Husband has gout and keeps drinking!

what on earth are you doing with him. Sounds a complete idiot.

Gout is so painful that he will suffer badly if he continues with this sort of diet.

If he wont help himself, why worry. Let him suffer.

 

I'm sorry that your husband refuses to realize that he is hurting not only himself, but his family as well.  Gout is a very painful illness.  It will eventually attack his kidneys, disfigure his joints, and may put him in a wheelchair if he doesn't take care of himself.  I think it was a harsh comment "why on earth are you with him?" you obviously love him.  I wish he would see that allopurinol isn't the miracle drug.  

Well, you don't know until you try.  If he gives himself another gout attack, you just give him a nice foot massage and remind him it's his own fault.

Of course it's dumb, BUT as long as he is NOT drinking high-purine beer he *might* get away with it.  If he's still drinking beer the odds are heavily against him.

OTOH if he's just an alcoholic I guess even gout won't stop it, but he needs treatment for his alcoholism which is a worse problem.

Perhaps start working on getting him to drink more moderately and substitute out as much of the beer as you can. Encourage him to drink a full glass of water in between each alcoholic drink to stay well hydrated. Maybe start by taking a night or two teetotal each week and just start there.

If he's continuing to have bad flareups of gout then he'll have to figure out what the triggers are himself and make the connection to diet and alcohol. It's very difficult to help someone that doesn't want to help themselves.

Eating an overall healthier diet will reduce his tolerance for alcohol so he might find that if he eats healthier food he drinks less. I'm fond of a drink myself and have found this to be the case. Try to get him to focus on other things that he enjoys in life and discuss what is important for him -- try to get him to see those things as the bigger priority over rich foods and alcohol. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I am actually hoping that this will open his eyes to the health problems alcohol can cause. He drinks both beer and rum but I think the beer is way worse for his gout. Does anyone take Allupurinol and drink? Do you still get gout? And Collin, my husband is not an idiot, he just has a problem called alcoholism. He functions very well, has never missed a day of work in his life and still works occasionally at the age of 68. It is very genetic, his father and grandparents were also alcoholics. When I took my wedding vows, I said for better or for worse, not just for the good times. Thanks again everyone for answering my post. God bless!

Charline,

Ideally, he should lose weight - as much as possible, drink lots of water and of course keep off meats and purine-rich foods, as far as possible. Water and more water is good. Salad is good. Some alcoholic drinks drinks are less purine-rich, so do some research. If he won't or can't cut down, make sure he drinks less alcohol and more water. He must stay hydrated. And ignore the nasty souls that hang around some of these chat rooms. The comments are designed to provided support and not more anguish. A lot of these so-called contributors are flushed with their own self-importance but are lay people who lack genuine understanding of the biochemical sciences. So, weight loss, lots of water, cut the purine-rich food, no alcohol (or more 'gout-friendly' types and less), water between drinks, more salads, yet more water and make sure he take the tabs. Naproxen is good for flair-ups and weight loss can have a major impact. Good luck and keep on at him...

Ok, to balance the discussion somewhat.

I take allopurinol for my gout.  I also drink alcohol frequently although I am far from alcoholic.

The allopurinol (for me) means I get no symptoms of gout and have not for about 5 years.

It is critical to continue taking the drug and bear is mind it is not an instant fix (and may take a year or more to be effective).

I have spoken with Gout consultant and he emphasized that proper medication is much more important than changing diet.

 

Thank you Andy, will try to encourage him to drink more water. He actually lost twenty some pounds in the last six months and is now kind of skinny 🤦🏻???🤦🏻???🤦🏻??? We eat fairly well, try to avoid sugar and only have red meat occasionally. I know it is the alcohol that is causing his gout, and he knows it too. I think he is in denial and with time he will have no choice but to quit or cut down drastically. He has been on Allupurinol for three months now and is complaining about it not working. I have tried to explain to him that it is not a quick fix and that it will take time but that he has to do his part in preventing it. I think with time he will understand the illness  better, I just hope I can hang on to my sanity till then 🙇🏻???🙇🏻???🙇🏻???

Hi Charline,

I joined this forum to post on your issue.  I initially read this before I quit drinking and I can relate.  My main issues are depression and alcohol abuse, I'm nearing type 2 diabetes and take blood pressure medication.  I'm 48 and I knew that I needed to quit drinking, every Monday morning after a weekend of drinking I would tell myself that.  I am not on gout meds other than Indomethacin when it flares up, my Dr. suggested I start Allopurinol.  I debated about that and told my Dr. that I didn't want to give myself free reign to drink whatever I wanted as I knew I would only drink more.  I declined the prescription.

My eyes have been opened as I have two close friends who are terminally ill, one with liver cancer, one with corrhosis of the liver.  I also lost my dad, he was not a heavy drinker but ended up on kidney dialysis.  After being close with people who have gone down those roads, I chose not to and the reality is that one of those scenarios would be likely.  My wife and I have a great relationship and we are raising three boys, our family life is good.  My wife drinks as well and we rarely get drunk, but every once in a while it happens.  She has not said so but I know when she looked at 278 lbs of me (I'm 6'5" and hide it with clothes on) that she is not physically attracted to me and that hurts.  Everything was convincing me to stop drinking and then I found a trigger which turned off my urge to drink.  I met one of my idols, he's the lead singer of a very popular rock band and he battled addiction in the form of cocaine, oxy and alcohol.  He was going down a bad path and he and I talked about it.  While I was talking to him, I realized that he would not be here now if he did not get help and get clean.  He also lost 70 lbs as he started working out, he looks great now.  Meeting him was what finally triggered my desire to just quit.  I was living more of a rock star life than this guy and if I didn't change, I would not be here much longer for my family.  

It's only been 13 days, not a sip of alcohol, moderately working out and eating on a pretty strict diet.  I started to feel better within 2 days, mostly as my mind is as clear as it's ever been.  I'm more productive at work and the depression has gone away without the alcohol factor.  I was slowing drinking myself to death because that's what I felt like I wanted, our family life was good but I was miserable sometimes.  That has all changed and as of this morning I have lost 16 lbs.  I calculated that I will take in approximately 30,000 fewer calories per month by not drinking.  I can now get rid of all of the supplements I take for gout such as tart cherry, celery seed extract and several others.  

Not sure if angels do exists but after meeting my idol and making the choice, I received a significant promotion at work.  With my new attitude, my interview went very well.  In the same week my wife and I went to a casino to see a concert , I loathe gambling but was passing the time before the concert on a card game with minimal losses.  I hit a pregrossive jackpot on a straight flush and won a significant amount of money.  Maybe just my lucky week but the timing was inspirational.  

I hope your husband finds whatever he needs to make changes in his life.  The way I look at it is that we only have one shot at this life.  I refuse to be numbed by the affects of alcohol anymore and I want to live the healthiest life as long as I can.  My family deserves that.  30 more years without drinking with a clear mind is a lot more life than 20 years with a foggy mind, more frequent Dr. vists and health issues.  Oh, the other benefit to not drinking is that I basically gave myself a huge raise.  No more alcohol purchased at bars, reastaurants, for home...no more prescriptions or natural remedys.  If you can convince your husband just to try for two weeks or a month, he might like the changes so much that it could make a difference.

I wish you and your husband nothing but the best.

Donnie

Hi Charline,

Your husband is totally in denial that he is dependent on alcohol. He needs to be told this by his Doctor or Counsellor. He is in for a slow & painful death unless he takes control of his alcohol intake. He’s a selfish man, showing no concern for you, his wife, watching him deteriorate with no possibility of helping him. 

He needs firstly to help himself & recognise that his self-abuse can only end up causing him extreme pain & ultimately death unless he does take control of the foods he eats. It’s not an easy task but one from which he would benefit enormously. How old is he? My guess is that he wants to be ‘one of the boys’ & can’t bear to be seen as someone with food & alcohol problems but that is the 

reality. Are you able to speak to his Doctor about the way he is slowly killing himself. 

I wish you well & hope your husband takes on board how

sad & miserable he is making you. 

Do you have kids together? If so, 

perhaps you could get them to open his eyes to his dreadful state of health. Maybe they could get him to see himself thru their eyes; a salutary lesson for him to experience.

Goo luck,

Ann Geller

Probation Officer in the U.K. for 30 years