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Gout95 said:
Both of my ankles have gotten gout, I cant even walk or limp… I stay on my bed or literally crawl to get to places…..
I am 28 now, my first gout attack was when I was 22. I have had about 6 episodes of Gout (About once a year) so this year I have finally decided to change my diet and live a healthier lifestyle.
Man, much sympathy for that! I'm lucky enough never to have gotten it in both legs at once. The absolute worst pain I've ever had is when it hit my hip, but that was at least only one hip…
I was in a similar situation – got diagnosed when I was 22 (exactly the same age!) and only had an attack once a year or so, so I just took anti-inflamatories when it hit and didn't think about it between attacks. My first doctor put me on Allopurinol but, being a stupid and distracted university student, I kept forgetting to take it, and when I was supposed to go back for my followup blood test I realized I'd only taken one or two pills a week, so I never bothered.?
I found that dietary advice meant nothing. I first got diagnosed after a drinking binge (not a huge one, standard college stuff), and so I stopped drinking entirely for a while. But then when I didn't have any followup attacks, I got sloppy and started drinking again, with no ill effects. And then for the next few years, I tried to track what would set off my gout: I'd go to a barbecue, eat a bunch of red meat and drink lots of beer, no problem. Then a month later I'd visit a vegetarian friend and eat no meat at all for a weekend, and get a gout attack. Ok, maybe it was the extreme change? No, next time I'd get an attack in the middle of two weeks of eating basically the same thing over and over – meat in moderation with plenty of vegetables on the side, and a beer or a glass of wine every couple of days. I'd try cutting things out of my diet, and get attacks, and give up.
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But then last year (I'm 33 now) it suddenly ramped up and I started getting more attacks, that lasted for longer, and hurt more. And started moving around to other joints – before this I've only ever had it in my toes and ankles, but last year I've also had it in my knee, hip, and hand. And now it DEFINITELY gets triggered by even one glass of wine. So I finally went to a new doctor, told him that I'd had gout for a long time but it was getting worse, and he actually asked me questions about it:
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“Who's treating it?”
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Well, nobody. I've been going to clinics and they've been giving me Naproxen and not scheduling any followups.
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“Are you taking Allopurinol?”
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Oh, THAT'S the name of the drug I keep asking about! No, not anymore.
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“When was your last blood test?”
10 years ago, when I was first diagnosed.?
He looked more and more shocked with every answer…
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So now I'm back on allopurinol. ?It hasn't had an effect yet but I'm told it will take a few months, so I'm hopeful.
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The moral of this story: don't wait until it gets worse, and don't trust to dietary changes to fix it (although they can't hurt, medicine's more powerful). Get your doctor to put you on allopurinol if you're not already!
I'm on 300 mg of Allopurinol (I saw a bunch of posts complaining about people starting at 100 mg – my new doctor started me right at 300, so I guess that's good). ?My Colchicine prescription says “1 0.6 mg tablet twice daily”, but I just realized that was for the month long daily dose before starting on allopurinol, so I'll ask the doctor about upping that for acute attacks. ?Thanks for the advice!
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I'm waiting for the results of my latest blood test so I don't have my SUA readings right now. ?I can never get a straight answer on what foods actually trigger gout – every site I go to has a different list! ?I just went to one that said “dairy products” – I have never heard that one before! ?I avoid red meat and alcohol, that's about it. ?(BTW, does pork count as red meat or white meat?) ?I think I'm supposed to be avoiding fish too, but I like sushi too much, and it's never seemed to cause a problem except when I really overdo it and eat a TON of fish in one meal.
