How do you know it's gout? Have you had it before, Susan? I've heard it is downright unbearable!

I always thought of gout as an affliction of old men who eat and drink too much.
BF has it and he does not eat or drink too much. He is a healthy weight and eats quite well.

He has had 2 bouts (his first one ever) in the past 2 months. The first time was in a toe, and a month or so later it was in one knee.

This last time the Dr. gave him some prescription meds so it will not continue to reoccur.

I did a good bit of searching on line about foods to avoid or to be eaten in moderation. There is an awful lot of conflicting info out there. One listed peanut butter and he had eaten that just before the last episode with the knee.

Sue

Best to get the pills that Sue mentions.

A relative of mine gets it in his big toe. Alcohol, shellfish and red meat have triggered his episodes, but sometimes we cannot figure out what caused it. He uses the pills right away when it flares up.

No, I haven't had it before. I didn't know what it was at first, but it was painful enough to keep waking me up. I was puzzled......I knew I hadn't injured my toe. But in the morning I realized the joint was inflamed--it even hurts to touch it--so I looked up gout. Apparently the most common way for it to start is in the middle of the night. I wonder why?

I also have pain in that same knee. It, too, began in the middle of the night. After reading Sue's post, I wonder if I have double gout! I'm special........

If you can find you some dried cherries or cherry juice to eat or drink this will help relieve your symptoms fairly quickly.I hope you can get some felief soon.

Shelley

He uses the pills right away when it flares up.
It is my understanding from BF, that he is to take the pills daily as a prevention.

Both times he went to the Dr. he was given a bout of steroids. From what I have read, an 'episode' will clear up on its own, given enough time. Since he works, he opted for using the steroids as he did not want to miss work, or to have to suffer with the awful pain while working.

Sue

My husband suffers with it, one bout of it put him on crutches and even then the pain was unbearable. Even a sheet touching the afflicted area causes sever, debilitating pain. He is now on a flare preventing medication that he takes daily but there is also a medication that is taken should an episode start up....stay close to a bathroom when taking it!

Gout was deemed a 'richman's disease' because it is usually brought about by ingesting rich foods, high fat, organ meats, shellfish are all culprits as are peanuts or foods prepared with them or in peanut oil. Eating dark cherries is said to prevent the flare-ups. If you are in the throws of a full blown gout flare up it will be easy enough to tell. First it feels like you stepped wrong, or stubbed your toe, but it progresses to excrutiating pain.

My husband has flare ups also. He takes Indocin for it.
He gets in his toe and knee.

Wow--I can't say my pain is excruciating, thank heavens, and I hope it doesn't get there.

Interesting that you should mention peanuts/peanut oil, Lynn, because peanuts give me joint pain, and I discovered this week (after feeling rather achy) that the cashews I'd been eating were roasted in peanut oil.

I'm so prone to inflammations of all kinds.......I was diagnosed with lupus years ago, and clearly have some sort of autoimmune issue(s). I used to wonder what caused my bad days, when things were flaring up. Now I have flares so often that I find myself wondering what causes my good days!

I react badly to cortisone, and would take a prescription drug only as a last resort, so I guess I'll get myself some cherry juice and hope for the best. I'll also explore alternative treatments, if there are any.

Thanks very much for your input!

Susan

so I guess I'll get myself some cherry juice
Good luck at finding it. There are all kinds of juice that might have some cherry in them, but they are not the main juice in any of them. I imagine eating fresh, or frozen cherries would be a lot better, but I wonder just how many one would have to eat.

I was going to suggest eating cherries too!

The link below has some other remedies as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gout Remedies

My health food store carries cherry juice. I think they have a concentrate as well as the regular juice. I tried it years ago for other joint pain, and didn't notice any difference, but it's worth another shot.

I do take pomegranate juice (as a concentrate), but obviously it didn't prevent this. Maybe it made it less severe, though.

Gout is the concentration of Uric acids in a joint or tendon around the joints. Those uric acids should be flushed from the body in mytriculation (peeing)but some times they just hang around. Many things can cause flare ups of Gout and the PAIN IS EXTREME to say the least. I had one flare up may years ago when I was taking some very strong medications. Ihave not had it again LUCKY ME but my one dear foster son has very frequent episode. He drinks a high caffinated, yellow colored soda pop that causes his gout to flare in his right foot. Instructions to him were if you drink the soda pop flush with plenty of water. Eat less fatty meats and if you have a reaction to something DON'T eat it in large amounts. There are medications to stave off or relieve the swelling and pain of gout flare ups but the best way to avoid a flare up is to eat proper and drink plenty of WATER. I also have my DFS taking daily dosages of Alfalfa tablets to help flush the uric acids from his body. He has had much less a problem with flare ups since the Alfalfa tablets but still has the soda pop addiction so flare ups will happen. Doctor also has a kidney function test done every year. Seems Gout is a sign of future kidney issues in many cases.
Don't mess with Gout problems as just a diet problem! Please see a Doc and get the facts. Stay well
CT

My brother takes Allopurinol to prevent gout flareups. He was visiting once when he had an attack and the poor fellow was unable to walk. I hope this isn't what you had last night because it can be debilitating.

CT is right. There are tests to confirm that you have gout. If you have lupus, that could also cause joint pain so you need to confirm the diagnosis. Proper treatment is necessary to prevent organ (liver,kidney) damage. Gout is one of the many forms of arthritis and arthritis related diseases but one of the easier ones to treat. I'm just not convinced that you aren't suffering an attack of lupus.

I forgot to add that the Dr. told BF to drink 64 OZ of water daily.

Now you ladies are going to have me looking up gout symptoms on Google. Here I was blaming it on arthritis. First I had my pointer finger on my left hand with a constant sharp pain and have been taking a combination calcium, magnesium, zinc tablet which has helped that, and now my ring finger on my right hand is acting up. When I first get up in the morning that joint feels like it "clicks" in order to move. After I'm up for awhile and exercising it, it is better. I wondered if I was getting arthritis in my hands, one finger at a time. I eat a LOT of peanut butter, which someone above mentioned you shouldn't be doing with gout. That is what clued me in to check further. I wonder why is my vitamin pill combination helping one finger and not the next???

alisande,
I have seen Black Cherry Juice (concentrate) at our CUB Foods store. It is found in the refrigerated section, somewhere between the orange juice and the coffee creamer. It was about a half gallon bottle for $18.00. That sounds like a lot but it is concentrate.

I sure hope it works for you.

I would also suggest adding cherries or cherry juice. I keep those large packages of either tart red cherries or bing cherries in the freezer.For dessert pour some in bowl and microwave until thawed and top with yogurt.It's worth a try and a refreshing dessert.

Regarding cherries, my friend Sue and I both have heel spurs, very painful condition of the feet. he ate six to nine cherries a day for a week and the pain went await. I adore cherries, so bought a big bag and promptly consumed 30. My feet did feel better eventually, not instantly. Dr. Scholls sells heel pads for heel spurs, which I found helped the most. Sue spent big bucks on a professionally made orthotic insert for her shoes.

Lots of help here--thanks!!

The info on water was an eye-opener......I've realized for some months that I haven't been drinking as much water as I used to. I've made occasional stabs at increasing my water consumption, but haven't been consistent about it. I've started right on it.

Interesting link, Lydia. It mentions Candida, which I've been told (by more than one health practitioner) that I have. And of course it mentions thyroid. It also talks about the need for potassium. Ironically, although I rarely eat bananas because of the carb content, I bought four organic bananas last week and ate one a day for four days. So my potassium level should be better than usual.

Asparagus and salmon are on the high-purine list, and I've eaten both of them this past week, particularly the salmon because I was thinking of it as an anti-inflammatory. Ha!

The lupus diagnosis is an iffy thing. I was diagnosed on the basis of a blood test about 20 years ago, but the results were inconclusive more recently. I think whatever I have seems to come and go. I've had severe Raynaud's (typical with lupus and other autoimmune disorders) for many years, but the joint pain is fairly recent.

I've become so reactive to so many things (foods, chemicals, meds) that I hope I don't end up like one of those uber-sensitive people who are forced to pitch a tent and live in the desert....

I broke out in a herpes cold sore, too. Guess my immune system is having an off day. I really don't feel like driving ten miles to town, so I ordered cherry juice from Vitacost. Added apple cider vinegar capsules to the order, too. Thanks, KT!!

Susan

DS's fiancee (age 27) had several VERY painful bouts of gout -each happened while on a high protein diet to lose weight. Her Dr. told her to forget that program.

Suzi

I do tend to overdo the protein at times. My kidney levels are always a little off in my bloodwork as a result. I try to de-emphasize protein whenever possible, without getting into too many carbs.

I meant to add above that I never eat fatty meats or drink soda. Nor do I eat gravy or rich sauces. I've had a problem digesting fats my whole life, so any kind of rich food is out. Also, I have to work at keeping my cholesterol down, so I don't eat cheese. In my youth I loved organ meats, but I haven't eaten them in years.

Well, whether this is gout or not, I'm sure I'll enjoy the cherry juice. :-)

Actually, if you think you have gout, you really should see your dr., get a diagnosis and get on whatever treatment/meds he prescribes.

My husband has gout, and has had attacks so bad he ended up in the hospital for several days. Most people believe that gout will go away on it's own, after a few days, whether or not it's treated with medication. It will in many cases, but why be in excruciating pain if there is help. More importantly, many people have the mistaken idea that gout isn't anything more than pain. But left untreated, in some cases the crystals that cause the gout can do a lot of damage--sometimes permanent damage--as they ripe up your joints.

IF you have gout (and that's a big 'if' since you're self-diagnosing--could be a lot of other things, really)--the prescription drugs available work very well to stop an attack. Why suffer if you don't have to? Good luck

Azzalea, my doctor is a nice guy, but unless I was in an emergency situation, or close to it, I would not take something prescribed by him or anyone else without researching it myself. For one thing, I tend to be suspicious of most prescription drugs. For another, I react badly to so many things that it's made me quite wary.

As to why I'd be reluctant to get on meds for gout, here's a good summation from Health911:

Traditional treatment is high doses of NSAIDS or indomethacin to kill the pain, anti-inflammatories, and drugs, such as allopurinol, that inhibit formation of uric acid. Allopurinol, however, has some serious side effects, such as skin eruptions, liver toxicity, inflammation of the blood vessels, and possible weakening of kidney function by forcing the kidneys to work too hard to excrete the uric acid. If you have kidney problems and use this drug, be sure to be carefully monitored. Another drug that is used is colchicine, but it, too, has serious side effects, including numbness in the hands and feet, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, weakness, hair loss, and abnormal bleeding or bruising. Cortisone is used for acute attacks, but should not be used for extended periods.

Anyway, I don't know whether to credit all the water I've been drinking today, or the celery I ate with lunch (yup, celery is supposed to help gout), but my foot and knee pains are much better. Not gone, but greatly improved.

So perhaps it was mild gout? No gout? More of my weird inflammations? Whatever it was, I learned a lot from this thread. Many thanks!

Susan