New here – saying hi and what has worked so far

[asimov_joe]

Hi all,

My name is Joe and I'm from Manchester, Uk and am 26 years old. First off can I say what a great forum this is. It's really helped me so far and given me a lot more understanding about what gout actually is and what I can do to alleviate it. I have recently been diagnosed with gout after being fobbed off with 'Its tendonitis – take Ibuprofen' for about a year. I've just got over the worst attack I've had so far and thought I would share what medication I'm taking and the other things I have tried that I have found help my gout.

At the minute I'm on 300mg of Allopurinol a day and Diclofenac. I find the two work very well compared to my last prescription which was 100mg Allopurinol and Indometacin – I swear that did more harm than good. Before I got my new prescription I went to see my local herbalist. I know some people find all things herbal a bit far fetched but after the pain I was in I was happy to try absolutely anything. So, here is what I have found to help so far:

Comfrey leaves – Boil them for 5-10 mins and bandage them to the affected area. I often put it on after work and leave it on overnight and find it really takes the heat out of the gout.

Fresh Beetroot – Apparently it is really good at neutralising some of the uric acid that is the cause of our terrible pain. I'm not quite sure about the exact science of it but hell, it seems to have helped. I eat a beetrot a day and even if it isn't the thing that helps its at least on of your 'five a day' Just remember it has to be fresh and not pickled

Another thing I got was tincture of Devil's Claw Root. It tastes absolutely foul but again, before I got my new prescription I'm sure this stuff really helped. If it helps who cares? A few seconds of a bad taste or gout pain really is a no-brainer for me. Even if you're sceptical about the whole herbal thing I suggest giving it a try at least

Last of all I find a nice hot bath helps too. A HOT one though. Maybe its something to do with increased circulation, I don't know but it seems to help.

So there you go. Thanks for reading my essay and thanks again for the great, friendly forum. I hope this helps some of you. I'm sure as we all know any suggestions to get rid of the pain when its in a full blown attack are welcome These days I'm pretty much taking all of the above as well as my prescription and touch wood I haven't had a problem since. Next on the list is a UA meter so I can try and pre-empt any future attacks.

Thanks again guys and good luck with your gout.

Joe

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