What Are Your Options To Treat Gout?
So you’ve suffered a gout attack and now you want to learn what to do to stop it or you have been suffering from gout and want to know all of your options that are available to treat the high uric acid levels so you avoid another painful gout attack. Well the gout treatments that are available to you are as follows:
Treatments and gout medications that are available to you during a gout attack
- Use a cold pack of ice or cold compresses and put it on your affected joint for about 20 to 30 minutes. This will lower the inflammation and lessen the pain. Repeat as often as you like.
- Definitely rest the affected joint, that means don’t put too much weight on it. If it’s on the toe or foot area, avoid walking, this will speed up your recovery. If you are going to walk try and use a cane for some support.
- Take 800 mg Ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin) three or four times daily or 25 to 50 mg Indomethacin (Indocin) four times daily to relieve symptoms and stop treatment after pain has been resolved. This may take the edge off. Other similar types include Sulindac (Clinoril), Celecoxib (Celebrex), or Meloxicam (Mobic)
- Drink a lot of water while suffering from an attack at least 12 glasses in a day in order to stabilize uric acid levels to a normal level. Some folks will add apple cider vinegar or even baking soda in water that may help control uric acid levels a little quicker. Other gout patients may have also experienced pain relief by eating a lot of cherries.
- Watch what you eat since you are at a very sensitive point. Try and eat no meat and make sure to not drink any alcoholic beverage and no foods or beverages high in sugar.
- If you visit a doctor, most likely he will treat you with NSAIDs like corticosteroids which will either be injected in the affected joint or given for you to take orally to get rid of the pain.
- A doctor’s most effective choice will be colchicine (Colcrys) which can be given in combination with NSAIDs. If you experience side effects with anti-inflammatory painkillers, colchicine can do the job in getting rid of your gout pain within a few days. The recommended dose is about 0.5 mg two to four times a day depending on your age, weight and health. Watch out because colchicine does cause nausea, diarrhoea and sometimes vomiting. It’s very important your doctor starts you off with a low dose to see how you react to it and only then increase it higher.
Treatments and gout medications that are available to you to prevent future gout attacks
- Again your doctor may prescribe colchicine for you for life to keep uric acid levels in check.
- The most popular prescribed drug for preventing gout attacks and keeping uric acid levels in the normal range is allopurinol (Lopurin, Zyloprim). Remember allopurinol has no effect whatsoever during a gout attack and it is not a painkiller. It takes about two to three months to become effective and you need to take it everyday usually for the remainder of your life. When you first take allopurinol, it can sometimes cause you a gout attack. This is because it may cause the level of uric acid to rise slightly before it falls. For this reason it is not normally started during a gout attack. Your doctor may prescribe you this if you have suffered from two or more attacks within a year, suffer from tophi, joint or kidney damage due to gout or kidney stones. Your doctor may prescribe you anywhere between 100 mg to 300 mg a day. You’ll need to take repeated blood tests every year to make sure your urate level is low.
- Febuxostat (Uloric) is for gout patients who have problems taking allopurinol and works the same way as allopurinol by keeping uric acid levels normal. The main difference is that febuxostat is broken down in the liver so it’s particularly effective for gout patients who have kidney problems. Your doctor will usually prescribe you anywhere between 80 mg to 120 mg a day.
- Other uric acid lowering drugs include Uricosuric drugs, which include Sulfinpyrazone, Benzbromarone and Probenecid (Benemid), work by flushing out more urate than normal through the kidneys. Again these are alternative drugs that are used if allopurinol isn’t effective for you.
- There is a new kid on the block called Pegloticase approved by the FDA in 2010 which lowers uric acid levels and is injected into a vein every two weeks. For now this drug is only used for severe cases which haven’t improved with any of the standard treatments mentioned above.
- A 2009 study showed that vitamin C may help you keep uric acid levels lower and reduce the risk of developing gout. In the study those subjects that took 1500 mg of vitamin C a day experienced a 45% lower risk of gout compared to subjects who only took 250 mg in a day.
Don’t forget about lifestyle changes once you are diagnosed with gout. They are just as important as the medication prescribed to you if not even more important to make sure your condition doesn’t worsen.
A diet rich in complex carbohydrates that includes fresh fruits, vegetables, whole wheat breads and pastas and whole grain rices should consist of the majority of your daily calories whereas fats like milk, cheese, butter and eggs as well as protein like meats, fish and poultry should be limited to 10% of each (20% both) of your daily caloric intake for optimal uric acid levels. This will ensure your joints don’t break down in years to come and your gout doesn’t develop into tophi or other deadly but related diseases like diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
21 replies to "Gout Treatments"
[…] Gout Treatments at Home […]
Mixing ACV with baking soda ok to take for gout?
Yes Glen it’s fine. Check the posts on ACV and Baking Soda.
What about indomethacin?
Indomethacin works by reducing hormones that cause inflammation and pain in the body. Indomethacin is used to treat pain or inflammation caused by gout. It’s part of the NSAIDs family. It is definitely another gout treatment.
Hello,
I am suffering from gout for two years now, I understand the symptoms and there are doctors ready to treat. Diet is one thing that we can always refer to from you book. However any anomaly in the body has to have a permanent fix. Just treating or trying to avoid by changing eating habits is not the answer. What is the cure of this, have you come across any general or studies that talk about cure. I have tried searching this but never found any. Here is India there is alternate medicine which is very known and popular as “Homeopathy”. However even that is long term medicine, don’t know if that will fix the issue. Can you advise a cure or any such studies?
Extremely difficult Sagar. How do you cure a kidney that doesn’t work properly? Probably get new kidneys. All you can do is take medication that suppresses it and keeps that symptoms of inflammation and swelling away.
A combination of a proper gout diet as outlined in this website and book, lifestyle changes and supplementation like NutriGout to help cleanse the liver and kidneys can go a long way though and you will live longer. Many of the ingredients used in NutriGout are used in India as part of a homeopathic treatment. If I had a cure, I’d be on the cover of Time magazine : )
I’ve had gout for ever. Found relief by taking burdock root capsules two-three times a day after making a tea from the capsules by using four caps each time, three times a day. Stopped all the pain and stiffness, now I stay on three caps a day, for three weeks off for a week, then back on, then check uric acid level in blood and adjust amount of burdock root from there.
[…] evidence that it’s really that harmful. But why not be drug-free during your pregnancy? For other gout treatments make sure to also read my post on the […]
I’m so glad to have found your website! I’ve been having horrible trouble with gout, despite big dietary changes. I appreciate having a source of good information.
[…] Different gout treatments […]
Hi Spiro, I am a medical doctor working offshore. I’ve been suffering from chronic gouty arthritis for several years. I’m in my work now, unfortunately I accidentally forgot to bring all my gout medicines, Arcoxia, Medrol, Colchicine and Fibuxostat, now I have a terrible flare and the clinic doesn’t have much stock of pain medicine except foe Ibuprofen which doesn’t work on me… It’s been like hell and I cannot do anything.
Im 36 years old and have tried everything gout is and has destroyed my life, I take a shot every night for it also, need help
Dear Mr Kouloris
Thanks so much for writing this blog on gout. I am happy that at least now I have very good references with regards to our mutual problem.
If I may, I would like to share with you my experience.
I was diagnosed with gout in 2006 (I was 25 at that time). It started when I injured my left ankle during an indoor-soccer match. When the pain didn’t go for 2 weeks, I was referred to an orthopedic specialist and he did the blood test on me…and yes he discovered the uric acid level was unusually high. So starting from there on, I was prescribed with allopurinol (150 mg/day) to control the uric acid level. But I stopped taking it completely by 2009, and resorted to controlling my diet. From there on until 2012, I experienced gout attack but it was not frequent, maybe 2-3 times/year. In 2012, I was diagnosed with brain tumor (meningioma) requiring immediate medical attention and surgery. I went for the surgery in November 2012, and starting from there my gout problem is getting worse, like for now, I’ll be getting gout attack on average once a week! I have with me colchicine all the times just to survive, and yes I’m in the process of losing some weight now (I gain on the pounds post-surgery, my BMI is all time high at 30.5). I hope I will be motivated in my fight against gout by reading your blog posts.
If you have any advice for me now, what would that be?
Thanks again and please keep on writing.
Hi Kamalhafez!
You definitely need to lose the weight and motivate yourself to go back to your ideal weight. This starts with a proper diet, you can follow the gout dietary tips from my blogs posts, Pinterest which has many recipes, my eBook Gout and You: The Ultimate Gout Diet & Cookbook. A gout diet to keep uric acid levels in check should consist of 80% complex carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables, whole wheat grains like bread, pasta, oatmeal, basmati rice (since is the lowest on the glycemic index). Then 10% should be protein like red meat, poultry, lamb and fish and 10% fat like cheeses, milk, eggs, butter….Drink nothing but water 90% of the time, to flush out excess uric acid from the blood, avoid alcohol, I miss it, but hey your life is more important! Do not drink soft drinks or fruit juices high in sugar, it’s going to get you in trouble. Follow these dietary gout tips and you will see results fast!
[…] Top gout treatments […]
Hi Spiro
I enjoy reading your emails as I suffer from tophi gouty rheaumatoid arthritis. I have had surgeris on hands twice, feet twice, elbows once but need to go again. Knees get done arthroscopic surgery every year.
I am unable to take any of the medications ax I am allergic to all of them. I try alternative medicines but they only work for a little while. I am taking Talwin for pain every 4 -6 hrs. When I do go into an attack, I start with 40 – 60mg of prednisone then start lowering the dose for a few days.
I would like to know if you have further information on Burdock Root. If so, I would appreciate anything you may have.
P.S.
I purchased your book Gout & You: gout Diet Cookbook. Have just started reading it, so willsoon start the diet.
Thank you
Regards
Janna Oleszkowicz
Yes Janna, please follow my gout diet plan to lower uric acid levels, it sounds like you would have to cut meat entirely from your diet and simply eat complex carbohydrates, foods that burn clean and are easily broken down not causing any extra work on your kidneys. You must drink nothing else but water and some tea or milk. No juices or alcohol. I have a link of where to buy burdock root supplement online in the COMMENTS section of that post. Just click on the link and it will redirect you to the website that sells Burdock root. Uric acid levels will fall with my diet plan, question is how much since you suffer from tophi and it seems you suffer from gout at the highest end of the scale.
Great info, thanks much. I’m on my second day of Indomethacin, I’ll let you know if it works…I’m surely hoping.
V/r, John
Thank you for this info. This is my second bout with gout. I had one mild attack in 2013. This one has been a doozy and it’s going on 3 weeks of swelling and pain. I’m glad I saw you info about beefing up water in-take to about 12 glasses per day and trying not to eat meat during this time. Please keep info coming. Very informative! THANK YOU!
I recently had a Gout Attack and started taking ACV and within a few days felt much better.
I blame myself because prior to this attack I was taking my ACV daily and then started to take less of it until I was not taking it at all. I promised my girlfriend that I will take my ACV at least twice a day with baking soda.I want to thank Mr.Spiro for the information he sends out. I hope this information helps other Gout sufferers.