Anyone for Gout?

[Gordon Booth]

If so you can have mine!
I woke up this morning and it felt like someone had dropped a load of bricks on the duvet directly over my foot.
Couldn't stand so edged around the bed and grabbed the wife's frame so I could hop to the loo.
Hopped to the kitchen to make some tea.
Problem- have you ever tried to hold two cups of tea in one hand, push a frame with the other and hop on one leg?
Don't, by the time I got to the kitchen door there wasn't much tea left. Had to think of another cunning plan.
Apparently it's a side effect of taking diuretics for years(they never warn you do they?). The joy is you can't take medication to stop you getting it until you haven't got it- it would make it worse.
Every bone in my foot hurts- and there are a lot of bones in a foot!
So short of having my foot off or standing in front of a firing squad anyone got any suggestions to ease it?

[Margaret Pilkington]

Thanks for the offer Gordon, but I'll pass on the gout.
Firstly have you seen your doctor?
If you have what has he prescribed?
Has this made the problem better(even a little bit)
If you haven't seen the doc then you need to......he can prescribe something specific for the condition.
I feel for you. My dad had what his doctor called 'mild' gout.....if that was mild i wouldn't care to see the severe kind......the pain made him cantankerous and there were times when it made him cry....even walking past his foot would cause him pain...or at least that is what he said.
I hope your foot feels better soon.

[Margaret Pilkington]

self help treatment for you to try......
Cold applied to the joint....wrap frozen peas in a towel and place them very gently onto the joint.....only leave these in place for about 20 minutes(repeat during the day)...cold can injure tissues...after all you don't want to cure your gout by having your big toe fall off from frostbite.

Keep the bedclothes off the affected foot by using a cardboard box to keep the weight of the bedclothes off your foot.
Take ibuprofen or some other NSAID....seek advice from the pharmacy to check it is permitted with any other meds you might be taking.
Elevate the affected foot.

[Retlaw]

So thats whats up wi my feet, I've been taking them ****ing pills for years, my feet feel like lumps o lead and I have no idea when the touch ground when I'm walking except I'm not fallin oer, but I do get a bit dizzy at times, face ache keeps on about me shuffling about, and gets ratty when I say how the ell am I gonna get there then.

[DtheP47]

See your GP Gordon.
He will test you for the purines and uric acid crystals in your system that cause it.

Indometacin for the pain management.
Allopurinol to prevent further attacks.
Keeping yourself hydrated also helps.
Works for me.

[JCB]

Drink plenty of cherry juice .

[Gordon Booth]

I've been to the doctors, Margaret, it was he who said he couldn't start medication until it went- said it would give me a really bad attack. Had a blood test, the gout came back before I could see the doctor so I'm a bit stuck!
Heavens, Retlaw, both feet at once ? How do you manage, I'd have to learn to float! It's not just lumps of lead, is it? It's molten lead.
The doctor mentioned those, DtheP, but I'm stuck until it goes.
Cherry juice? Is that Cherry Bee?
Actually I'm wondering if alcohol does make it worse. I had 2 or 3 last night(well I stop counting at three, don't feel as guilty) and from painful yesterday it went to agony this morning.
Can't bear the thought of signing the pledge so I'll try the frozen peas!

[Alan Varrechia]

I get it in both feet and right knee, Only been unlucky enough to get it in all 3 a couple of times but when it happens I'm usually stuck in bed for the duration. I'm on Allopurinol And those seem to do the trick. When I do get it I take a couple of Ibuprofen with a Couple of Paracetamol and that does ease it somewhat.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Yes, allopurinol is usually the drug used to reduce the formation of crystals.
Foods to avoid are liver...and other offal, marmite, anything fermented with yeast(so beer is out but whisky is OK or at least that is what the physician Dr Lyons used to tell his patients)....game is off the menu too...seafood and oily fish should be avoided too.
Avoid mushrooms, beans and lentils,asparagus and cauliflower as these have higher levels of purines...the stuff that causes the crystals to form in the joint.
And Micheal is right Natural cherry juice(not Cherry B) does seem to have beneficial effects, though I am not sure if drinking this will alleviate your current pain....DtheP is also right about staying well hydrated.

You can take paracetamol and nurofen(or something like that) together because they have different modes of action....and the best way to take them is regularly...not wait until the pain gets severe.
Sometimes steroids are used to damp down the inflammation.

[Hill Walker]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

You can take paracetamol and nurofen(or something like that) together because they have different modes of action....and the best way to take them is regularly...not wait until the pain gets severe.
Sometimes steroids are used to damp down the inflammation.

I would not normally query the advice of someone who has medical experience but are there not problems with taking Paracetamol regularly. I thought it went for the liver (or some other organ) and did irreversible damage, hence the sales of it being limited to 16 doses.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I am not advocating taking more than eight tablets per 24 hour period.
It isn't the regular use of paracetamol which is the problem it is exceeding the stated dose.

People think that paracetamol is an very mild drug because you can buy it at the supermarkets....but taken at the recommended dose of two 500mg tablets at eight hourly intervals, it has the pain killing power of 10mgs(normal dose) of morphine.
Pain killing medications need to be taken at regular intervals to ensure that the blood levels remain constant to do the job you want them to do...get rid of the pain.

However, you should be seeking medical advice if you still need regular pain relief after 3 days..... I think most practitioners would suggest this regimen of pain relief for something like gout...which is really a form of arthritis caused by the build up of Uric acid crystals from the metabolism of purine containing foods.

The sales of paracetamol were limited to packs of 16 because people were using it to overdose on.....and once an overdose(of very few over the normal limit - as few as 11) is taken it can cause death, and liver failure is not a pleasant way to die.
When taking paracetamol, it is also prudent to ensure no other medications you are taking contain paracetamol, as this can cause an accidental overdose.

As with ALL over the counter medications it is sensible to make sure you know what you are taking, what the side effects are and whether the medication you have bought will interact with any other medication you are taking...and the pharmacy assistant will usually ask you if you are taking other medicines and refer to the pharmacist if there is any doubt.

[Gordon Booth]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

(so beer is out but whisky is OK or at least that is what the physician Dr Lyons used to tell his patients)

What a comfort you are Margaret!

A nice big whisky. a bag of frozen peas and a couple of paracetamol's. My sort of cure.

In fact I may have to try it immediately, never argue with the nurse!

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by Gordon Booth

What a comfort you are Margaret!

A nice big whisky. a bag of frozen peas and a couple of paracetamol's. My sort of cure.

In fact I may have to try it immediately, never argue with the nurse!

No it is never a good idea to argue with a nurse.......you always come off worse in the end, usually the bottom end

Only joking Gordon. I know that even with the whisky peas and paracetamol life will be no fun at all.

[DtheP47]

Originally Posted by Gordon Booth

I've been to the doctors, Margaret, it was he who said he couldn't start medication until it went- said it would give me a really bad attack. Had a blood test, the gout came back before I could see the doctor so I'm a bit stuck!
Heavens, Retlaw, both feet at once ? How do you manage, I'd have to learn to float! It's not just lumps of lead, is it? It's molten lead.
The doctor mentioned those, DtheP, but I'm stuck until it goes.
Cherry juice? Is that Cherry Bee?
Actually I'm wondering if alcohol does make it worse. I had 2 or 3 last night(well I stop counting at three, don't feel as guilty) and from painful yesterday it went to agony this morning.
Can't bear the thought of signing the pledge so I'll try the frozen peas!

You are taking Ibuprofen though Gordon to alleviate the pain yes?

Take the maximum dose. Incidentally in Spain they sell 600 mg tablets over the counter. Much better than the 400s n 200s you can buy here.
Don't mix with Paracetamol though.

[maxthecollie]

I had a bad attack a couple of months since and it is very painful. I rang the doc and he wrote a prescription, without seeing it. Luckily it worked