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Prescription Amounts for treating gout

Posted , 2 users are following.

brady12
brady12

About a year and a half ago I switched primary care doctors.  My old doctor prescribed me 90 pills of 50 mg indomethacin with 5 refills and colcrys (colchicine) at .6 mg also in a large quantity with refills. 

My new PCP prescribed me 10-15 pills of indomethacin and 10-15 pills of colcyrs with no refills which would only help me for one gout attack.

I am wondering what your doctors have prescribed, and have they given you refills with your prescriptions. I'm trying to get a gauge for what the norm is for how many pills and if your PCPs allow you to refill the prescription.

I'm having a bad attack now and am not able to take anything.

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • rustygecko
    rustygecko brady12

    Posted

    The most important thing to know is what is your level of blood urate when you are not having an attack?

    Second, you are not being given the standard treatment recommended in the UK, nor, from my contacts with gout experts in the US, over there either.

    Were you not offered urate lowering therapy such as allopurinol or Febuxostat? Gout is merely a symptom of high blood urate. You are not being given treatment for the illness - just the symptoms.

    Do you have any other comorbidites eg kidney problems?

    • brady12
      brady12 rustygecko

      Posted

      I talked to him about allopurinol but I don't really want to get on a long term medicine since I'm in my mid 30's.  My doctor agreed that it would be best to try to handle it with modifications to my diet.

      I don't have any kidney problems but my creatinine levels were in the high / normal range 1.21 and that's the reason why the doctor hasn't refilled the indomethacin or colcyrs.  The last lab work that I had done in nov of 2017, the doctor forgot to put uric acid on it so i don't know what it was from then.  I am trying to get my old records from my previous doctors to find out what the levels were, but they've always been high.

    • rustygecko
      rustygecko brady12

      Posted

      Your doctor “forgot” to do Utica acid test for the blood work of a patient with gout!?! Does that not tell you something?

      I would say that as a younger person you have MORE reason to take long term urate reducing meds than an older person - you have much more to lose.

      You are getting poor advice from your doctors. Go and see a rheumatologist. 

      I will send you a link to the NICE site to show you what your doctors should be doing.  Link on next answer as it takes time for the mods to check it. 

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