Gout
Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 145
I have a lot of tendon/ligament issues in my feet. I think anything that makes your foot swell up is insanely painful because it's so far away from your heart and hard to reduce the swelling, and you have to walk on it. I've had occasions where I've had to crawl to my bathroom, or I couldn't sleep because every heartbeat made me feel like my foot was going to burst.
Matt M
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 490
Originally Posted by wolfpackfan45 
My dad had terrible gout attacks and he rarely drank. He was a tough Marine vet who rarely acted like anything hurt. But when he had a gout attack he moaned in pain. My daughter is a podiatric surgeon and sees it in her practice all the time. Says it's extremely painful. Diet and alcohol can trigger an attack. Uric acid is the culprit. Did your Dr. give you a list of foods and drinks to avoid? If not google it and make sure to avoid those things in your diet in addition to taking the meds you've been prescribed. Beer is a big culprit in gout attacks. Also avoid eating beans. Green beans, kidney, pintos, etc.
I googled it. Generally I think googling symptoms can be a bad thing because you always focus more on the worst that can happen. I swear I've thought i've had cancer at least 10 times whilst googling stuff!
But I saw about the food stuff and there doesn't seem to be much you can eat :/
My diet is crap anyway. I can go a couple of days without hardly eating anything then i'll eat rubbish when I do. So with the added incentive of feeling intense pain, I think i'll make some changes and try to eat like a normal human.
~sb
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MD
Posts: 15,967
A diet that helps gout is a well-rounded healthy diet in general. Lots of choices, just keep some foods at a low amount (4-6 ounces of meats, poultry, and fish). Eat whole grain breads, bananas and potatoes at least twice a day, fresh berries and fruit, nuts......"Cherries contain anthocyanidins which help lower uric acid. Eat a cup of cherries, either fresh or canned, each day. Strawberries and blueberries are also good."
She also says herbs that increase uric acid excretion include nettle leaf, gravel root, parsley, celery seed and birch. "Drinking herbal tisanes containing nettles helps rid the body of excess uric acid. And a juice made of two-thirds carrot, one-third celery and several sprigs of parsley may help relieve the inflammation during an attack."
Drink lots of water, too. It's really not difficult to eat in this healthy manner......even on a low budget.....
She also says herbs that increase uric acid excretion include nettle leaf, gravel root, parsley, celery seed and birch. "Drinking herbal tisanes containing nettles helps rid the body of excess uric acid. And a juice made of two-thirds carrot, one-third celery and several sprigs of parsley may help relieve the inflammation during an attack."
Drink lots of water, too. It's really not difficult to eat in this healthy manner......even on a low budget.....
Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 1
Chemistry of gout
Hi,
The purine stuff in my view seems a little spurious on the cause of gout. Might be true, might not be. I haven't seen any scientific studies that I found conclusive on the matter and it seems highly debatable at the moment.
The research done by Professor Lustig which breaks down the exact biochemistry of uric acid production in the blood leads to two causes. Refined sugar and Alcohol consumption. I wasn't able to link to it (not enough posts apparently) but you can google "sugar the bitter truth" if your interested. Its intense so if you want to geek out please watch. Yes, there are also people who have genetic or kidney issues too. Alcohol also damages the kidneys when drank in really high doses so its a double wammy.
When I say sugar I don't mean glucose polymores like starch - bread, potatoes etc. I mean fructose containing foods - lollies, soda etc. Fruit has fructose but barely any and is fine unless your going to eat 20 oranges. Fruit juice on the other hand has A LOT! Stay away.
Anyhow I think I've come down with gout. Over 4 years I've had knee pain 4 times and the doctor originally diagnosed it as petella tendonitis. Doctor gave me naprosin for it and it worked within fixing it in two hours.
I drink around 20 beers a week. Stopped this week and aim to stop for a year.
I still had the box of naprosin and it works like a charm on gout/tendonitis onset. If you get it an onset take an anti inflamatory like that and it knocks it on the head. The next day after I can do squats and dead lifts no problem if I take naprosin in time. Its like it never occured.
What naprosin wont do is remove the crystal build up. Thus it prevents the one attack but wont cure future attacks. To do that you need to reduce uric acid so the crystals dissolve.
As per that lecture above high uric acid nullifies the affect of nitric oxide in your blood which is your blood pressure regulator. My bet is gout sufferers above at the time and after the attack will have a) high uric acid and b) high blood pressure. This is one of the reasons recovering alcoholics have high blood pressure.
So in addition to me quitting drinking Im thinking of going on some meds to put my uric acid *way* down. Dissolve the crystals and reduce my blood pressure.
That the plan. I still don't know if I have gout. I have an appointment with a doctor. Years ago I had some blood tests that revealed high uric acid but I think I had a binge a few days earlier. Unsure if this is a permanent thing.
If you are recovering and have high BP. Get your uric acid checked. Stop eating refined sugar too and consider temporary meds. Or atleast monitor the uric acid going down and BP.
Oh yeah and high uric acid also leads to inflamation even if you don't have gout. Microscopic crystals in small quantities lead to passive inflammation. Correlated with increased cardio vascular issues. So don't leave it. Im kinda kicking myself that I did. I was in my 20s when I got my high uric acid readings and your invincible then! Now 37.
cheers! Hope this was helpful
The purine stuff in my view seems a little spurious on the cause of gout. Might be true, might not be. I haven't seen any scientific studies that I found conclusive on the matter and it seems highly debatable at the moment.
The research done by Professor Lustig which breaks down the exact biochemistry of uric acid production in the blood leads to two causes. Refined sugar and Alcohol consumption. I wasn't able to link to it (not enough posts apparently) but you can google "sugar the bitter truth" if your interested. Its intense so if you want to geek out please watch. Yes, there are also people who have genetic or kidney issues too. Alcohol also damages the kidneys when drank in really high doses so its a double wammy.
When I say sugar I don't mean glucose polymores like starch - bread, potatoes etc. I mean fructose containing foods - lollies, soda etc. Fruit has fructose but barely any and is fine unless your going to eat 20 oranges. Fruit juice on the other hand has A LOT! Stay away.
Anyhow I think I've come down with gout. Over 4 years I've had knee pain 4 times and the doctor originally diagnosed it as petella tendonitis. Doctor gave me naprosin for it and it worked within fixing it in two hours.
I drink around 20 beers a week. Stopped this week and aim to stop for a year.
I still had the box of naprosin and it works like a charm on gout/tendonitis onset. If you get it an onset take an anti inflamatory like that and it knocks it on the head. The next day after I can do squats and dead lifts no problem if I take naprosin in time. Its like it never occured.
What naprosin wont do is remove the crystal build up. Thus it prevents the one attack but wont cure future attacks. To do that you need to reduce uric acid so the crystals dissolve.
As per that lecture above high uric acid nullifies the affect of nitric oxide in your blood which is your blood pressure regulator. My bet is gout sufferers above at the time and after the attack will have a) high uric acid and b) high blood pressure. This is one of the reasons recovering alcoholics have high blood pressure.
So in addition to me quitting drinking Im thinking of going on some meds to put my uric acid *way* down. Dissolve the crystals and reduce my blood pressure.
That the plan. I still don't know if I have gout. I have an appointment with a doctor. Years ago I had some blood tests that revealed high uric acid but I think I had a binge a few days earlier. Unsure if this is a permanent thing.
If you are recovering and have high BP. Get your uric acid checked. Stop eating refined sugar too and consider temporary meds. Or atleast monitor the uric acid going down and BP.
Oh yeah and high uric acid also leads to inflamation even if you don't have gout. Microscopic crystals in small quantities lead to passive inflammation. Correlated with increased cardio vascular issues. So don't leave it. Im kinda kicking myself that I did. I was in my 20s when I got my high uric acid readings and your invincible then! Now 37.
cheers! Hope this was helpful
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Western NY
Posts: 1,209
I was first diagnosed with gout in my early 20s. The doctor told me "we rarely see cases of gout with people your age unless they have been consuming copious amounts of alcohol." I think that was a nice way of saying that I was drinking way too much.
It didn't go away when I stopped drinking though, and it runs in my family. They prescribed me allopurinol, but I don't take it. I look at gout as a healthy eating incentive. If I eat terrible I will have an attack and will be laying in bed for a few days.
One thing about the allopurinol is that taking it when you are having an attack can make it worse. It is meant to be preventative. I ignored the medical advice on that one and took it during an attack anyway. They were right.
Drinking enough water is just as important as diet is for me. In fact, it may be the number one factor. If I get dehydrated I will get an attack that day or maybe the next day. It doesn't matter how well I have eaten if I don't drink enough water.
It didn't go away when I stopped drinking though, and it runs in my family. They prescribed me allopurinol, but I don't take it. I look at gout as a healthy eating incentive. If I eat terrible I will have an attack and will be laying in bed for a few days.
One thing about the allopurinol is that taking it when you are having an attack can make it worse. It is meant to be preventative. I ignored the medical advice on that one and took it during an attack anyway. They were right.
Drinking enough water is just as important as diet is for me. In fact, it may be the number one factor. If I get dehydrated I will get an attack that day or maybe the next day. It doesn't matter how well I have eaten if I don't drink enough water.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 102
I second everything OpioPhobe said. I do take my allopurinol because I don't want to restrict my every day diet. When I eat 120 shrimp at Red Lobster I totally deserve that attack it might cause.
Anyway, gout can be genetic, so I too still get attacks now that I am sober and my uric acid level is below the normal range. It happens.. just bless the people that discovered corticosteroids.. imagine living before them and having to ride out an attack... oh...my..heavens.. that would be awful.
Anyway, gout can be genetic, so I too still get attacks now that I am sober and my uric acid level is below the normal range. It happens.. just bless the people that discovered corticosteroids.. imagine living before them and having to ride out an attack... oh...my..heavens.. that would be awful.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1,645
Excess consumption of diuretics (say, ethanol) can cause hyperuricemia (high levels of uric acid in the blood). So can some of the other ingredients in beer and liquor.
That's why beer and liquor are more commonly associated with gout attacks. But drinking excessively in general can cause it.
EDIT: I'm WAYYYY too late on this. See GerryGout's answer above for a far better response.
That's why beer and liquor are more commonly associated with gout attacks. But drinking excessively in general can cause it.
EDIT: I'm WAYYYY too late on this. See GerryGout's answer above for a far better response.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 6,902
Originally Posted by BikerAcct
I used to have bad gout. It would flare up regardless of what food, or what alcohol I did or didn't drink. About 15 years ago I was prescribed 300mg tabs of Allopurinol daily. Haven't had one gout attach since. It's a miracle drug.
Eventually we moved and he got a new doc. They ran the tests and found its his body doing it NOT diet or alcohol consumption, and he has allopurinol daily as well, so the crystals don't end up building up in his toe joints. Like Biker said. It made an amazing diffrence to my partners life.
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