GoutPal Interactive

EasyTouch GU

2013-05-21T20:33:50Z

I recently acquired an EasyTouch GU monitor. I’ve tested my UA content several times over the past while and am not convinced that the readings are accurate (or even close) making the device useless to me. Currently, I’m getting readings between 150 and 200 which I believe to be too low. I test my blood …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Comment on Gout And Alcohol Debate by AlexB75

2013-05-21T04:41:21Z

I was diagnosed with gout shortly after I got out of the Military. I was 23, in college, drank heavily, ate poorly when my first flare-up occurred. It was in my ankle and was misdiagnosed by the campus doctor. I played beer league hockey at the time and went into the boards feet first and got my blade caught in between the boards. Went ome after the game, drank with my teammates and woke up with swollen ankle and unable to walk. The doctor gave me an ankle brace and told me to keep it elevated. We all know how physical contact feels with a gout flare-up!!! The pain was terrible and after a couple of days, I started drinking… I drank a lot and my ankle never seemed to get any better. I was down for about a month before I could move around and when I walked, I used crutches. After awhile the pain went away and everything seemed to get back to normal. About a year latter, I went to go see my brother in another state and when I got there my knee swelled up and I was in terrible pain. When I got home, I went to see my doctor, who said I had a torn meniscus. Same thing as with the ankle only more pain all around. When I told my dad about it, he said he used to get pains like that and he was diagnosed with gout. So i went back to my doctor and was finally diagnosed with gout. At the time my UA level was 10.6 and this was back when I was 25 years old. My doctor put me on allopurinal, which didn’t help at all and upset my stomach something fierce. I got off that and decided to control my gout with my diet. Stayed away from red-meats and pork. This worked great and was able to get my UA levels to 5.0. This whole time, I drank like a fish… I drank alot of beer and drank everyday. I went attack-free for almost 3 years until I went to a mexican restuarant and had chorizo. Instant gout attack. So I gave up chorizo… Went another couple of years and would get minor flare-ups but nothing significant. This kept up for like 7 years, my heavy drinking was offset by not consuming red-meats and pork. One weekend, about 3 years ago, I was drinking with some friends and grilled some pork chops. They looked so good and I had to eat one. Woke up the next morning with a flare-up in my knee and ankle. I was down for almost a month. I then gave up all meat and practiced a vegetarian diet. Last year at my annual physical my UA was under 4.0. The diet worked great and I still got to drink whenever and whatever I wanted! people at work would always give crap for eating tofu and vegtables… If they only understood the pain, and I love drinking beer. Last week, it was warm and I got my grill out. I ate a cheeseburger…. Woke up with a flare-up in my left foot. The next day, woke up with a flare-up in my right ankle and pinky toe…. Went to my doctor and UA is currently over 7.0. I am now 38 and for years I have been trying to control my gout by dieting just so I could drink heavily. To mee it seems like controlling your UA levels is like a scale when it comes to diet and alchohol consumption. If you drink moderately, then you can eat the “bad” foods moderately. If you drink heavily, then stay away from meat. This is the route I eventually took but I want the freedom to eat what I want now, so I am going back to my doctor in a couple of days to talk about therapy. I am tired of the pain and discomfort, I am so tired of it that I am going to quit drinking all together. It sucks when my son wants to goto the park and we have to stay in the house because I can’t walk. 15 years of heavy drinking is probably enough…

Comment on Is Doctor Allopurinol Killing You? by Geoff

2013-05-19T15:05:44Z

I am 60 years old and in good shape. I had a massive gout attack three weeks ago in my big toe and foot generally. I tried aleve for a week with limited results. I took percocets at night to get sleep. Even then it was still painful. My doctor got me on colchicine 2X .6 mg twice daily. The pain is no longer excruciating, but still severe. Ice and aleve now seem to help. I seemed to be getting better, then started Allopurinal and it flared up again within a day. I expected some discomfort from the Allopurnial, but not that quickly. Is that a good sign? I took 100 mg for 3 days and then upped it to 200 mg. I still take the 2 doses of colchicine per day. Should I continue that? Can I take NSAIDs at the same time? I have a blood test UA, kidney and liver scheduled for next week.

Thanks for all your thoughtful help to all sufferers.

Reply To: 6 Weeks of Gout?

2013-05-17T20:03:50Z

Well…turns out I don’t/didn’t have gout. My problem stemmed from begin muscle bound last fall and then stopping abruptly. That combined with 60-80 hours a week of sitting at work/hypertension (attorney) resulted in over tight muscles running from my neck to my toes caused acute tendonitis in my ankles and feet. Lots of stretching as …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Reply To: Alluprinol reaction switched to Uloric with reaction, what now?

2013-05-16T02:21:58Z

Your experience in many ways is similar to mine. I was given Allopurinol as a solution to my many years of taking Colchicine. The Holy Grail was to be lowering uric acid levels. They did come down but not without Colchicine when gout flared. The I was experienced tingling in my feet and my right …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Uloric and Cochicine are both necessary?

2013-05-15T03:48:26Z

I think it is accepted that high uric acid levels are the cause of gout but I have a question as to whether both are necessary indefinitely. I have been taking Uloric for over a year along with the cheaper standby drug colchicine (not Colcrys). My acid level is in the 4′s but when I …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Alluprinol reaction switched to Uloric with reaction, what now?

2013-05-14T18:19:29Z

I have suffered from gout for 10 years. Approximately 2 years ago I noticed an up tic in “near attacks” which I effectively combatted with colchicine/Colcrys and NSAIDs. My Rhumetologist put me on increased doesage of Alluprinol starting at 100 with blood tests for URIC Acid levels topping out at 400 mg. As the medication …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Comment on Recipes For Gout by Tizawiza77

2013-05-07T16:40:37Z

Hi, Keith & everyone,

Been trying to find more recipes since I’m not eating much meat. I’m doing as Keith said, that is, to have it sometimes as a treat 2 or 3 times a week. It’s working good for me. I’m not deprived at all. And I do have to find alternative sources of protein. Right now I have more energy that I have in many years. Maybe this is the way that I’m supposed to eat.

Anyway, I found a good potato recipe. My husband and I made it last week, and it’s extremely easy. It’s Roasted Rosemary Potatoes. Seems that I have read that rosemary improves circulation. I know that all the herbs that we eat are important, but I don’t know yet what all they do for our bodies. The only changes that we made were we pressed our garlic cloves instead of mincing. Then we used dried rosemary instead of the fresh. We decided that it might be better to use dry because it has a stronger flavor. This is so good and easy. We used white potatoes, but you can use either red or white.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rosemary-roasted-potatoes-recipe/index.html

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Prep Time:
8 min
Inactive Prep Time:
–
Cook Time:
1 hr 0 min

Level:
Easy

Serves:
3 to 4 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds small red or white-skinned potatoes (or a mixture)
1/8 cup good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoons minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes in half or quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary; toss until the potatoes are well coated. Dump the potatoes on a baking sheet and spread out into 1 layer; roast in the oven for at least 1 hour, or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking to ensure even browning.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, season to taste, and serve.

Reply To: Started Purixa Today

2013-05-07T12:23:33Z

So, it’s milk protein, 200 mg.vitamin C, resveratrol, and grreen tea. I hope it’s cheaper than buying the stuff individually from Puritan Pride and washing it down with milk. Any studies showing effectiveness? It’s obviously safe.
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Reply To: I Didn't Think It Possible

2013-05-02T13:21:41Z

So, having an open mind I decided on 6 pills and then 2 the following day. Light diarrhea started on day 2. The pain got a bit better as soon as the diarrhea began but then got worse again the next day. I guess I “half cured” myself…and wasted 8 precious pills. So spent another …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Reply To: I Didn't Think It Possible

2013-04-30T14:04:11Z

I’m pretty much grasping at straws here, because I thought you’d got this gout thing nailed. I am going to say that I too think I really DO have this nailed…but apparently nails can come loose with 5 liters of bad red wine in 3 days bracketed by 2 days of a 6 pack of …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Reply To: I Didn't Think It Possible

2013-04-30T05:08:23Z

I won’t repeat my belief in the “new recommendations” re colcrys / colchicine, but I will repeat the “new recommendations” re uric acid. 5 is the upper limit. Low 5′s might simply be not low enough. The new recommendations give a better margin for daily fluctuation. Fluctuation of uric acid can be from big diet …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

I Didn't Think It Possible

2013-04-29T13:58:02Z

After about 15 years without anything more than a twinge, I thought I was free from any serious attacks. I take 400 mg./day allopurinol and control my serum uric acid to the low 5′s. I teetotal the first 3 months of every year and in April I sort of go wild. My fave is Manhattans …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Reply To: Do I have Gout?

2013-04-29T07:41:42Z

Sounds good. High uric acid can definitely cause gout in your twenties. My nephew started around 25. It’s almost certainly genetic with him. I believe gout is often a mixture of genetics and lifestyle. There is nothing you can to about the genetics, but improving lifestyle is vital. I’ve recently become aware that many of …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Reply To: Do I have Gout?

2013-04-28T18:44:56Z

Thank you for the reply. I think you’re right in terms of the diet thing, I definitely need to be more healthy. Like I said, I’ve been losing weight and I if I keep up what I’m doing now within a year I should be back to a much healthier weight. I thought I had …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Reply To: Do I have Gout?

2013-04-28T09:24:53Z

There are a few issues here. On pain, be aware that gout pain intensity varies enormously from person to person. Some people do not generate the same level of inflammation as others. Some people have better pain tolerance than others. Ultimately, with gout, pain control is not the issue – uric acid control is. Drastic …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Do I have Gout?

2013-04-27T20:52:18Z

Hi, Around the start of this year I woke up one day with a very painful foot. It was red, swollen, and inflamed, but wasn’t anywhere near as painful as what I read gout is supposed to be like. I could hobble around on it without it being too painful, but stepping directly on my …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Reply To: Is there a DECT machine in or around Portland Oregon?

2013-04-25T04:55:45Z

Personally, I’m a big fan of the *idea* of DECT, or equivalent. It represents a major advance on the treatment side to assess how urate lowering is progressing. On the other hand, I’m just happy to see the tophi shrinking. Welcome back. My lease of life just got renewed
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Reply To: 6 Weeks of Gout?

2013-04-25T04:50:45Z

I’m confused, Dan. Have you had a blood test for uric acid or not? If so, what are the results. If not, why claim: “He isn’t a bad guy?”
Read more about Ads from GoutPal

Reply To: Started Purixa Today

2013-04-25T04:45:01Z

PURIXA has been around a while, and Bob, the PURIXA creator, writes occasional articles for my website. You probably know that I am firmly in the allopurinol camp, but I do not mind working with open-minded people about alternatives. In this case, I can see that the active ingredients all have uric acid lowering properties. …

Continue reading »
Read more about Ads from GoutPal