Welcome To My Blog On GOUT!
My name is Spiro Koulouris and I suffer from gout. Considered one of the most painful of the rheumatic conditions, gout afflicts an estimated 840 out of 100,000 people, accounting for about 5% of all cases of arthritis. As a gout sufferer for over 15 years now, it can be quite a “pain in the toe” in having to deal with this disease or disorder if you prefer.
I remember when I was first diagnosed with it, how shocked and stressed I was, thinking my doctor had made a grave mistake and that I needed a second opinion. Then reality sunk in and my new life began, living with this disease. I remember I was given the drug Colchicine and Allopurinol and was told by my doctor I had to take them for the rest of my life. I recall the diarrhea the Colchicine gave me a few times a day and then stopping to take it and telling my doctor that I’ll only stick to Allopurinol 200mg a day. I rebelled against my doctor’s demands and had become my own doctor, struggling to battle and overtake this disease by experimenting with my prescription drug dosage and eating habits more importantly but to no avail. All I got was more gout attacks.
I’ve bought pill cutters slicing my Allopurinol daily intake to 100 mg and then down to 50 mg without my doctor’s consent, I’ve even stopped it completely thinking I had it beat a couple times with good dieting, only to get an attack and go back to the drawing board trying to figure out what I did wrong, what foods I ate the last several days, what did I drink the last few days and have noticed whenever I get an attack, alcoholic beverages came into play the past few days.
That is my personal gout trigger. Even a glass of wine with my meal but usually I had 2-4 days of drinking a couple of beers, then the next day a glass of wine, nothing like a drinking binge with friends at the local bar or anything like that; just a couple of drinks did the trick for me to get a painful gout attack in my right toe and having my wife yelling at me “You don’t take your pills…What are you, your own doctor?…You like to suffer like that?….Spiro I can’t see you like this!…” and so on.
Psychologically it screws with your mind, being so young and having to deal with this handicap by walking with a cane and limping in embarrassment, having to explain yourself to family and friends what gout is and how you got it. Makes you feel defeated, having friends tell you: “You got rich man’s disease Spiro, cut the burgers and Coke!” It’s true when I got my first gout attack I was 240 pounds, about 50 pounds overweight for a 5’11 guy, eating Big Macs, lots of fries and loved to drink a can of Coca-Cola in the afternoons so the caffeine and sugar can wake me up at work for the final stretch of the day. Little did I know by drinking that can of Coca-Cola, I was swallowing about 9 teaspoons of sugar (about 39 grams), the entire recommended daily sugar intake for men in one day!!!
Many doctors and health practitioners have recently studied and concluded how “fructose corn syrup” may be causing so many health problems for us today. Here’s a great explanation from some fellow at wiki.answers.com:
“Gout is triggered by the presence of crystals of uric acid in your joints. It extremely painful. Many people with gout have high levels of uric acid in their blood stream. Oddly enough some people with gout do not have high levels of uric acid in their blood. Dig deeper.
Fructose is an unusual sugar for humans to eat. We have no system to break down fructose polymers. The only sources of fructose we can use are the simple sugar in fruit or honey and as the molecule combined with glucose as sucrose, ie table sugar. Drenching your metabolism with fructose is a recent innovation for humans. The current preferred sweetener for soft drinks is “high fructose corn syrup”, a product of our dearly beloved food industry in the last thirty years or less.
What happens when you drench you metabolism with fructose?
It enters the metabolic pathway of carbohydrate below its main control step and is immediately converted to fructose-1-phosphate. Quite why evolution has arranged things this way is a mystery, but my suspicion is that evolution does not like free fructose in human metabolism. So drinking a small bucket of cola will put 100gm of fructose in to your liver. This will require a large input of phosphate to for the fructose-1-phosphate, leaving very little for the generation of adenosine tri phosphate (ATP), the primary energy currency of our cells. A lack of ATP triggers activity of the degradation system for adenine and the production of, guess what, uric acid! Gout, and not a serving of kidneys in sight. Until 100 years ago only the rich could afford enough sugar to get gout, now it is a feature of metabolic syndrome and available to all.
Incidentally the fructose has to be “put” somewhere, and that is in to fat for storage, via elevated triglyceride levels in the blood. It causes insulin resistance too. Even the full metabolic syndrome!
In fact, probably the truth is that fructose causes insulin resistance, which may cause gout. The hyperuricaemia and the fact that the joints produce uric acid crystals do not have to be causally related. I’d say they’re not.”
Furthermore, a study published in 2008 by the British Medical Journal found that men who drank 2 or more soft drinks each day carried an 85% higher risk of developing gout than men who drank less than 1 soda a month. So the correlation between soft drinks and gout is very strong my fellow gout sufferer.
There is public enemy #1, sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup. Makes sense, cause whenever I a had a gout attack, I’d have a few Jack Daniels whisky and Cokes a few hours before. But everybody is different for what I’ve researched, gout sufferers all over the world get their attacks eating and drinking different foods & beverages but a common denominator that I’ve noticed from other sufferers is high fructose corn syrup may have caused a lot of damage to kidneys around the world and is the main culprit in this escalating problem where men and women diagnosed with gout has seen a steady increase.
I still take my allopurinol dose every day now at 100 mg to play it safe but I’ve found the right diet plan to keep those uric acid levels low through tons of blood experiments with my body and unfortunately I’ve discovered that since I also suffer from minor thalassemia, I am more prone to higher uric acid levels than the average person without any other conditions. Obviously this is something that is genetic and hard to beat by diet alone for me that is but for you it could be a whole different story.
So welcome, feel free to comment, explore, experiment and tell us your story about living with gout. What triggers it for you, what successes you’ve achieved with your health, what failures have you learned from; I don’ t pretend to know everything and be an expert in gout, so if you have some knowledge about a certain subject on gout, feel free to share it here and debate with each other in the pursuit of knowledge about this disease. At the end, the end result is to finally defeat it and live a healthy life without this disorder.
I hope you enjoy this blog!
59 replies to "Diagnosed with Gout"
My mom was just diagnosed with gout and so far she has only been treated with prednisone. Her specialist had given her these for a month and now she says that’s all she can do But you are stating 2 medicines that would work , so I’ll have to ask her family doctor about those . Her legs and feet have taken a big toll on her life where she has numbness in her feet and legs, with which she suffers a tremendous amount of pain. The doctors these days aren’t listening to her and say that they don’t know shat to do. I’d appreciate any more feedback or meds as well as dirts which will lowers her Utica levels? She does not drink any sodas
Hi Ravinder!
The doctors should know what medication to use in order to treat your mom.
As for diet make sure she can do the following.
Try eating 80% of your daily calories as complex carbohydrates such as fresh vegetables, legumes, some fruit, 100% whole grain breads, pastas and rice. Eat mostly beans for protein.
10% of your daily calories can be protein such as chicken breast, turkey, fish, lean red beef and lamb. Avoid pork, processed meats like sausages and hot dogs, avoid all seafood as well like lobster, shrimp and crab for example.
Finally, eat 10% of your daily calories as fat like milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, eggs and so on. Drink only water, herbal teas and coffee.
Avoid processed foods like snack bars, cookies, cereals etc…
Do not fry your food. Only boil it or bake it in the oven. BBQ meat is fine too.
Cook only with 100% extra virgin olive oil. Do not use corn oil, vegetable oil, canola or other types of oil that are toxic to your health.
Good luck!
I had my first gout attack when I was 28. Noone knew what it was and initially I thought that it was because I was a bit overweight. I am about 6ft and was weighing around 236 lbs. I shook it off as nothing and continued doing what I was inclined to do, Drink a crap load of beer with my mates whenever we had the time and the money. For around 6 years this went on till I had an attack on my knee which was utterly devastating. The pain was something otherwordly, something that would be brought on in the fiery depths. I visited the emergency room (never been done before) and found out that I had very high uric acid (9.6 mg/dL). Long story short after this mammoth flare-up, I’ve since had two very small attacks on my foot.
The first after I guess I suspect after eating two red apples, the other 2 days after drinking 4 beers. The doctor did insist that I take allopurinol (starting 100 mg for the first month, 200 mg for the next month and 300 mg for the 3rd month and see where i stand). I have read testimonies from people that Allopurinol causes acute attacks which are rather aggrevated versions of their non-allopurinol intake counterparts. I am a bit scared and would like to get some advice, should or shouldn’t I take the allopurinol as prescribed. I’m terribly scared of these side effects. Thanks
Yes best you get on allopurinol and it will take about a few weeks before your body adjusts to it and then you should be fine.
After having started allopurinol, how long does it take for an acute attack to occur?
What was your experience with the drug ?
It occurs to some sufferers, I got used to it quickly cause I was in colchicine too in the beginning, so that will help prevent any flare ups. After that your body will get used to it, I only get a rash here and there, no other side effects. I also split my dose into 2. One in the morning and one at night after supper.
Thanks for the info. Is this drug only for a limited time or should it be taken for life ?
And how did you take colchicine with allopurinol, together or as separate doses?
Hi Jonathan!
Allopurinol is usually for life to manage your uric acid levels over the long term.
Colchicine is used when you are in pain and suffering from a gout attack. It gets rid of the inflammation fast.
You take both drugs while trying to get rid of painful inflammation from your attack and allopurinol to get your body’s uric acid levels lowered in order to remain low long term.
Gout is a term used to describe the clinical picture associated with the deposition of urate crystals within different body compartments. Hence, gout can be regarded as a disease of monosodium urate crystal deposition. It is reflected by high urate concentrations in blood, usually exceeding 6.8 mg /dL (404 µmol/l).
Gout has a substantial effect on physical function, productivity, quality of life, and health care costs. Uncontrolled gout is associated with significant use of emergency care services.
Women are less likely to have gout than men, but in the postmenopausal years, the gender difference in disease incidence decreases. Compared with whites, and/or ethnic minorities, especially blacks, have a higher prevalence of gout….(mygenericpharmacy)
Used to get gout twice a year in my toe joint. Woke up one day with slight wrist pain which I assumed was because I had slept awkward, so left it for a week. long story short, end up in ER and after tests finding out it was gout. Never felt pain like it,
didn’t sleep at all for 2 nights.
Anyway, since then I have cut out alcohol,
I do 20 minutes exercise everyday, cut sugar out of my diet completely & generally only eat fresh fruit, fresh veg.
mostly fish & occasional meat, with the result that I feel healthy & alive, have lost weight, sleep fitfully & not had anymore attacks. And at 57 cannot for the life of me figure out why I didn’t do this
20 years ago.
Can PepsiMax cause gout?
Not per se but aspartame can cause cancer, dizziness, headaches, seizures, ADHD, weight gain and other ailments so although it’s sugar free I’d avoid it like the plague. Stick to water, herbal teas and coffee. Cold teas and coffee are good replacements for these artificial beverages.
I have seen a game changer in those suffering from gout. Drinking high mineral alkaline water like Alka Power or AQUAhydrate see some great benefits in controling their gout. This is not a plug but something that may assist. Would like to see some feedback.
Thanks for very good blog. It was very helpful for me.
I have been living with Gout for more then 20 years now.
If it helps anyone, I have been drinking tea of stinging nettle. I live in himalayas and it grows wild here. I just put some fresh leaves in hot water and drink through the day. This has really helped me a lot.
Homeopathy makes it like a medicine from this plant too for removing uric acid from body.
thanks so much for that advice – we have nettles (growing everywhere at the lake) and have dried it for tea but haven’t used it that often. I will be a regular user from now on – and I think the mechanism that helps gout is improvement in the kidneys.
I have had several episodes over last 10 years..was told by one doc had gout but was never advised any medication or treatments. I had previous episodes in both big toes. I am currently for around a month in a come and go flare up in mainly my right foot..for the last week I have gone from being unable to walk,however,I borrowed a walker and gained mobility and today walking with some pain but at least walking. My doc started me on Allopurinol 100 mg around 4 weeks ago..and when did not improve after a month she increased to 300mg day. I started to quit taking it when didn’t seem to be improving but then read your blog..Have Colchcine also but is so expensive had been not taking but started it back a week ago. I am following your recommendation regarding diet..losing weight. I am 67 year old home health nurse who had been trying to work part time to supplement my SS..but have decided to throw in the towel. I am glad to find your blog. One question to ice or not..so many conflicting recommendations. Thanks.
Hi Evelyn!
Thank you for sharing your story!
To answer your question, you can ice it, warm or cold soothes the muscles. My topical cream, provides cold relief, so if you prefer icing it you can. What you also do is soak your foot in warm water twice a day with Epsom Salt as well.
Good luck!
Hi there fellows,
Couple of weeks ago I was attacked by GOUT. It wasn’t the First time though. My First attack was occurred in 2011 and then suffered frequently for a while then it was gone. All those times I was cured
within a week with medication and with out or something but this time it took me more than 2 weeks. The interesting part is that, I follow VEGAN diet. I don’t drink and smoke at all. The reason why I am writing this message to seek some expert advice regarding how to get rid off the swelling thing on my left toe. I have taken only anti inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen).
I want to get rid of swollen thing permanently with natural remedies.
Must appreciate it in advance for your valuable advice.
Cheers.
LAXMI
https://www.antiagingmedicine.com/treatments/ozone-therapy
Shallenberger knows his stuff.
One ozone injection reduced the size of the crystal on my toe by at least 60%.
The ozone and vegan diet help, but the uric acid is still there.
Help – I have gout in my elbows – right now the last attack does not seem to be going away no matter what I take for meds or eat. I have tried Coldricine, Prednisone, Celebrex, Alieve and others. I do drink lots of carbonated water each day and my wife thinks I should stop that so I will as of today. But just curious as to any other relief you may offer. It seems to affect just my left elbow this time however in the past has been both. My doc has drained it to relieve the puffiness but it comes back to a large awkward looking state.
Hi Eric!
Rough! If meds can’t help your elbow then I would suggest visiting a rheumatologist and get a 2nd opinion. I’d drink mineral or alkaline water instead of carbonated. And drink plenty every single day! Try skipping any type of meat completely for at least a month and see what happens. Try and just eat vegetables, beans, whole grain breads, pastas and rice only. There are plenty of delicious recipes you can find online or in my ebook. Also avoid all sugar for 30 days as well. I know it is hard to do but this might actually help you. Good luck!
Hi Spiro!
Being a long term sufferer from the dreaded gout, i thought it about time i got it sorted as it’s made my life a misery for the last several years.
If you can offer any suggestions to alleviate this condition that i have not tried, i would greatly appreciate it.
Having initlialy been prescribed Indometacin by my GP several years ago, the medication appeared to control the pain if it was treated at the onset of the tingle in the big toe. The condition would eventually subside after a week or so, but would return after about 6 months, would return.
After several more visits to the GP over the next few years and trying Colchicine, Naproxen and others that i have forgotten about, the bouts of gout are now re-occurring every other week or so.
I have also tried cherries/ juice/ concentrates, lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda, stinging nettle juice, cider vinegar, various B vitamin supplements, all to no avail
The GP previously had prescribed Allupurinol, which would help ,but on taking it, i experienced the worst gout i have ever had.
I am now reluctant to take Alluprinol, but have been told that this can only be taken between bouts of gout, which since October 2016 , have not arisen.
My diet is very basic, fish, rice,chicken, vegetables and fruit, no red meat,no shellfish, I do not drink beer any more , neither red wine, and drink lots of water daily.
Apologies for going on a bit, but possibly one of your other sufferers have also gone down this route.
Kind regards,
Gerry
Hi Gerald!
Stick to the dietary and lifestyle advice in this website and my ebook. Eat 80% of your daily calories as complex carbs like vegetables, legumes, beans, nuts, whole grain breads, pastas and rices. 10% of your daily calories should be lean meats like chicken breast, turkey, fish and some red meat. The final 10% of your daily calories should consist of fat in milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, butter…
Drink only water, tea and some coffee. No alcohol or sugary beverages whatsoever.
Limit your sugar intake to 25 grams a day max. So little fruit and avoid all these processed snacks. While you are at it, avoid processed meats and food at the grocery store. Learn to eat fresh foods as grown from the earth and you will see an improvement in your health.
I think the basic problem with gout is that most people don’t understand how simple it is to get treatment. Also if you are not having gout attacks doesnt mean your gout isn’t progressing. It might be actually lurking behind. The analogy on following link should be able to help people to understand why taking treatment for gout is necessary in long term.
I can probably give advice to really bad long term sufferers of what they don’t tell you and what you can do, it’s important to understand that probably at the end of this message I will be told this will do this and this will do that to you, so from someone who was described in the UK in London by the main Arthritis specialist, he said this is the worse case of gout I have ever seen and the worse deformities, I have pictures but would be embarrassed to show them, so this is for gout sufferers that really have a problem, my first attack was at 29, I was a semi pro footballer and very fit.
I will not bore you with all the stories about the tablets they told you to take like colchicine and all those they prescribe as they are a waste of time, I have tried every diet and if you read what they all say the fact is you would conclude that you can’t really eat or drink anything, no diet has ever helped me, I am now 59 and on my way to a reasonable life without being in a wheel chair which is where I would have been 5 years ago had I not found a way to treat it and deal with it.
At 29 I had my first attack, at that point I should have been tried on allopurinol but the doctor was not really knowing much about this so we are talking 1989, after 7 more years of getting the odd bad attack I saw a specialist and they put me on allopurinol my reaction was 6 weeks without being able to walk properly, so I gave it up and was told there was nothing else, so for the next 23 years I put up with the pain and slowly my hands, feet, knees, elbows blew up, I could not wear shoes anymore, my hands were the worst and people stared at me that I did not know, I eventually brought a holiday home in Montenegro and one day I had an unbelievable attack on my elbow it blew up and burst as big as a tennis ball, the white uric acid poured out, I went to the hospital and they gave me an injection in my bum with a cocktail of drugs of which I know it contained 3mg of Dexason what its called here and some Dicoflenic and a infection drug, within 2 hours I was able to move.
This happened to me over the next few years at least twice a year in the finger, in the foot, my body was oozing out pure uric acid, I got to the point that I really thought I would be in a wheelchair and other thoughts as you can imagine, then one day when I had the injection the nurse said to me why don’t you but some Dexason in tablets and when you feel an attack coming on take one of .5mg and a 100mg Diclofenic and for the first time in my life I had some sort of control over this.
I then went back to the UK to see a specialist and it happened to be the same one I had seen all those years ago and he remembered me as one of his youngest ever patients, he told me there were a few new drugs on the market one was an American drug called pegu something and he said but I can only get it after we have exhausted all other routes, there is another drug on the market called Febuxostat but I can’t see that it will do much as you as so bad the worse I have ever seen, he called all the doctors in to look at me, so I started taking the drug and after 2 years not much but my uric acid levels were now down to normal.
I was told, I could get the new miracle drug as it was expensive for a 6 month course at 27,000 pounds, after a few weeks they wrote to me that the company supplying the drug has gone bust and the same drug from America was 160,000 pounds; yes you are hearing that correct and I have it in an email from him, unbelievable I know.
Now after 5 years on Febuxostat which I eat drink what I want including alcohol, I am now at the point I have use back and slowly, I am getting back to some sort of normality, still taking my Dexason only when needed in a .5mg form, I know the doctors will say or this side effect it does this it does that I know what it is but if you offered me 10 years of my life or to take this drug then I would take the drug and lose 10 years of my life, so for those of you who think there is nothing out there trust me there is, never was I once told about this drug in the UK, the one other thing I left out was when you think that your gout has gone away in the early years, it has not its still going in to your joints to cause you problems later in life, I noticed it after playing golf my feet ached and that was the gout but at the time I did not know it, hope this helps someone out there and good luck!
[…] Gout Diagnosis Criteria […]
Do I have gout? I am a female, about 5 ft. 6 in. I only weigh about 125 pounds. Urine in the blood. The test came back with high uric acid levels. Although I have pain, it’s not in my feet, ankles, etc.
Great article!!! I’m 36 years old and had my first gout attack 2 years ago. My ankle swelled up and felt like a bad sprain. It took several trips to a few doctors before they could figure out what it was. I altered my diet temporarily until it went away. After a month or so of being careful, I was back to my old lifestyle. Beers a couple days a week and a lot of proteins and red meats. A couple things I do have going for me are that I never drink soda, and I drink about 8-10 bottles of water a day. So I’m good on the whole dehydration issues.
So nearly 2 years go by and no signs of issues. Until 2 months ago. Another attack, same foot, but this time the ball of my foot and big toe. I’ve significantly decreased my beer drinking as well as red meats. I’ve been eating hummus and a lot of dairy based proteins such as yogurt. While the foot has gotten better, (and I am on colchicine), and it gets to about 100% for a few days and then it flares up very slightly after I go for a walk. So it’s really difficult for me to get my exercise as I do need to drop about 30 lbs. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Thanks for your comment Jason!
Try and do some weight-lifting while you wait for your foot to heal. I recommend biking instead of running, it less harsh on your feet, if you prefer cardiovascular exercise.
Hi Spiro, I had high gamma t in my liver tests so decided to help it with ACV. A week later I sudddenly had gout for the first time. I have read that some drugs breakdown the Uric acid crystals and I wonder if any one else has experienced those?
Hi there people,
This year I had my first gout attack and thank you god it was not that terrible. Right now I´m 24 years old and the week before I got the gout, I felt like tingle on my ankles and that feeling starts after meals (meals with meat), then I thought that something was wrong and did a blood analysis and guess what? 9mg/dL of uric acid.
Then, after a weak I saw how my hands and big toe get bigger and having the flesh hot.
After that I did a huge lookup about uric acid and diet to avoid bad food for me. Three months passed and the feeling on my toe and hands return, it was like having little needles under my skin. 9.5 of uric acid…
After that the uric acid start depositing in my knees and that causes me to walk like a 90 years old person for a week straight!
Right now I´m kind of depressed eventhough I did not have a gout attack since 2 months ago and I don’t want to take febuxostat for the rest of my life (I´m allergic to allopurinol).
I used to do a lot of sports and since March I left the gym, lost 6kg (12pounds) of muscle and got depressed…
Does anybody have something to say or share with me?
jo.echeagaray@gmail.com
Excellent post.
I have had gout for many years now but have been free of a full on attack for over 2 years because of one simple quick fix that I discovered. Works like a charm.
We all know the pregout feeling that emerges in either our feet or hands. As soon as I feel this feeling, I take 2 advil and 2-3 vitamins E pills. The next day it’s gone.
Sometimes, like last night, I recognized the gout quite late and I thought that I was in for another nasty ride. My left toe was hurting like crazy but i could still walk on it. So I took the 2 & 3 pills as above and today it is all but gone.
2 advil and 2-3 vitamins E pills. Works every time. No expensive meds, no real side effects. One still needs to change ones diet and get plenty of exercise.
Be healthy.
This recommendation or fix from Charles on August 22, 2016 has solved the issue for me and some of my friends with gout disease.
My wife, a senior GP; diagnosed my goute disease when I thought I had a tendon injury. She was right! Since 2014 I had my first “injury”, in 2017 I was formally diagnosed.
I changed my diet and stayed away from all processed meat including chorizo. I am reluctant to take medicine if I can avoid it, during my last flare up; it took me weeks when I could hardly walk. Then I decided to look for forums and chat rooms to see if someone had found a way to deal with gout disease.
Charles, thank you. I have taken your advise and it works every time:
I take one Ibuprofen for the inflametion with 2-3 vitamins E pills and a huge glass of water. For me it also works every time. No expensive meds, no real side effects.
As Charles says “One still needs to change ones diet and get plenty of exercise.”
Vitamin E is an antioxidant vitamin that reduces inflammation. Gout attacks are caused by deposits of uric acid crystals that form in joint spaces and the pain comes from the body’s response to these crystals. When uric acid crystals form, white blood cells enter the area and release chemicals that cause inflammation and pain. Vitamin E is a great gout medicine because it reduces inflammation and may help to prevent joint damage during a gouty flare.
See further information in these two links:
https://www.evitamins.com/a/win-gout-against-bout-naturally-25
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_E
Things i know that set gout off are low dose aspirin mushrooms, real Ales, home made beer, liver, eating too much high protein foods and foods high in B vitamins. According to reports, diet cola does not bring on gout. It does! I know this. It dehydrates you to not drinking enough water given away by yellow pee brings on gout, if you don`t get hydrated. Diet cola dehydrates you. I get attacks on both big toe joints and sometimes on the areas behind the other toes, extending up the foot. The only pain relief and it`s limited is Naproxeen. Icy salted water in a basin helps. Cherries don`t work. Tried this, the dark ones too. No use at all. Curry rich in Turmeric helps a bit. Avoid orange juice of any kind and vitamin supplements which will make a bad situation worse.
I was recently diagnosed with gout…had the blood test and my uric acid levels were high…I have been following your suggestions in the book….I had a recheck of my uric acid levels after 2 weeks of following the gout diet…I don’t know the results yet but I do feel a lot better…thanks for writing the book…it is helpful in my quest to manage gout
As a gout sufferer I have been told to cut down on my alcohol and beer. is it safe to drink non alcoholic beer?
Many thanks
Hi Neil!
There is no issue with non-alcoholic beer, so go ahead and enjoy some.
I too have gout I’ve been told that it is a result of anti rejection drug cyclosporine I’ve been on fo 30+ years. I usually get it in my ankles and toes but why are the balls of my feet so affected? The attacks last anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks I’ve been in motorcycle wrecks that haven’t been as painful NOTHING seems to work for me other than laying around the house like a stuffed trout and waiting fir it to run its course. I don’t drink to excess but when I have a beer or a glass of whiskey my wife will (bless her ladies Christian temperance union) heart remind me that I’ll get gout I’m going to try to stop drinking completely and see how that works
Gout started for me three years ago. The first attack was horrible. It lasted two weeks. Completely disappear then started again three months ago. I tried everything to treat it, I tried cutting booze and steak and all the purine rich foods that the doctor told me to. Nothing worked. I finally took a medicine called Cochisine, instant success. Since then I have not altered my diet, heavy booze and me and high purine foods. This does not make it come back. I do not think there is any cause for gout that we can identify. I love you all, and I sympathize, and empathize
Hi John, some personal sharing here. I read articles title “To Those Having Gout Problem” mentioned that a special gout remedy call gout papaya green tea extract extremely good to help cure gout issue. See the article at:
it is good to read that people don’t want to take medicines with bad side effects which don’t heal you. Good.
Yes let food be your medicine!
My input here is that the right type of medicinal herbs will speed up your healing process.
Hello everyone. Good to find this blog, I’m at my wits end. I’ve been having Gout attacks on and off for about 5 years now. I have refused to take the medication because of potential side effects. The last doc visit for Gout ended in tears and a cortisol shot. I am not afraid to say that I cried because I was in severe pain and depressed about my inability to keep up with my children. I’ve tried to diet and excersize but its difficult to find the time with three kids. Today I had a fever associated with my attack. Flu like symptoms only come on when I get really inflamed. I think is was a lack of water,and I started a water app to keep up with my hydration. I started it three days ago and so far im up to 146oz a day. I’ve done plenty of research on this subject and only found foods high in purines are the culprit. I find it interesting that fructose is a contributor. I grew up on coke with meals.I really believe stress is part of this too. I didnt start having attacks until the recession and construction layoffs. I also find it interesting that folks have crusty ears. I also have had slight crust on my ear, and severe dryness on my nose. My questions are why crusty skin? Does it worsen with stress? Mine does. Are my kidneys going to fail if I dont take Alpurinol? Are there side effects to Alpurinol? Im applying for a new job that will hopefully bring stability and lower my stress.
Hi , ive suffered from chronic gout since i was 22 , i am now 43.
There wasnt a day where i would see something that would help my issue.
Most didnt work , i have read that hypothyroidism might be a trigger, i have to get more info before i can give you an honest reply.
I am half Greek , Ukrainian, Polish , i am thinking my Greek side may have something to do with it.
I have been bouncing up and down with my weight and think my attacks are closely related, i stay very fit and my diet is lets say normal .
I have tried all the usual drugs most dont work, allopurinol is an option but what ive heard about side affects im skeptical.
I am interested in the relationship with fructose and gout, i do find that could hold water in very controlled tests , i would be curious to see how the results would be.
I did have an idea , i wonder how uric acid holds up to low level electricity treatments, i mean it is an acid and can be broke down……something to think about anyways.
Best of luck to everyone in the fight.
Gary Palichuk
Hello Gary I´m 24 years old and my uric acid issue starts this year in March.
I don´t really have bad-painful gout attacks but the uric acid was storing in my hands, between my knuckles, like small liquid bagsm then near to my elbows and finally near to my knees. I´m sad.
I will start a threatment with febuxostat.
I saw that you have hypothyroidism and I´m wondering if that could be related to uric acid. I have an uncle and a cousin with that but seems that I don´t or I don´t know…
Would be awesome if we can chat via email.
jo.echeagaray@gmail.com
I ve had one gout attack in my toe and dr put me on allopurinol 100 but it’s been. 2 mos and no gout attacks but I’m itching all over tearing up my skin I’ve opted for tart cherry extract in lieu of allopurinol
I started getting gout at the age of 23 and was told it was an old mans disease but having hypothyroidism at 17 I’ve heard all that before. i stopped taking the tablets at 25 after i realised it was my large intake of cola that was responsible. sometimes drinking up to 2lts a day! I had classic symptoms of my big toe swelling and white acid lumps forming on the grisal of my ears. sometime the swelling would extend to my whole foot and ankle. I still drink the occassional cola but rarely have an attack unless i over do it then i regret it in the morning. My cola habit did mess me up somewhat when i was younger gout, weight problems, lost enamal on teeth. Im glad gout put a stop to it or i would probably be diabetic by now at 35.
David the ear crystals statement you made shocked me! I am currently suffering from a hour attack for a few weeks now. It seems to be bouncing around my body like a pinball. Both elbows the both ankles and both toes. Anyways I have noticed a lot of weird crusties in my ears and could figure it out. Do you know for sure it’s linked to gout?
I just had my first attack of gout yesterday, and I’ll echo what you have said–it’s the worst pain I’ve ever had, and that includes comparing it to 3 childbirths, a couple of broken bones, and plenty of athletic related injuries. I’m not a wimp at all. I’m a 51 yr old white female, 5’8, 130#, physically active, not a big drinker, so you can imagine my shock when I hobbled into the after-hours clinic last night and got this diagnosis. I consume plenty of dairy, and the only markers I can see that I have is frequently eating red meat, and drinking soda with high fructose corn syrup. I’m still trying to process this and figure out what to do to minimize any future attacks. Look forward to seeing what I can learn from your experience.
I had my first and only gout attack about 6 years ago. My grandfather had severe Gout and would be laid up for months as I recall. I believe he had it in his toe and knees. My first gout attack was the worst pain I had ever experienced. I have had broken bones, dislocated shoulders, sprained ankles, knee reconstruction after tearing my ACl, auto and motorcycle accident. NONE of those injuries compared anything, in terms of pain, to gout. I remembered going to the ER after several hours of pain, hobbling in on my crutches, with the blood flowing down to my toe! Excruciatingly painful…The nurse asked me how I would rate my pain on a scale of 1 to 10? I told her beyond 10…10+…
Now fast forward 6 years- After I was diagnosed with Gout, I was horrified because I new what awaited me- I felt doomed and remembered all the pain my grandfather went through! Unfortunately, my grandfather didn’t have access to the internet! I began to research everything about gout; here has what has helped me keep gout in remission:
1. I used to take a daily aspirin regiment for heart protection. Found out aspirin is a BIG NO NO! Stopped using aspirin.
2. I drink a quart of pure black cherry juice about every 2 weeks. I dilute the cherry juice with water to make it last longer.
3. I take 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar every morning. No the acid in vinegar is not related to uric acid. Just the opposite.
4. I do not eat a lot of shell fish or tuna! Very moderate amounts maybe once a month.
5. Increased my exercise by cycling at least 3 or 4 times a week.
6. Increased my fruit intake.
7. Now this will shock you- I continue to drink beer in pretty substantial amounts and during the past 6 years, by making the above changes, NO GOUT ATTACK.
Now this I will try – I am getting a bit upset at all the sites that basically just say “we are not 100% sure if beer causes gout but stop anyway because alcohol is bad” that is just a cop out from health nuts 🙂 lol
Hopefully your suggestions work for me – I feel that my gout is related to lack of water as I always drink beer with no issue but when I have an extra, extra big night with no water that is when it kicks in…
How old are you and why were you taking aspirin exactly ?
I’ve been one of the test rabbits for these guys: , 4 years ago. The gave me a 3-weeks diet and told me what to avoid. That was nearly identical with your advises. After that diet I didn’t have any gout attack, and I started to eat and drink again … It was all about food, and no medication.
Great to hear Dr.Olaf! It is all about food and that’s what people don’t realize, it’s so simple but yet we complicate things always looking for a cure-all remedy instead.
Hello, I am a long time sufferer of gout. I would say attacks off and on for years not knowing what it was. I thought it was just getting old with arthritis. Boy was I wrong. Had a big attack in both knees that has crippled me to the point that I can’t walk. Just can’t straighten my legs. Trying to heal myself naturally and have to say that it has helped. I have had gout all over my body but due to good diet, no sugar, losing weight I’ve eliminated gout everywhere but my knees. Anybody experience this long time thing with the knees?
[…] My story with gout […]
[…] My bout with gout […]
[…] Diagnosed with gout […]
[…] Diagnosed with gout? […]
[…] Read Spiro’s personal story about his battle with gout […]