This is me. A lot of times I get a twinge is on holiday somewhere really hot when I’m dehydrated and not drinking enough.
I make a concerted effort to drink 3-4 litres a day and it passes
Gout - Come ye fellow sufferers!
- Thread starter Big_Nothing
- Start date
This is me. A lot of times I get a twinge is on holiday somewhere really hot when I’m dehydrated and not drinking enough.
I make a concerted effort to drink 3-4 litres a day and it passes
Ex Footy Legs
Well-known member
Runs in my family too but water has cured it for me. And the discipline to keep drinking it
Ex Footy Legs
Well-known member
Absolutely, water is critical, especially on holiday somewhere warm
Ex Footy Legs
Well-known member
It’ll only get gradually worse, why wouldn’t you try drinking 3 litres of water a day because when you’re a bit older and get a bad attack of it you’ll be in agony, it’s really not niceWhen I went to the GP after I’d had my 3rd bout in about 18 months, he recommended I go on the daily pill.
I’m only 40 so that would be about 15-20,000 pills I’d be taking! I just thought that was mental.
I’d rather just put up with the 5 days a year of pain
I realise everyone’s circumstances are different… I work from home and can just call on my butler (the mrs) to wait on me from the sofa.
If I was self employed and missing days pay, or if I start getting it more regularly, I would reconsider
Ingleby_Flash
Well-known member
Thought I had it a week or so ago, but tried to plough trough, now my family who are nurses or nursery say due to the swelling etc it’s broke. Pain in the árse, maybe it’ll just heal.
RavsFan
Well-known member
Water, water, water, but it is important to reduce the amount of Whisky you put in it for a fortnight. Ibuprofen works for pain but please ensure you don't do what I once did and drop a heavy bottle on the affected area, you may just become insensitive to women as a result.
Beverleyred
Well-known member
I had a bout of gout last week. I didn’t think I would make the match on Saturday, but after taking colchicine (which sounds like an Italian goalie) for three days, it eased off enough for me to make the journey.
The biggest problem with colchicine, is that it always seems to give me the trots, it can be brutal in that way. Anyway, I’ve got bloods on Monday next week to check my UA levels, so it might be time for the preventer. Btw, I noticed one of the side effects of certain blood pressure meds, is the onset of gout which is interesting.
The biggest problem with colchicine, is that it always seems to give me the trots, it can be brutal in that way. Anyway, I’ve got bloods on Monday next week to check my UA levels, so it might be time for the preventer. Btw, I noticed one of the side effects of certain blood pressure meds, is the onset of gout which is interesting.
hobblewobble
Well-known member
I used to take Indomethecin but if you have heart trouble you cannot have it , Allopurinol failed for me i had a bad reaction to it.
Colchicine as the other poster said upsets your stomach.
I have been having some luck with ibrufen but only the 200mg soft capsules 'Bells heath care' from Lidyl.
Colchicine as the other poster said upsets your stomach.
I have been having some luck with ibrufen but only the 200mg soft capsules 'Bells heath care' from Lidyl.
Ex Footy Legs
Well-known member
colchicine does give my brother the trots but i'm not too bad with it - definitely looser but not too bad....everyone is different with it clearly....but thats what happens with colchicine - after 3 days of taking them you are back on it !
Ex Footy Legs
Well-known member
that sounds like a mild gout attack though - which can happen - and I would expect a gentle massage would make sense to disperse the uric acid...
Big_Nothing
Well-known member
This has been quite positive to read. Thanks fellas, it’s the most hopeful I’ve felt since the pain set in. I’m drinking loads of water every day, have to in this climate but I’ve upped it and I think it’s gonna help.
Anybody4aBeer
Active member
Funny enough i've not had a proper flair up since I was diagnosed with Diabetes, although not massively changed my diet. I have 500mg naproxen tablets, if i feel a slight twinge of it coming on, I take 2 tablets before bed, and it usually stops it coming on fully. I take nothing for it other than Naproxen, tried all the other stuff and they just give me a bad stomach. If they paid got really bad before I was just take a couple of codeine as well.
Anybody4aBeer
Active member
Also yeah, mine seems to be linked heavily with dehydration
Big_Nothing
Well-known member
Mine seems to have decided to go on the offensive and I’m now feeling it across both feet and in multiple joints, ankle twinging as well. Have necked load of water and popped two of the pills they give me despite liquid **** I’ll no doubt have. Joyous.
Am I right thinking you live in a hot humid climate? Defo hydration will be a contributing factor.
Just neck about 6 litres a day, even if you have to crawl to the toilet every hour
Ex Footy Legs
Well-known member
Really, you need some medication to lower your uric acid levels like colchicine and once lowered then the water becomes your saviour….
Picto_Leng
Active member
I mean this thread with the greatest of respect to fellow sufferers of this very painful condition, but think that all of you who are slavishly taking Allopurinol or any other medication/over the counter painkiller and just toughing it out are missing an opportunity.
It's like living in a (metaphorical) house with a leaky roof in a place where it rains every day and asking your (metaphorical) doctor if he can prescribe something. He gives you a daily paper maché umbrella (Allopurinol etc) which will keep you dry most of the day as you move around your house but will need replacing in the morning. Ad infinitum for the rest of your life. What he should say is "Why are you even here? Fix the bloody roof."
I had gout a few times over a three year period and each time it got worse and the bouts were longer. During the last one (6 weeks in December 2022 to January 2023) I was unable to walk at all without two crutches, and had to go up and down the stairs on my backside. I was prescribed Allopurinol but it gave me headaches so I stopped. I did a lot of reading on the subject at this time and changed parts of my diet immediately. I have not had even the hint of another attack since. I still have a huge stash of over the counter painkillers from that era that I have not touched for nearly two years.
A few people on here have mentioned purines, and will know that this is the source of the problem. As I understand it, an excess of purines in your body form uric acid in the blood which in turn form sharp needle-like crystals which find their way to the extremities, mostly the big toe and surrounding area. So cut out high purine foods completely - this is what I did.
For me, these were most of the foods that I love, unfortunately, but I have found new foods, and I am happy not to eat the high purine foods if it means a return to those dark weeks of Dec22-Jan23. These are what I gave up completely, and still will not touch:
Marmite, liver (all offal is bad though if you have gout), shellfish, trout, tuna, donner kebab (get shish instead).
All of these are off the scale with purines, or, in the case of donner/kofti meat, god know what cuts of what animal with god knows what additives/preservatives/chemicals. If the smell of the kebab shop is too much to walk by on the way home on a Friday night, I might get a chicken shish, but I normally plan ahead by putting something in the oven on slow cook before I go out.
I am quite fond of ice cold orange Lucozade, but I gave that up as well as it is acidy. I have never drank any other sugary/fizzy/flavoured drinks, so had nothing to give up there.
I initially gave up beef, lamb, sausages and bacon for about 6 months. I now eat them, but no more than once a week, and I get turkey, not pork sausages and organic bacon. As for fish, wild Alaskan salmon (not the Scottish stuff - it is farmed and those fish are not kept in healthy conditions according to what I have read) is great.
Another item mentioned many times in this thread is water. Now, tap water tastes terrible straight from the tap where I live. However, I keep a stock of it in the fridge. I find that the taste of the fluoride and chorine in it dissipates and it tastes much better- such that I gulp it down. Every morning I have a cup of black cafetière coffee or a cup of green tea with fresh ginger and unpasteurised honey. All these are very good in the fight, apparently.
Somebody else on here mentioned cherrys, and there is evidence apparently that somehow, cherry juice aids in keeping gout at bay. I take two Montmorency cherry supplement pills every day (from Amazon). While we are on the subject of supplements, I also take tumeric for my joints, and an over 50's multi-vit. For men, make sure your multi-vit does not have iron - men produce plenty of iron naturally apparently, and an excess of it can be toxic. Also, a high dose daily omega-3 fish oil tablet and vitamin D3 with k2. I noticed a huge uptick in my general health within a month of taking vitamin D; it was incredible. If the cost of these supplements seem high, then just imagine how you might feel when you are contemplating the cost of a mobility scooter or a stairlift and all that they entail. It's too late to buy the supplements by that time.
One of the many positive side-effects of finding new foods is that I am now pretty good at making many Chinese and Indian meals from scratch.
I have pondered for a few days whether to post this as we are all different and the methods by which I achieved my turnaround in health this past year may not work for everybody, but I hope some or all of this is helpful to sufferers of this bloody awful condition.
It's like living in a (metaphorical) house with a leaky roof in a place where it rains every day and asking your (metaphorical) doctor if he can prescribe something. He gives you a daily paper maché umbrella (Allopurinol etc) which will keep you dry most of the day as you move around your house but will need replacing in the morning. Ad infinitum for the rest of your life. What he should say is "Why are you even here? Fix the bloody roof."
I had gout a few times over a three year period and each time it got worse and the bouts were longer. During the last one (6 weeks in December 2022 to January 2023) I was unable to walk at all without two crutches, and had to go up and down the stairs on my backside. I was prescribed Allopurinol but it gave me headaches so I stopped. I did a lot of reading on the subject at this time and changed parts of my diet immediately. I have not had even the hint of another attack since. I still have a huge stash of over the counter painkillers from that era that I have not touched for nearly two years.
A few people on here have mentioned purines, and will know that this is the source of the problem. As I understand it, an excess of purines in your body form uric acid in the blood which in turn form sharp needle-like crystals which find their way to the extremities, mostly the big toe and surrounding area. So cut out high purine foods completely - this is what I did.
For me, these were most of the foods that I love, unfortunately, but I have found new foods, and I am happy not to eat the high purine foods if it means a return to those dark weeks of Dec22-Jan23. These are what I gave up completely, and still will not touch:
Marmite, liver (all offal is bad though if you have gout), shellfish, trout, tuna, donner kebab (get shish instead).
All of these are off the scale with purines, or, in the case of donner/kofti meat, god know what cuts of what animal with god knows what additives/preservatives/chemicals. If the smell of the kebab shop is too much to walk by on the way home on a Friday night, I might get a chicken shish, but I normally plan ahead by putting something in the oven on slow cook before I go out.
I am quite fond of ice cold orange Lucozade, but I gave that up as well as it is acidy. I have never drank any other sugary/fizzy/flavoured drinks, so had nothing to give up there.
I initially gave up beef, lamb, sausages and bacon for about 6 months. I now eat them, but no more than once a week, and I get turkey, not pork sausages and organic bacon. As for fish, wild Alaskan salmon (not the Scottish stuff - it is farmed and those fish are not kept in healthy conditions according to what I have read) is great.
Another item mentioned many times in this thread is water. Now, tap water tastes terrible straight from the tap where I live. However, I keep a stock of it in the fridge. I find that the taste of the fluoride and chorine in it dissipates and it tastes much better- such that I gulp it down. Every morning I have a cup of black cafetière coffee or a cup of green tea with fresh ginger and unpasteurised honey. All these are very good in the fight, apparently.
Somebody else on here mentioned cherrys, and there is evidence apparently that somehow, cherry juice aids in keeping gout at bay. I take two Montmorency cherry supplement pills every day (from Amazon). While we are on the subject of supplements, I also take tumeric for my joints, and an over 50's multi-vit. For men, make sure your multi-vit does not have iron - men produce plenty of iron naturally apparently, and an excess of it can be toxic. Also, a high dose daily omega-3 fish oil tablet and vitamin D3 with k2. I noticed a huge uptick in my general health within a month of taking vitamin D; it was incredible. If the cost of these supplements seem high, then just imagine how you might feel when you are contemplating the cost of a mobility scooter or a stairlift and all that they entail. It's too late to buy the supplements by that time.
One of the many positive side-effects of finding new foods is that I am now pretty good at making many Chinese and Indian meals from scratch.
I have pondered for a few days whether to post this as we are all different and the methods by which I achieved my turnaround in health this past year may not work for everybody, but I hope some or all of this is helpful to sufferers of this bloody awful condition.
Good informative post. But I understand why people take the medication option over cutting out so many things they enjoy