- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 7 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Hello,
I live in the Los Angles area, and I've been living with gout since about 2006. In 2005, my wife and I took a fabulous trip to Argentina. The exchange rate was superb then and better now. We were drinking good wine at lunch and dinner every day and I was having a New York strip (bife de chorizo) at least every other night. A few weeks after I got home I got slammed in the middle of the night. I thought something had landed on my foot. After some delay, I saw a doctor who diagnosed me who initially put me on Indomethacin and later Colchicine.
The first few rounds with Colchicine were OK, and I tried to steadly improve my diet ever since. I basically have up beef and switched most of my beer to red wine. The last (3rd) round of Colchchine was somewhat rough. I didn't like the diarrea feelings at all, so by about 2008 Doctor #2 put me on Prednisone. That worked pretty effectively without noticible side effects.
In the last months I saw ads for Uloric and said to myself, “that stuff must be what I need,” and I should try it for my next flare-up. As we all know, you never need to wait too long for that, so on my next doctor visit, the nurse practitioner agreed. Turns out Blue Cross won't cover Uloric, but the pharmicist said Allopurinl would be. I slept on the idea then decided I wanted to stay off daily drugs and asked the doctor to re-fill my Prednisone.
So far, my pain has hovered in the 5-6 range (peaks after I work out!) and I'm trying home remedies. I feel glad that I've got the Prednisone just in case. Looking foward to learning and sharing as we continue this journey together!
– Chuck
Chuck,
?? So sorry to hear about your gout. What is your Serum Uric Acid (SUA) reading? Did the Dr mention Allopurinol? I've been taking 300 mg a day, with no allopurinol side effects, and it lowered my SUA from 6.5 to 4.3, but I still have almost constant gout pain with regular flare-ups, so I'm not the “common” gout sufferer, I guess. I take Aleve 220mg OTC for pain, as needed. I only eat fish or chicken once a week, rest of my meals are vegetarian. No alcohol of any kind for over 4 years and no high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).?
??You probably need to see a Dr that knows about gout, many do not. I don't believe that diet hasd much to do with my gout, but your experience may be different. My brother has gout and his attacks are increasing and he had gout before I did, but he's 18 months younger than me.?
?? My brother and I have both tried Colchicine, but the side effects were horrible and it didn't provide any relief. Keep us updated!
azasadny said:
…so I'm not the “common” gout sufferer, I guess. I take Aleve 220mg OTC for pain, as needed. …
?? My brother and I have both tried Colchicine, but the side effects were horrible and it didn't provide any relief. …
Chuck, there is one issue which Azasadny did not clarify: Aleve=Naproxen is strictly for combating pain. It does NOT due anything to get at the cause of the pain which is the inflammation caused by high uric acid in your system. Colchicine (which they cannot tolerate) is the most frequently used medication to reduce and/or eliminate the inflammation. I, e.g., only need two pills /day for 4-7 days and my inflammations are gone. However, there are gouties who have taken as many as 16 pills/day to fight severe inflammation. That many, generally, causes nausea, diarrhea and a few other side effects, but it works.
Thanks for the nice welcome, guys!
I wanted to carify that I do take Ibuprofin 800 mg for minor flare ups, lets say pain of 3 or less. This has worked pretty well.?
Aza:
-I'm getting a blood test on Saturday and I'll report back
– My Dr. did not mention Allopurionol. Actually, I never saw him that day, which irks me. The nurse practitioner just gave me what I (thought I) wanted.
– I'm curious about fish in your diet. I LOVE fish more than anything, but I uncovered a list of high purine foods, and fish was the highest of the high?!? Higher than beef, which seems to have the worst reputation of all. Maybe diet doesn't matter that much or your Allopurinol is working very well for you?
I'd be happy to attach this list, which I customized from high purine to low. Until then, here is a link that I used for my data: acumedico.com/purine.htm
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.