Gout or no?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Back in September I got my uric acid results being 9.5. I got retested in November and the levels remained the same. I changed my eating habits and started exercising for the rest of the year, however, after the holidays and new year. In February, I got tested again and results came back to 8.5! However, after receiving the news of my levels changing. my old habits snuck up on me.
Sadly, I am back to my old eating habits. Yesterday morning, Saturday, I ran errands around town, didn't do anything straining. In the evening after all my errands, I felt a slight pain and discomfort in my left ankle. I was unable to fully twist it towards the right. I didn't think anything of it other than maybe I did something low key to strain it.
This morning, Sunday morning, the pain is still there. I can walk and stand. Slowly and carefully walk. I do not know what my levels are at the moment but I have a feeling they maybe through the roof, hence this whole ordeal. I am not on any medication for gout.
My question and concern is, is this my form of gout? Have never had a toe flare up or any type of flare. This is my first encounter with pain towards the feet. In the past, I did, however feel occasional tinglingness in my big toe. Have not felt that for a few months and now this with the ankle.
I am planning to visit my doctor if the pain does not subside by Wednesday.
Please share your thoughts. Thank you in advance and I apologize for the wordiness. I just want to make sure all details are mentioned to get the best advice.
Scared and worried person.
0 likes, 12 replies
Always.icki
Posted
Always.icki
Posted
jx41870 Always.icki
Posted
Don't know if you've seen me on other threads here talking about celery and celery seed. These are seriously good ways to lower your uric acid. Try it and see, not much harm is going to come of eating a few sticks of celery!
As for getting it tested again, it's hard to change *quickly*, so get some celery, clean up your diet, and test again no sooner than about thirty days.
Note that while you can't reduce your uric acid levels too quickly, if your levels are already high you CAN trigger an attack quickly, with a few days of bad diet.
One other thing, and a big one. Look into "pseudo-gout". I don't know how much good science there is on it, other than (a) it exists, (b) the pain comes from calcium rather than directly from uric acid, and (c) it does not respond directly to allopurinol or much of anything else. After you've talked to Doctor Google about this, I'd be interested what your human doctor might have to say about the situation. I've had (self-diagnosed) both regular gout and the pseudo variety. Pseudo seems much more likely to start in joints other than the toe, and then once an attack starts it tends to travel around different joints in your foot and ankle, almost hour by hour.
If the celery works for you, you should STILL honor the dietary guidelines, but you can at least then cheat a little bit without hurting your numbers - and triggering attacks.
Always.icki jx41870
Posted
Hi jx,
Thank you for responding. I actually use to eat celery on the daily. Since this entire thing started back in Oct/Nov. However since I got my 8.5 results, I kinda went crazy and slipped back to my old habits and here I am again. I should have kept on my regime and would have probably avoided all this.
My ankle is still the same. Seems to have gotten a little better because I ate celery and drank some tart cherry juice. But I will bring it up at my next appointment and keep you updated.
What brand of celery seed do you use? Mind sharing a link? I've read about taking celery and tart cherry capsule but did not go through with it because I did not know what brand to purchase.
Have you experienced this ankle pain before? Mind you, I have never had an attack. This is my first sight of foot pain and with all the things that have happened in the past, I'm thinking it's my version of the beginning stages of my gout..
Thanks again .
ccorps84 Always.icki
Posted
Im 34 and have had gout for the past 5years. Ive been on allopurinol to lower my uric levels. Recently ive stopped to see if i can get off it and keep to a clean diet and herbal supplimrnts. My levels were 7.7 after 2 months off it. Since then ive been feeling weird arthritic pain on and off being similar to yours. I have a home kit, and it says my UA is 9.5. You can still have these ankle symptoms thats not full blown flare of a gout attack. They say you can have high uric without gout but if its too high isnt it still bad, crystals can travel to different parts of body and organs? Can anyone validate? I might get back on allopurinol just gotta speak to my doctor.
What are your stats? How old are you, when did you start getting first symptoms?
Always.icki ccorps84
Posted
Hi ccorps,
Thank you for your response.
I'm happy to hear that your levels have dropped significantly!
How does your UA at home test kit work? And is it reliable? I will have to look into investing in one since I will have to pay each time I get blood work.
I am truly hoping it is not full blown gout. This is the first ever that I've felt any pain on my feet. In the past, I know I ate a lot of sweets and ate a lot of red meat, chicken was my last choice of meat, I did feel some tinglingness in my big toes, however, no flares. I am not on any medication for gout. It kind of feels like my ankle just needs a good pop (like knuckle popping). Like I've mentioned before, I hope this is as far as it goes. No spreading, yet and I hope it doesn't. It's been about 30 hours since its all started.
I agree with what you stated, having high levels is just as bad. My GP pretty much said I have gout. However, she referred me to a rheumatologist. Rheumatologist stated that it is not gout as I do not have any flares but that was back in February. Now this has happened and I just don't know if it's gout or not.
I'm 27 and this is the first time I've felt any pain to my feet other than slight tinglingness to my toe last year. Gout runs in my family, my older sibs have it.
You said that you also experience this discomfort. How long does it last for you? Can you walk and stand? Is your ankle swollen? Can you twist or bend your foot?
Thanks again,
ccorps84 Always.icki
Posted
I can walk it’s fine but I currently just can’t run cause my ankle feels weird, but there’s always that annoying dull pain (when I’ve stopped allopurinol or if the dosage isn’t right or my uric levels are too high). When you get a flare you will know. My specialist thought I didn’t have gout either since I typically didn’t have it in the typical places like my big toe. But I know my body and when I first initially was on allopurinol these slight light symptoms and random flares would disappear. It’s annoying cause it’s not painful to have these pains but they feel like sprains to say it’s not gout when you have a high uric level would just waste my time. But your case is different cause you have never had a flare. If I were u, keep with the diet. I wouldnt do meds til you get multiple flares. That said when or if u do, go to your doctors to extract some fluid out to see if it’s actually gout. My monitor is UAsure. For me I’m going in to see a doctor this week, since I’ve been off allopurinol for 2 months to try a diet alternative, that doesn’t seem to be working, since starting it 3 years ago, going to try a smaller dose and go higher until I reach the good range of UA.
jx41870 ccorps84
Posted
I'm 60-something now, started getting symptoms around 40-something.
Discovered the celery treatment about five years ago, but mainly used it when I had an attack.
For the last two years or so I've switched to celery seed, take a 500mg capsule every day, have had no attacks, and my UA is down below 7.
Yes, I hear in extreme cases it can affect your whole body. Can't imagine how awful that might be!
Always.icki ccorps84
Posted
Today I feel a lot better, however, that dullness you are talking about is there. Looking at my ankle, it looks a little puffy, swollen but not red, hot, or shiny. Just a bit puffy. Are your ankles puffy, swollen? Thanks.
Always.icki ccorps84
Posted
Hi Ccorps!
hope all is well with you and your family. just wondering if you ever got back on allo?
ccorps84 Always.icki
Posted
The pain is mainly underneath my foot, it feels like a gout flare is going to start but never does. They dont look swollen or red or puffy. they look normal.
stuart06735 Always.icki
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New to this forum and trying to decide if I have gout or not. My rheumatologist doesn't seem to think it is gout since I do not have typical symptoms like severely swollen, red, hot joint pain. Recently had a dual energy CT scan and no evidence of uric acid crystals but possible CPPD accumulation (pseudogout). When I get attacks, my pain is primarily in my left second toe and metatarsal joints of both feet. Often spreads to soft tissue plantar facia and heels and sometimes up into ankles and or spreading up legs. The pain is like a pinch or prickly with a dull pain from slight inflammation in the joints. My blood uric acid levels have never been high. They were 6.4 when first tested at the onset of pain in Jan, then down to 5 ish then after starting allopurinol down to 4 ish. I used to drink beer regularly but haven't been able to tolerate it since Jan. In my discussions with my rheumatologist, I have asked that if it is not gout, then diet / alcohol shouldn't trigger an attack. Am I right?