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Did I mention thank you!? I think I am finally over the hump of gout suffering. Thank you GP for creating and maintaining this site. I've made a small contribution to help you being able to continue your wonderful work. Thank you to all of you who have posted solutions, shared experiences, etc. You gave me hope when I was in despair; you gave me solutions when my doctors didn't have a clue. More than once I have been brought to tears as I found hope and answers on gout-pal and I consider my friends at gout-pal an answer to my prayers.
I have been 10 weeks without a flare up. Yesterday, I hiked a couple miles with my kids, played soccer with my son, ran around the field with him. I compare that to last July at Disney land when my daughter had to push me around in a wheelchair and to the months of November through April when I could not walk without a cane. I compare it to the many weekends I laid in bed in extreme pain and rarely left the house for anything other than work for 6 months. Thank you GP and others for helping me get my life back. Here is my story:I had some gout flare ups in my toes prior to my 1996 kidney transplant, but nothing again until a couple years ago. Then, they started getting more severe and more frequent. Starting last fall, I was in constant pain every day, every step. Finally could not walk (hobble) without a cane that I had to use for the better part of 6 months. About once a month, I was in bed all weekend not even able to do more than hobble to the bathroom. Last July we went to Disney land and after a day or two, my daughter had to push me around in a wheelchair. For months, I had to use the motorized carts at target, etc-when I would go out of the house- mostly, I stayed home when not at work- it was not worth the pain and effort to leave the house.
I did a lot of research, talked to my doctors, tried all kinds of herbal remedies such as cherries, apple cider vinegar, etc. Cut out red meats and seafood. Some things helped for a little while but never long term. My nephrologist tried me on Allopurinol – but I reacted severely to it and couldn't take it- he never tried anything else- never referred me to a rheumatologist.
Finally over Christmas, I was in bed for the better part of 2 weeks. I spent about 100 hours researching gout on line and finally found gout-pal.com. There, I learned that it's all about uric acid levels which my doctor apparently did not know. I found out my UA levels had been above 9 for over a year- above 6 for those with gout is bad. Above 9 is really bad. UA had been building up in my bloodstream for years and now there was so much that I was in constant flare up. I learned from gout-pal that there was a new UA lowering drug called Uloric. I read about it and told my doctor I wanted to try it; he didn't know what it was. He researched, tried it, and my UA dropped to below 5 within 2 weeks. I still had about 6 months of flare ups every 4-6 weeks, but they were getting less severe and less frequent. I posted and researched more on gout-pal and found that those with reduced kidney function often take at least 6 months to clear out old crystal deposits and that I needed to stick with it. I also learned that I needed to be taking .3 mg colchicine prophalactically. Well, I think I'm finally over the hump. No flare ups in 10 weeks and I've been able to play soccer with my son, run around with him, play catch w/ daughter with Lacrosse, hiked about a mile or two yesterday, and I feel great. We have a tablecloth we use for Thanksgiving and on it, we write what we are grateful for. This year I'm going to write “being able to walk without a cane and able to play with my kids.”
My advice to gout sufferers would be:
1. Study the gout-pal site
2. Know and lower your UA
3. Study the gout-pal site
4. See the right doctor- a rheumatologist who knows gout
5. Study the gout-pal site
6. Stick with it and when it is tough and you need hope:
7. Study the gout-pal site
8. Tell your friends with gout about the gout-pal siteSo glad to hear you are doing so well David.
One bit of advice, why not give soccer a wide berth for another year.
Congrats davidk on this new found life. For most gouties, it is no less than a new life when they are able to live normal again.
And the one who gives new life is to be worshipped.
This site is no less than a holy place of worship for gouties. The real life experience and advice of the fellows over here is simply priceless.
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