the fish oil. We did this for a total of three times with the same results. I finally convinced him it was not a coincident. I switched to Flax seed oil and no more problems. Gout free. ...

diet / pH question

January 14, 2010August 28, 2013 by dlbarnha Comment Closed

Hello all, Doug (a newbie to the site) here. I have beeen fighting a flare up for the last two weeks, pain has moved all around in my right foot and ankle and is FINALLY subsiding... I visited the doctor last Tuesday and he was ready to put me on an Rx treatment. I told him about what I had been reading up online (mostly from GoutPal) and wanted to try some dietary changes first - much to my suprise,he agreed! As the site suggests, a gout diet is as much about balance as what we eat. I also see alot of talk about pH balance. I have been drinking distilled water for 30+ years. After reading about the balance of foods and pH, I decided to check the pH of the distilled water and found it to be 6.4! What is the chance of all of the acidic foods + beer, topped off with acidic...

Potential Renal Acid Load

July 25, 2007April 25, 2013 by KeithTaylor Comment Closed

Yesterday, I was asked for information about Potential Renal Acid Load. This is usually abbreviated to PRAL. Though PRAL is a precise calculation based on certain nutrient values in foods, it is not an exact measure. It is a shortcut measure to assess the affect of foods on the pH of the body. Experiments have shown that it is a reliable approximation of the acidifying or alkalizing effect of foods. PRAL=0.49 Protein + 0.037 Phosphorous - 0.021 Potassium - 0.026 Magnesium - 0.013 Calcium. This gives a positive value for acid forming foods and a negative value for alkaline forming foods. To ensure adequate nutrition it is important to chose a combination of foods with positive and negative PRAL values. Many nutritionists and health-workers believe that a diet that has an overall negative PRAL total is healthiest. For gout, an alkalizing diet reduces the chances of kidney stones forming, and helps to dissolve them if they form. It is important to also drink...

Pegloticase

July 20, 2009April 25, 2013 by KeithTaylor Comment Closed

I keep getting asked "Where can I get pegloticase" The answer, "Nowhere yet," is probably not what you want to hear, but read on for the latest news. Pegloticase is a generic name for PEG-uricase - a genetically engineered form of uricase. Uricase is an enzyme present in some animals that breaks down uric acid in the body. Humans do not produce uricase, so techniques have been developed to produce a type of uricase that humans can use. Various versions of this treatment are being developed. The one that is most advanced is expected to be approved soon under the brand name Krystexxa, in the USA. This was recommended for approval in June this year, and the FDA are expected to give final approval on August 1st. So does this mean you can rush out and buy some in August? Absolutely not. Even when production gets up to speed, this is not a gout medication for self-administration. You need to go to your doctor, a clinic, or...

GoutPal On The Mend

April 16, 2011April 25, 2013 by KeithTaylor Comment Closed

My daughter posted about my broken back in the forum but my access in hospital is limited, so I will update here. These limitations are keeping me out of Facebook, but this should get autoposted. Thanks to zip2play's "atheist prayers" and many other people's powerful healing thoughts, I'm here with an update. Sunday. Railing at the top of stairs failed. Apparently, the concrete below is 11 feet, and ,of course, half my height, to give a 14 foot fall, that, thankfully, I don't remember. Local Intensive Care Unit (ICU - What's the USA equivalent?) worked on me through the night. As I've said, my editing features are limited, but I've found a picture that almost shows the situation. [June update: with editing features now available, I've improved the presentation of this photograph. I've also recovered my sense of direction.] Our flat is on the right left, above the newsagent. At the end of the wall that surrounds our balcony, you can just see...