No More Gout
Posted , 4 users are following.
I started having gout approximately 7 years ago in my late 30's, since then I've followed all the advice about diet and tried to pin down my trigger foods.
The food and drink thing is difficult as it seems to vary from person to person, for example people talk about cherries a lot as a preventive but fruit and especially Cherries are a trigger for me. I think you have to take the general food advice and then try to figure out your own triggers as well.
Anyway on with my story I'll list some food and drink opinions at the end.
So my attacks of gout were generally in my feet but sometimes the knees and very painful over time they seemed to last longer, I trawled the internet and tried everything, nothing really worked and I'd have a flair up about 6-8 times a year varying in severity.
On one of my internet searches I came across an article linking dehydration to gout and as always I thought I'd give it a go.
I now drink at least a litre of water a day and have been completely gout free for 8 months.
So do I now live like a monk and drink lots of water? Not at all, I drink beer but generally Spanish lager that isn't messed with, I avoid the colouring loaded Fosters and Carling's of the world and stick to Estrella and Mahou that is brewed in Spain.
I drink red wine (a lot) and on occasions other alcohol. I eat red meat 2 or 3 times a week.
Ok list that I have to avoid these are the 100% ones.
Dark beers or golden ones even.
Liver
Kidney
Mushrooms
Seafood
Asparagus
Broccoli
Cauliflower
All citrus fruit
Coffee
Game meats
Replacements.
Courgette
Chilli (vit c)
Chicken
Pork
Aubergine
Carrott
Fresh water fish (trout, crayfish)
Tea
Anyway I hope this helps someone, we're all different and the food lists may be useless to someone where let's say pork is a 100% trigger but my main advice is to drink water 1 litre or more and especially more if you're having a alcohol I have a glass of water during the evening if I'm drinking then before bed and then in the morning, no gout for me even after a heavy night.
0 likes, 12 replies
rustygecko luvgonzo
Posted
You can cut out everything - become a vegan and you will still get gout - it is caused either by medicaiton, a disease process of the kidneys usually, or by (as certainly in your case), genes.
Most (85%) of purines in our system is from catabolism ie made by your body. Why doctors hand out this silly advice about diet I just do not know. Yesterday I interviewed a well known specialist on gout and asked him why diet advice is given. He said that it was probably given out of tradition and out of wanting to give patients the idea that they have some form of control.
The important thing is not how often you are having an attack but the level of blood urate - it is that which indicates your chances of hart disease in your 40s, not the number of attacks.
luvgonzo rustygecko
Posted
rustygecko luvgonzo
Posted
Hi Gonzo
I don't really have an explanation your story. However all that has happened is that you have not had an attack for 8 months. (I would suggest that maybe high water consumption alone could do this). Many of us have interludes of 8 months with no treatment without an attack. I would ask you this question: how do you explain pure 100% vegetarians who get gout?
Now, if you tell me that your blood urate was consistently at say 9+ and that now your blood urate after doing the diet changes is under 3 ---that would be very interesting. If your blood urate is still 6+ this means that, while you are not having attacks of gout - you are still suffering from hyperuricemia with all its serious health consequences.
As for water - there is no doubt that as high blood urate sufferers - the one thing we can do is to dilute the uric acid by putting more water into the system.
luvgonzo rustygecko
Posted
Thanks for the reply. So my lack of gout attacks could be just that I'm adding more water? Which is great if I can control it that way. How do you test the urate levels though I haven't ever had that done other than when I first got diagnosed?
I've had a lot of other tests over the last few years due to another condition so I know all the usual things like blood pressure etc are OK but I would be interested in learning more about how I should look after myself if I have high urate levels.
rustygecko luvgonzo
Posted
Drinking more water is the No.1 thing that gout sufferers should do. That may be why you have been lucky.
Blood urate levels are tested through your local doctor - your doctor should have told you to come back to get tested weeks or so after the symptoms stopped. (There are also do it yourself kits but nobody seems to know if they are accurate). NB when you have the test no water and no food for at least 4 hours before.
The reason for looking at urate is that those with high urate and have had attacks of gout have higher rates of mortality - heart kidney and digestive cancers - couple of other things too. This is the reason for taking urate lowering therapy IF your measures arent working. You need to get your blood urate down to under 3.0 I would bet you are controlling the gout but not the blood urate. NB If youre blood urate is under 7.9 your doc may say "its normal" - which it is for those who have never had gout - for those that have we need it much lower.
david37284 luvgonzo
Posted
You are lucky. I suffered in much the same way; big toe; heel; at one point I thought I'd torn my achilles tendon; and my right knee cap. almsot as thoug I'd been kneecapped! Agonies. Suffered for 25 years and couldn't eat the same foods as you. Howeveri'd tried drinknig lots of water; rought cider vinegar; celery seed extract; cherry extract; everything! Nothing worked. Now, I'm on 100mg of allupurinol three times saily and I can eat shellfish, oily fish; strawberries; beef; in fact almost anything really. And all because my latest GP is a fellow sufferer.
Miracles do still occur! Believe mw!
David
rustygecko david37284
Posted
I agee - the only thing that works is allopurinol (I take 300 mg too), and my blood urate is 2.7 as of last week. Febuxostat also works.
As for changing food - it will not do anything. Food is not the main source of purines.
If you had gout for 25 years without allopurinol you should consider getting checked out by a cardiologist.
luvgonzo david37284
Posted
I was prescribed the allopurinol and really didn't want to take it, it was at this point I read about the link to dehydration and tried upping my water intake.
rustygecko luvgonzo
Posted
luvgonzo rustygecko
Posted
Just wanted to avoid permanent medication. I then started the water thing and the attacks stopped so I just didn't bother.
rustygecko luvgonzo
Posted
The problem is blood urate level. If it's high (with or without gout), mortality rates are substantially increased. It is for this that the reccormendation of NICE is that urate should be checked and treated rigorously.
joe78408 luvgonzo
Posted
You have quite a list. I'm 70 yrs old 5'9" 165lbs and type 2 diabetic. I having my secound bout of gout first was about a year ago. I do follow my diabetic diet as close as I can and take the pills the doctor has me take for diabetes. I take no other meds. As for the gout thats in my left foot big tow I rub Bio Freeze on it and cover it with a sock. Takes about a half hour and the pain is almost gone. Twice a day and the pain can be lived with. It's not gone but I can go on with almost anything and not limp around. If you try it I hope it works for you. A chiropractor had me use it on back pain years ago so I figured why not try it on my gout. A simular product is available at walmart, not sure what it's called there. I would think you could find it at most pharmacies.