Have his doctor take a blood sample at any time during one of those attacks. It is important to take a sample at that time of attack. The doctor will have the uric acid content and I believe the sedimentation rate performed......those test results will then determine with 100% surety whether or not he has gout. In severe gout attacks.....patients may not be able to walk. I've been there before.....had to use crutches. There is a medication (don't recall the name) that will will dissolve those uric acid crystals from bone joints real fast. In a matter of "hours" all pain will be gone. Should those gout attacks continue, one can usually take allopurinol to PREVENT it from occurring again. This has worked well for me for many years. It is important to keep in mind.....if you have frequent gout attacks (uric acid crystals forming in joints), you may well be building up kidney stones too. Yours truly passed three kidney stones which were tested to be composed of uric acid. Gout is bad enough...passing a kidney stone is even worst. My gout suffering dad had a large stone (the size of a white bean) that formed at the entrance to his bladder. It had to be removed by going up his penis with a special retrieving tool. Not too many men are up for that kind of surgery......allopurinol can keep that from happening. Also, allopurinol ONLY PREVENTS gout. It does no good to take allopurinol DURING a gout attack. In fact, if you take allopurinol during an attack, you will make the attack worst. The other medication I mentioned earlier MUST be taken to remove the uric acid crystals. After the crystals (and pain) is gone, then one can go back taking allopurinol to prevent gout. Usually this is enough to teach one not to forget to take a daily allopurinol pill. Dan .......gout free and kidney stone free for 25+ years.

You can put textured vegetable protein (TVP) in chili, and eventually if you find that he likes the taste, put it in other things too. Vegetarian chili is also good, plenty of protein in beans. Morningstar Farms makes fake chicken patties, nuggets and buffalo wings that are really good, even to people who are not into fake meat. You could try cooking a lot of chinese food, with mostly vegetables and the meat just for flavoring rather than a main ingredient. Things like fried rice. Some pasta dishes use meat mainly for flavoring too, like pasta with bacon and broccoli and spaghetti carbonara. Cheese-based dishes and egg-based dishes both have lots of fat and protein, which are probably what he craves. Homemade macaroni and cheese is so good. Meatless lasange. Spinach is the best, with whole milk ricotta, yum! Risotto. Enchiladas are much better with vegetables than they are with meat, in my opinion. Spinach enchiladas especially. Try making meals out of a few heavy dishes that he really likes that are traditionally sides, and just leave out the main course. For instance (I don't know if he likes this stuff but it is just a suggestion), deviled eggs, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, and a vegetable. What about fish? I don't really know what gout is, but maybe he can eat fish, or shellfish - clam chowder. Corn chowder is good too. I sometimes just serve salad and baked potatoes with lots of toppings (butter, sour cream, chives, fake bacon bits, broccoli, grated cheese, salsa). Twice-baked potatoes are also good. Add warm potatoes and/or cauliflower to green salads to make them a bigger part of the meal, and experiment with making your own dressings, which are usually so much better than bottled. Also experiment with adding cheeses to salad. Spinach salad is a nice change if you don't usually have that.

It doesn't have to be the night before. The crystals build up which is what causes the pain. I don't drink either, for me it is the veggies I eat. I had 5 shrimp the week before, ate pureed cauliflower, ate a bunch of asparagus during the same week and a package of mushrooms. My Doctor told me I just have chronic high uric acid in my blood as does my sister. Before I was diagnosed years ago I went to the Doctor because I thought I had skin cancer. I had these black crusty round spots on the top of my left thigh. I think my Doctor called it tophi or something like that. They finally went away after I started taking the medication. My uric acid level at that time was so high I had 2 Doctors call me after I had the blood test to come back in right away.

technically .. any goo should only be used according to its label ... but the key would be the ingredients ... round up will work just the same ... i would go with the cheaper ... and i would use according to the instructions ... you would spray ... watch it all die.. then spray again.. when it releafs .. might take 3 or 4 applications during this summer .. keep in mind.. when spraying.. it isnt french perfume ... practice with your sprayer .. low pressure .. and tip adjustment.. so as to make droplets.. which gravity makes fall to the earth.. rather than drift all over the yard ... or paint .. but that sounds like a huge job ... ken