Anyone for Gout?
 

If so you can have mine!
I woke up this morning and it felt like someone had dropped a load of bricks on the duvet directly over my foot.
Couldn't stand so edged around the bed and grabbed the wife's frame so I could hop to the loo.
Hopped to the kitchen to make some tea.
Problem- have you ever tried to hold two cups of tea in one hand, push a frame with the other and hop on one leg?
Don't, by the time I got to the kitchen door there wasn't much tea left. Had to think of another cunning plan.
Apparently it's a side effect of taking diuretics for years(they never warn you do they?). The joy is you can't take medication to stop you getting it until you haven't got it- it would make it worse.
Every bone in my foot hurts- and there are a lot of bones in a foot!
So short of having my foot off or standing in front of a firing squad anyone got any suggestions to ease it?

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Thanks for the offer Gordon, but I'll pass on the gout.
Firstly have you seen your doctor?
If you have what has he prescribed?
Has this made the problem better(even a little bit)
If you haven't seen the doc then you need to......he can prescribe something specific for the condition.
I feel for you. My dad had what his doctor called 'mild' gout.....if that was mild i wouldn't care to see the severe kind......the pain made him cantankerous and there were times when it made him cry....even walking past his foot would cause him pain...or at least that is what he said.
I hope your foot feels better soon.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

self help treatment for you to try......
Cold applied to the joint....wrap frozen peas in a towel and place them very gently onto the joint.....only leave these in place for about 20 minutes(repeat during the day)...cold can injure tissues...after all you don't want to cure your gout by having your big toe fall off from frostbite.

Keep the bedclothes off the affected foot by using a cardboard box to keep the weight of the bedclothes off your foot.
Take ibuprofen or some other NSAID....seek advice from the pharmacy to check it is permitted with any other meds you might be taking.
Elevate the affected foot.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

See your GP Gordon.
He will test you for the purines and uric acid crystals in your system that cause it.

Indometacin for the pain management.
Allopurinol to prevent further attacks.
Keeping yourself hydrated also helps.
Works for me.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Drink plenty of cherry juice . ;)

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I've been to the doctors, Margaret, it was he who said he couldn't start medication until it went- said it would give me a really bad attack. Had a blood test, the gout came back before I could see the doctor so I'm a bit stuck!
Heavens, Retlaw, both feet at once ? How do you manage, I'd have to learn to float! It's not just lumps of lead, is it? It's molten lead.
The doctor mentioned those, DtheP, but I'm stuck until it goes.
Cherry juice? Is that Cherry Bee?
Actually I'm wondering if alcohol does make it worse. I had 2 or 3 last night(well I stop counting at three, don't feel as guilty) and from painful yesterday it went to agony this morning.
Can't bear the thought of signing the pledge so I'll try the frozen peas!

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I get it in both feet and right knee, Only been unlucky enough to get it in all 3 a couple of times but when it happens I'm usually stuck in bed for the duration. I'm on Allopurinol And those seem to do the trick. When I do get it I take a couple of Ibuprofen with a Couple of Paracetamol and that does ease it somewhat.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Yes, allopurinol is usually the drug used to reduce the formation of crystals.
Foods to avoid are liver...and other offal, marmite, anything fermented with yeast(so beer is out but whisky is OK or at least that is what the physician Dr Lyons used to tell his patients)....game is off the menu too...seafood and oily fish should be avoided too.
Avoid mushrooms, beans and lentils,asparagus and cauliflower as these have higher levels of purines...the stuff that causes the crystals to form in the joint.
And Micheal is right Natural cherry juice(not Cherry B) does seem to have beneficial effects, though I am not sure if drinking this will alleviate your current pain....DtheP is also right about staying well hydrated.

You can take paracetamol and nurofen(or something like that) together because they have different modes of action....and the best way to take them is regularly...not wait until the pain gets severe.
Sometimes steroids are used to damp down the inflammation.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I would not normally query the advice of someone who has medical experience but are there not problems with taking Paracetamol regularly. I thought it went for the liver (or some other organ) and did irreversible damage, hence the sales of it being limited to 16 doses.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I am not advocating taking more than eight tablets per 24 hour period.
It isn't the regular use of paracetamol which is the problem it is exceeding the stated dose.

People think that paracetamol is an very mild drug because you can buy it at the supermarkets....but taken at the recommended dose of two 500mg tablets at eight hourly intervals, it has the pain killing power of 10mgs(normal dose) of morphine.
Pain killing medications need to be taken at regular intervals to ensure that the blood levels remain constant to do the job you want them to do...get rid of the pain.

However, you should be seeking medical advice if you still need regular pain relief after 3 days..... I think most practitioners would suggest this regimen of pain relief for something like gout...which is really a form of arthritis caused by the build up of Uric acid crystals from the metabolism of purine containing foods.

The sales of paracetamol were limited to packs of 16 because people were using it to overdose on.....and once an overdose(of very few over the normal limit - as few as 11) is taken it can cause death, and liver failure is not a pleasant way to die.
When taking paracetamol, it is also prudent to ensure no other medications you are taking contain paracetamol, as this can cause an accidental overdose.

As with ALL over the counter medications it is sensible to make sure you know what you are taking, what the side effects are and whether the medication you have bought will interact with any other medication you are taking...and the pharmacy assistant will usually ask you if you are taking other medicines and refer to the pharmacist if there is any doubt.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

What a comfort you are Margaret!

A nice big whisky. a bag of frozen peas and a couple of paracetamol's. My sort of cure.

In fact I may have to try it immediately, never argue with the nurse!

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

No it is never a good idea to argue with a nurse.......you always come off worse in the end, usually the bottom end :D

Only joking Gordon. I know that even with the whisky peas and paracetamol life will be no fun at all.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

You are taking Ibuprofen though Gordon to alleviate the pain yes?

Take the maximum dose. Incidentally in Spain they sell 600 mg tablets over the counter. Much better than the 400s n 200s you can buy here.
Don't mix with Paracetamol though.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I had a bad attack a couple of months since and it is very painful. I rang the doc and he wrote a prescription, without seeing it. Luckily it worked

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Why shouldn't he take the ibuprofen with paracetamol?
I am just interested to hear if you have been told that they can't be taken together.
It is something my daughter was told was more effective than the single medications.(and it is something I used to great advantage during my working career......we often gave a NSAID suppository with two paracetamol and a cup of coffee)
Caffeine improves the uptake of pain relief medications.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Heavens, Retlaw, both feet at once ? How do you manage, I'd have to learn to float! It's not just lumps of lead, is it? It's molten lead.

I manage quite well really apart from having to shuffle, I have one asset in my favour, I don't feel pain like you, if I have been messing about in my shed or working in the back yard or in the garden on sumat, face ache won't let me in until she has examined for cuts, she complains she's fed up of mopping blood up because I've cut myself on somat, and I don't know unless I see it before she does, "stand there until I get the plasters" usual comment.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Why don't you guys lay off the Port?;)

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Funnily enough I said to the doctor 'I might be old but I don't drink Port.'
'What's the connection?' he asked!

These young doctors(he's only 50 odd)-they don't know anything.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

gout used to be thought of as a 'toffs' disease.
The toffs ate wild game,venison, partridge, pheasant, offal(kidneys for breakfast) and seafood, lobster mussels crab etc......all these are rich in purines...which causes the uric acid crystals to be deposited in joints.
The cartoons used to show the lord of the manor with his foot on a stool heavily bandaged suffering great pain.

I'm not sure that port is rich in purines, but I am happy to be educated if someone else knows better.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

also Gordon.....your Doctor is only young by comparison.
Some of the doctors we(daughter and I) have seen recently still had the dent in their back from their satchel, and really didn't look old enough to be allowed to have a paper round let alone give an anaesthetic.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I agree with DtheP/ I take Alopurinol daily. Very very occasionally I will take Indometacin - usually one capsule will hit it.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I dribnk a lot of port. I don't think it affects me, though the first time I got gout I had given a bottle a helluva bashing, along with pate. I will think of you later, Gordon when I take a glass or two.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

There I was thinking I was a lonely martyr to pain. There's 5 more of you already!
We should start a club!

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I bow to your superior medical knowledge on mixing the two Margaret. Not mixing the two has been part of my regimen not sure why. As far as advice on what and what not to eat, everybody is different. I am pretty convinced that dehydration is the root cause for most people. I get it in both my big toe and hand. When I was marathoning iI used to put it down to an over use injury or a bad landing off a stile in a fell race. When I suspected gout I looked at my diet and have never ever been able to isolate anything that causes a flare up excepting dehydration.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

My daughter has had a chronic medical condition for the past few years and this entails relying on pain relief.
Also in my past life we used to advocate using both meds for severe pain.......what i would say is that everyone has a different tolerance to pain, and you should never take more pain meds than you actually need.
So it may take some experimentation to get the mix right, but from what i know of gout it used to make me dear old dad cry...he would always take the maximum dose before bed......a bad nights sleep means the following day is likely to be rubbish......pain during the daytime is a different creature, and you may get away with the ibuprofen and just one paracetamol, but if you don't you know that next time you need to take two with your dose of ibuprofen.
When taking Ibuprofen it is important to make sure you have had something to eat, it can cause irritation to the stomach lining.
And, daft as it sounds, the suppositories with NSAIDs in them have exactly the same effect even though they are going nowhere near your stomach!

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

You can start a club but only water or whisky to drink:D
Well, I suppose you could have cherry juice for a change.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Yes Margaret I always take a big dose at bedtime with yogurt if I suspect an attack is coming on. Works for me.
You probably know men are more likely to get gout than women, however my mate Dr D tells me there are more and more young females having attacks. The high incidence of them taking diuretics for weight loss as a common denominator seems to bear out my "dehydration" theory.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Well it did the trick!
Whisky(recommended by doctor and nurse)
Water(recommended by DtheP)
Frozen peas, paracetamol.
Slight limp this morning, magic.

The better the whisky the better the cure so I dug out the Glenmorangie.
To save washing glasses I had the whisky and water together.
Not too much whisky, didn't want to spoil the taste of the water. 50/50 seemed about right.
So no need for frozen peas today but I'll keep up the basic cure just for chance.
If OK tomorrow I'll book in the doctors and try and get on the pills.

I'm glad I asked!

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Glad to hear that the treatment has been successful....hope the improvement continues.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

A few years ago, I slipped on a petrol station forecourt- fell onto my knees.Two days later, I could hardly walk and thought I had broken a toe. Went to hospital - Xray showed no break. The doctor asked if I suffered from gout. -"Yes" He told me the trauma of the fall had brought it on.

I have had attacks after eating seafood.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I think dehydration must play a part in this horrible condition as those who have been on diuretics for long period seem to be affected....if that was true for everyone though my Dad would never have had it...he used to drink at least 8 pint pots of tea every day......I mean a real pint pot,not a mug...and some days he would get through ten of them.....no milk, but six sugars......and he was built like a grey hound...not a pick on him!

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

re- paracetemol v ibuprofen
I am on my 5th day of an attack of cystitis and paracetemol wasn't easing the pain.
After reading here about ibuprofen I added Nurofen to my grocery order (just delivered). - Taken some and can feel the difference.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Hope you feel better soon Margaret....and it might be worth trying one of each to see if that helps.

Bob....any fall/tissue damage causes prostaglandins to be released and if you have a pre-existing inflammatory condition the release of these chemicals in your body can stir up other inflammatory processes.

Gordon...your Gp might want to wait until the gouty episode is gone completely before he prescribes allopurinol(or similar)....and even when the gouty episode is gone, starting these drugs will sometimes stir it up for a short time so be warned...have a good supply of whisky, peas and paracetamol on standby...with a couple of strong cups of black coffee.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I get about 1 or 2 attacks a yeardespite taking Allopronol which does lessen the number
but the Doctor prescribes me Colchicine,tiny little tablets which halves the time I'm out of action

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

the gout club is getting bigger Gordon...pretty soon there will be enough of you for a summer 'ride-out'.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Gordoes Gouty Gang??? :eek: :D

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Are you sure?

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

From all the gouty ones who have contributed to this thread it sounds like it’s mainly a man-thing but we women can suffer it too. I had it a few years ago in my foot and can sympathise with anyone who has the misfortune to suffer gout. It is extremely painful and debilitating.

I found a way to shuffle and slide my foot so that I could move about albeit very painfully. However, things had to be done and being the bleeding martyr that I am I carried on as best I could.

It’s a while ago now and I can’t remember what the treatment was or what the doctor gave me. Think he told me to rest – ha ha, that’s a joke!

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

"Gout Louts" maybe?

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

[QUOTE=dotti34;1143302]From all the gouty ones who have contributed to this thread it sounds like it’s mainly a man-thing but we women can suffer it too. QUOTE]

See my post #28 Dotti.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Have done so, DtheP. Interesting that this is happening. Don't know what caused mine - definitely not what is causing the young ones to have gout. Whatever it was I don't want it again.

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

That reminds me of an episode of Keeping up Appearances where Hyacinths husband had athletes foot and she bandaged it up and told him to tell everyone it was gout from fine wines and good living! :)

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I regret my use of ibuprofen.
Last friday I had 20 hours of intense severe bowel pain which was severe enough to cause hallucinations. My assessment of what happened to me has been confirmed by a doc home visit today.

beware - ibuprofen does this to some people

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Old Speckled Hen does that for me Margaret.
So much so I have renamed it "Old Speckled Toilet Bowl" ;)

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

I'll design a tie for the members of the Accywebbers Gout Club. A swollen big toe may feature

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Show it as it is, Bob!
A big swollen foot, in Post Office Box Red.
Swollen big toe indeed! Wait 'til you get a proper dose!

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Hi there,
I too suffer from gout now and again, so I really feel for you!

Only a couple of years ago a new young doctor came to help the old doctor in his surgery and he prescribed me the following pills:

Name: Olfen-75 duo release
Manufacturer: Mepha

Not sure whether they are available in the UK or not, but a chemist will be able to tell you.

Taking just one pill in the morning and one in the evening completely “cured” the pain and after two days I was walking normally.

I also take a pill now and again when I feel the pain coming on, and after a couple of hours it has disappeared.

Hope this works for you.

Cheers

Phil

Re: Anyone for Gout?
 

Olfen is Voltarol here...the non branded(generic) is Diclofenac sodium.
A very good NSAID, but I am sure that they don't prescribe it as often as they used to because of the suggestion that it may cause an increase in heart problems....according to studies it increases your chance of having a heart attack by 40%.
It is one of the oldest(and from experience, the best) NSAID's on the market.