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I am 54 menopausal woman, very fit, not overweight. I awoke two weeks ago in the middle of the night with my left elbow on fire, red, swollen, so tender to the touch I couldnt put a shirt on, just pure agony. My first thought was a spider bite, but this has morphed into a joint issue, still has fever, cannot bend my arm to extend or pick up anything. I am taking copious amounts of tart cherry, drinking water, no alcohol, protein, etc based on limited research. Cannot go to the Dr until insurance starts in a week, and do not want a pre existing on this new policy. The swelling has become less localized, skin is peeling, fever and pain still occurring, and the joint is still so sore to touch that a sheet cannot touch it. Does this sound like gout? Are there any natural remedies? I am consuming 1200 mg of Ibuprofen to just make it thru each day at this point and going crazywith constant pain. Any ideas? I do not want to face a lifetime of medication if possible. Can anyone offer any advice?
If your only affected joint is one elbow, it is not likely to be gout. Do you have a history of other gout problems? You really need a joint fluid test to get a proper diagnosis (usually from a rheumatologist)
I am not in a position to advise you about ibuprofen dosage, but could you perhaps discuss it with a pharmacist?
I can understand the psychological problem of 'lifetime of medication', but if you do have gout, I would much rather see you accept a daily dose than spend your golden years as a cripple.
sebastian (odd name choice for a woman,)
An elbow is not the most common joint for the first attack but it is by no means rare. If it IS gout, and it may well be, ibuprofen is NOT the drug of choice, colchicine is…then a far second is indomethacin.
First off, get your utic acid checked. During an attack it tends to be lower than usual so check back and see if you have any old blood test results that included routinge uric acid. If you don;t keep your results (and EVERYONE SHOULD) call your doctor and see if he has old records.
Then proceed with a joint aspiration like GP says, although a warning, this is easier said than done becasue some doctors tend to shy away from needles…(and that's only HALF a joke!)
An alternative for an easier diagnosis: get ahold of 12 colchicine and take one an hour. If it shows immediate and potent benefit it is gout, if it is useless, it is probably NOT gout.
I'm not so creative these days, Sebastians my last name, lol. I start my new job today as a practice manager for medical office so will be having uric acid levels checked as soon as my insurance starts on Monday (the 3 week mark), otherwise I was afraid of the pre-exist as mentioned. Is Colch. only by Rx? No, I have no other locations nor ever had that are doing this and no family history whatsoever. Things I left out…I am very fit, go to the gym routinely. This morning I still have fever in the joint and stiffness, but not the throbbing like last week, so it appears to be subsiding somewhat. During the height of all the fun, my joint appeared to be enlarged, red and the skin all around for 4-5 inches swollen and sore. I accidentally bumped my elbow on my Boxer's head this morning and it is still bringing tears to my eyes at even that tiny touch. Final question, I studied your food chart and the low purine diet is not one that comes intuitively to me, like a low fat or low carb would. Is there a good book in your opinion that I could invest in, if my uric acid levels are elevated? And is there a difference in the treatments preferred for women vs men due to hormones? And I love your site, it's slow but SO AM I!
At the risk of sounding flippant, there is no book that will lower uric acid – you need medication for that. Occasionally radical lifestyle changes can do it, though you won't get that from a book either.
Treatments for gout are unisex, but, just like purines, do not even begin to think about it until you know your uric acid levels. When you have uric acid test results, you will get far higher quality help here than you will get from a book. (Polite notice: please register and login when you do get your results so your message appears instantly rather than waiting for me).
Colchicine is Rx only. See your pharmacist about best non-prescription pain relief.
Just a final note on your symptoms. Gout pain is caused by the immune system reacting to uric acid crystals, in a similar way to a virus or other infection. This type of reaction is caused by many other diseases, which is why joint fluid analysis is so important. Your elbow sounds similar to mine when I have had a gout attack in it, but it could also be something entirely different.
Hi Mrs Seb ! : On the diet front, I have recently gone back to looking at the Hay Diet- very well known- and you probably are aware of his work.
It's more about not mixing Protein and Carb intake- but in trying to adhere to it your Carb intake has to rocket down- due to it not mixing with proteins and chip butties aint healthy 🙂
Likewise your fruit and veg intake will climb- both good trends as they can go with either [except potatoes]
If you are NOT veggie, this will make life easier, I would think -and the alkalising more helpful in passing, other than weight loss [on the gout front].
There is also an acid/ alkali angle to this where some acid forming foods, like Spelt, wild rice and oat milk are considered 'healthy'.
I can't recommend a book but there many out there. Data on-line is useful too – A good way to find your best leads, after a bit of digging- and usually a few surprises.
If you are keen, why not start a thread here ?
[But you will need to register 😉 ]
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