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Uric Acid 8.6 mg/dl but doctor does not believe it is gout

Posted , 6 users are following.

ramvin
ramvin

Hi all. I've been having overall mild joint pain with some tingling in my toes and fingers for a couple of months now. My doctor initially thought it could be diabetes and so ordered a blood test. My glucose actually came up okay but we were surprised that my Uric Acid level was 8.6mg/dl. So I thought that that would explain my aches and pains. However, my doctor refuses to consider gout since I have never had the classic painful and swollen toe. To be fair, she wants me to go get more blood tests and xrays. 

I guess my question is can you have painful joints and tingling without the big toe pain and still have gout? Will high levels of Uric Acid cause that sort of pain? To be specific, I have pain in my knees, elbows and sometimes the big toe. But the most intense pain is actually in the second joint of my right pointer finger. I also feel a small lump underneath the skin at the joint. 

Anybody have something similar?

Thanks in advance!

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • jx41870
    jx41870 ramvin

    Posted

    Does not sound like gout.  With gout there is no doubt, LOL.  Now, high uric acid levels may cause some low-level inflammation that is not quite gout, for all I know.  Don't know what to say about the tingling.

    • ramvin
      ramvin jx41870

      Posted

      Hi! Thanks for the reply. I do have feeling of inflammation in my knees and elbow. Did see another post here saying he did have some tingling months prior to being diagnosed with gout. O well...guess I’ll just have to wait for results of more diagnostics. Thanks again!
    • ramvin
      ramvin

      Posted

      Oh and replies to that post also said that it is not gout YET but may be leading to it. So I’m thinking I’m in the same situation. 
    • rustygecko
      rustygecko jx41870

      Posted

      I’m afraid that “with gout there is no doubt” is the case for most people who suffer gout, but not all, especially those who don’t get the classic podagra. 
  • rustygecko
    rustygecko ramvin

    Posted

    From the American Arthritis Association:

    “Initial gout attacks are usually monoarthric. However, polyarthric attacks can also occur. More than 75 percent of acute gout attacks affect a joint in the lower extremity, especially the first metatarsophalangeal joint. Podagra, an acute attack of gout in the great toe, accounts for over 50 percent of all acute attacks (Figure 1). Approximately 85 to 90 percent of patients with gout experience podagra at some point in the disease.”

    Podagra = pain in joint of big toe. What it says is 10-15% of gout patients NEVER have pain in their big toe. From memory I think 65% of first gout attacks occur in the big toe, meaning 35% Don’t.

    Don’t mess around with this doctor, see a rheumatologist.

    • ramvin
      ramvin rustygecko

      Posted

      Hi rustygecko! I've read some of your responses to other posts and found them very helpful. So thank you for taking time to respond to mine too. I do have a sore big toe and so I am not sure if it is gearing up for a flare. I hope not. I guess there would be some relief to finding out what it is that is causing me these joint issues. Seeing the high uric acid made me think that we were nailing down the culprit but that was quicly shot down bu this doctor. And yes, I will be setting an appointment with a rheumatologist. 

      Btw, both my dad and brother have diagnosed gout and have had the classic flare-ups. My bro however mentioned that he did have the aches and pains in other joints prior to his first flare-up and in between. My dad on other hand, gets flare-ups in several joints at a time. I suppose this family history is worth mentioning to whichever rheumatologist I end up seeing. 

    • rustygecko
      rustygecko ramvin

      Posted

      ”both my dad and brother have diagnosed gout and have had the classic flare-ups”

      There is the smoking gun. Gout IS genetic (they even know the genes involved).  You have it with close relatives (mine is with second cousins). 

      You mentioned a small notch on your finger - I have one too - it's a relatively common and usually painless manifestation of a problem with the cartalige in the finger joints called    “ Heberden's nodes” - look it up and see if it fits. Dr. Heberden was around in the 18th century - I always reckon when a problem has been named for a couple of hundred years it’s pretty common. (Having said that Bubonic Plague has a name for hundreds of years but isn’t so common). 

      Good luck with your problem. 

  • rick03247
    rick03247 ramvin

    Posted

    Never had tingling, just an intense throbbing pain. You certainly know about it if you had a flare up. Your symptoms could be the start of gout because of your high uric acid level.I have osteoarthritis and have pain in the areas you say. My exact same finger has a lump like yours and its called a nodule which is a sign of osteoarthritis. I have multi level disc degenerative disease in my spine and had a mri scan which showed osteoarthritis.  Can i ask how old you are, because osteoarthritis usually starts to occur in late 40s early 50s, but is also heriditry.
    • ramvin
      ramvin rick03247

      Posted

      Hi Rrick03247. I am 41 yrs old and my doctor doesn't think it is osteoarthritis since the pain is symmetrical. I have received some of the results of my blood tests though. My RA factor score is 2048 IU/ml. Reference range is listed as <8 on the test results. Haven't been able to take it to a rheumatologist yet as I am waiting for the other results to come in. Based on my research though, it seems I may have rheumatoid arthritis. I have no doubt though that the high uric acid may be making it worse. But we'll see after my rheumy visit. Like I said in my earlier post, I'll just be glad to finally pin down the cause for my joint pain and hopefully get treatment. 

    • rick03247
      rick03247 ramvin

      Posted

      Hi ramvin, yeah i was told the same it was not osteoarthritis because of the same reason you say. I had the blood tests and came back not rhuematoid arthritis. Had a mri scan and there it was diagnosed, osteoarthritis. Hope you find out so you can be treated as any kind of arthritis is not nice to live with. Dont know much about the RA factor so cannot comment on that. High uric acid could well be adding to the problem, but the rhuematologist will sort it for you.
  • aaron04517
    aaron04517 ramvin

    Posted

    I’ve had Gout flare-ups on and off for years. I would describe Gout pain like this. Imagine stubbing your toe on the coffe table in middle of the night. That intense searing pain that causes you to howl. That’s how intense Gout pain is. For me, it’s always in my right big toe. The pain is intense and constant. It does not subside for days. It is constant!! Sleeping is near impossible, walking takes major effort. Putting on socks and shoes is a punishment. No over the counter Aspirin, Ibuprofen, etc can remotely touch it. Not even a little. The infected foot turns red and the ball joint and big toe swells somewhat. Three months ago I had arthroscopic knee surgery, and the pain associated after surgery was about 20% compared to a medium lvl Gout attack. 

    Sad part is I know it was preventable, if only I’d eat better and give up soda pop... 

    • ramvin
      ramvin aaron04517

      Posted

      Yeah, I've seen how it was for my dad whenever he would get attacks. Using a crutch didn't even help as any movement was torture for him. Even the "wind" created by moving his feet would set off so much pain. 

      I definitely am trying to eat better. Avoiding red meat, beer and soda for starters. I'm a big fan of steak especially rib-eye so this will definitely be a test of my willpower! lol

  • Sochima822
    Sochima822 ramvin

    Posted

    Hi ramvin, sorry to hear you have a quack of a doctor! She definitely has no experience whatsoever!. I've lived with gout since I was 14, and been a meat eater my whole life. However, in the past I would eat meat once a week, it's maybe once every two weeks nowadays. With this said, attacks don't really come on with eating meat, but mostly when you eat sweetbreads, organ meats, herring, wheat especially wheat bread, and high fructose anything.  At least these are the foods that triggers my gout, and like you it's slight pain, not full blown gout. To neutralize my blood, I drink cherry juice, and I just bought celery seed which I hope to some take day. 

    I know  that guys also suffer with gout when drinking beer. I don't drink alcohol of any type so I don't have this issue. 

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