Jesus it hurts, it feels like shards of glass between the joints of my big toe, I even shed a tear… thanks to Ibuprofen I will be almost pain free and MTFU

Any other sufferers?

I appreciate this may be a stereotyped and misguided view of the situation. But is this you?

Cherry juice.

OP how old are you etc? Diet and booze?

an excess of uric acid. Go and see your GP.

Yes. Go see GP, you'l probably get indometacin. Way better than ibuprofren but must be taken after food.

Mr Creosote is indeed an outdated view. There is a hereditary link but it's not a guarantee

If you get repeat attacks then GP will probably prescribe allopurinol to be taken daily for the rest of your life.
Beats getting repeat attacks

Anyone that thinks gout is funny hasn't had it! It's savage – you have my genuine sympathy. Diclofenac takes it away pretty good.

my sympathies. I get similar when I let my big toe nail get too long (its a grerat indicator of when I need to cut my nails!)

cherry juice – waitrose usually have some.

whats your diet like ie is it high in things containing purines? have you been very dehydrated? (also triggers it in me) never nbeen to the drs with mine – but old man has with his and got medicated for it. Personally, I know what sets me off, so prefer to manage it myself ie diet, hydrate and cut my claws!

I get it regularly and have done for some time. Hurts like a ****! I try to manage via diet as I prefer to avoid drugs like the plague, however that is tricky as I also have high chloresterol (hereditary too) and the dietary things that tick both boxes are pretty few and unappetising. The main thing however that I have discovered (somewhat through desperation) however is that drinking lots of water when it starts is very beneficial – I assume that it dilutes the bad stuff – plus has the advantage of shifting headaches as well!

I suffered from it for a few years but since i changed my diet to cut out most shell fish (mussels, scallops, cockles etc i.e. whole crustations) along with offal its been fine.

I also find that drink beer on consecutive days of more than a 3-4 days without a couple of days in between triggers it off.

Basically it can normally be controled by changes in diet but its a bit trial & error.

And yes it is the worst pain ever, got it in my left foot & right knee at the same time one christmas,,, never again 😥

i've had a couple of bouts of it. 1st time I had it I thought I had broken my toe. Hurts like hell. I think different things trigger it for different people. Spinach, mushrooms, red wine, beer, red meat & dehydration can trigger it too.

Both times I've had it was due to being severely knackered. Once after a long cycle and once after walking Ben Nevis. I think it was down to a combination of not being fit enough for the task, poor re-hydration and going for beers afterwards.

Cherries and baking soda are meant to ease it. For me it's a signal for me to start eating properly, drinking less beer and to start taking a wee bit more exercise. However the doc told me that if i get frequent bouts to go back and get it checked out. Could be a sign of a more serious condition.

Me

Neurofen doesnt touch it, my Doc gave me diclofenac which worked quickly – you can buy it over the counter now as Voltarol, I am not sure on the doseage/strenght but it may be the quick way.

Hurts like a F**ker, my sympthies.

Somewhere I have a diet sheet for it & its odd things that you are not allowed.

As mentioned above Cherry Juice/Pills does a fair job, I get mine from cherryactive (.co.uk I think)

Oddly I find I only seem to get it on holiday so its something to do with unwinding that sets me off

I've had it for over 30 years! If it really is 'Acute Gout', it can be controlled in two ways; take a pill (forgot the name) when the attack starts or take a different pill (Allupurinol) once a day, every day. I do the latter because if you don't take the former as soon as you get a twinge, it's too late. Touch wood, haven't had a serious attack since. I get the uric acid levels in my blood checked every so often to see if it's still necessary.

Come on here and have strangers take the p*ss out of you?

http://www.imnotthealien.com/bits/goutdiet.doc

Should download it

You can't really overstate how much it hurts. I can only imagine what a severe case is like – friend of mine has had it so bad that he can't bear the weight of a bed sheet on his skin.

It will sometimes find joints that you have injured. My ankles are both rotten and I frequently twist them. I did that a couple of years ago and the next day I honestly thought I must have broken my ankle because I couldn't begin to walk on it and was literally on the verge of crying with the pain. Had an x-ray, nothing – had a blood test, yep, gout.

Ask your GP about Colchicine (sp?) some sort of plant extract – needs to be taken at onset, prevents immune system from trying to deal with uric acid crystals, so preventing inflammation and hence pain – I think.

*might not work for everyone

trial and error with diet is the way forward, if attacks are infrequent and manageable with OTC pain medication

oh, and as everyone says, stay hydrated !

try Viagra – doesn't help the Gout, but keeps the bed sheets off it ….

😉

+1.
I've had gout since I was in my early 30s, and although everyone else thinks it's hilarious, you have my sympathise. It does indeed hurt like sanding on broken glass.

I use diclofenac for my back pain, and while it sort of helps gout, I find that what helps most is staying hydrated. Failing that, my GP writes me a script for Arcoxia (you might need to google it) to deal with acute events of it, and that really does help.

IMO it's easier to manage with diet and hydration than to start taking alopurinol every day. Taking fewer tablets has to be better overall, right? Just keep some NSAIDs handy for the week after a big drinking sesh or a weekend away on the bike.

This hit me out of the blue, been back in the gym for a while, plenty of water, good diet, I was out on the beer on Friday night, possibly not enough water over the weekend. Been to the Doc, nsaids do not agree with me, on a steroid for a week, that and painkillers and ice, hurts like a birch though, hoping this is my one and only attack.

The regular sufferers, how does it impact your work and family life.

@Tangoman: Ouch! Steroids suck, I'm sorry mate.

AFAIK you're likely to have another if you've had one, as it (often) has a genetic component and thus some people are predisposed to it. My first attack came out of the blue too, and I thought I was doing 'all the right things' to be healthy, but apparently my body disagreed. It was a wake-up call for me.

I find I drink next to no alcohol on a regular basis now, maybe 8-10 units a week, avoid spinnach, red wine and mussels (all of which I love) and I really know about it if I don't manage 2.5 – 3 litres of water a day (I weight 12stone).
With that sort of dietary management I probably only have one flare-up a year, or two if I'm negligent and reckless, on a stag weekend, skiing holiday, etc. I find Arcoxia helps when I do have the flare-up, so I take a strip of them with me if I'm going away on a sweaty/boozy weekender.
Other than that, my life is as it was, apart from the fact that as I drink less I have less flab to battle at the gym.

EDIT: When I first had it, I'd have to take a day or two off work as I couldn't walk or drive, but now I know what to look out for it usually never gets that bad.

Hope yours doesn't come back and/or you manage to control it if it does.

I have suffered for about 7 years now. I have figured out I only seem to get it on holiday, first time was skiing … how much of it is caused by drinking a bit less water before a long journey so I dont have to keep stopping for a pee followed by a beer or two when I get there & how much by me unwinding I do not know.

I do spend more time looking at my left big toe than I used to & if it starts to look bigger or ache at all I spend a couple of days trying to eat non purine type foods & loads of water, other than that it has not really affected me too badly.
I do try to make sure I have diclofenac near at hand just in case but diet is relatively unchanged although I do drink a bit less beer than I used to. I do make sure that if I have been on the pop that I have lots of water before bed & the next day but I guess that is a sensible change to make anyway.

Friend of mine gets it pretty badly 2 or 3 times a year. Dehydration is the biggest trigger. Make sure you drink at least 2 litres of water through the day, and at least double that if you exercise and drink

18 months ago my doctor diagnosed me as having

"Haggis induced Gout"

It's a long story, but starts with buying a 4kg Haggis.
( Yes that is 4KG, not 4lbs )

"Haggis induced"?

Methink he taking the mickey

Offal is a huge no no so it is quite possible … makes a decent talking point though 🙂

I blame ski seasons & too much stella over the years. Oh well I enjoyed getting gout

John,

I'm really not. That's exactly what is on my medical records.

Had it for a few years and was taking allupurinol, stopped taking it and started drinking 3-4 pints again at the weekend. Got another attack but this time in my ankle and it is the most painful thing i have suffered from. Back on the meds, cut down on the beer and im ok now. Drink plenty of water and have some strong anti inflammatory tabs handy.

Well I stand corrected 😯

Allopurinol does the trick for me. I was on 100mg tabs and would still get the odd attack, which I then control with the delightful indometacin.
After a few years of this, GP upped the dose from what she referred to as "tiny" to 300mg. Touch wood I've not had an attack since…

Due a review in october so I might see if I can manage it with diet & plenty of hydration