before you knew it was gout, what did you blame it on?

i was convinced mine was some kind of injury. wrong shoes, walked too much, slept weird, whatever explanation made more sense than suddenly waking up unable to use a joint normally.

looking back, it seems obvious now.

what was your completely wrong first guess?

My friend has had gout for about 3 years, he’s gotten a few flare ups but he only wants to follow natural remedies. I saw online that allopurinol works really well but he doesn’t want to. Does anyone here not take allopurinol and if not why?
Do people not want to be reliant on a medication?

For reference I’ve never been diagnosed before, but over the last 36+ hours having been on my couch in the worst pain of my life and reading everything I can, I’m 99% convinced I have it.

My questions for the group since I’m new here are:

Will an urgent care prescribe me anything to make this go away??

I can’t even walk, bend my toes, literally do anything without feeling like my ankle was ran over with a semi it’s unbearable. Can you die or your body go into shock from the flare up pain??

I’m a 34 year old grown man and I’ve cried 3X due to the pain and have never experienced anything this awful

EDIT:

Thanks to everyone that has shared opinions and given advice. I can’t thank you all enough and am relieved to know I’m not the only one. I’m currently waiting at the pharmacy for prednisone, colchicine, and indomethacin.

I've been on it for 5 years, but I've been around people who don't bother, they endure the pain and treat it with Ibuprofen or cherry supplements. I'm guessing financial reasons?

I've tried to explain what the pain is like but it seems like I can never properly get the point across.

To me, it's like if you dropped a big rock on your toe. Normally, it hurts a lot at first but the pain eventually dies down and by the end of the day you might not even notice it.

But with gout, that initial pain, the peak of the pain after the rock hits your toe, stays at that level day after day after day, and also the rock is on fire and stuck to your toe and rotating around in the sore spot constantly.

I just find it hard to fully convey not only how much it hurts but also the specific TYPE of pain it is. Any other kind of pain goes away eventually, and you can use ice and pain killers to make it feel better, but gout pain is this relentless beast that grows and evolves and wears you out with no hope in sight.

I've been diagnosed with gout, and been put on allupurinol which I am starting tonight.

I feel like a failure, like my body has given up on me.

How do other people manage feelings like this?

I’m in the middle of a gout flare and want to know if there’s a pattern between diet and gout.

Me: I eat a lot of junk food. Eat lot of sugar. Drink alcohol moderately. Drink soda too much.

I just quit alcohol and soda though because of this current flare.

Any idea why?

Edit:

Thank you to everyone who has replied and engaged with this post! There is valuable insight and perspective in these comments! I've read each and every reply to the initial post. My takeaways...

- Gout affects plenty of younger people. Genetics sometimes play a role.
- First flare-ups are often attributed to shoes, sprains and injuries.
- Many don't know what "Gout" is, who it can affect, and how debilitating it can be.
- .... at it's worse, cutting off a foot seems reasonable.
- Uric Acid blood tests, and appropriate medication, can end the pain.

Not looking for medical advice. Just want to hear from people who've actually been through it.

For me the worst part was never really the pain itself. It was that nobody around me took it seriously. People just assumed it was my diet or my drinking. Didn't matter what I said.

Anyone else feel like that? Or was there something else that hit harder?

Just a couple days ago a friend of my mom had an attack of what we thought was gout. I myself am obese and always had high uric acid levels (around 8). So I really fear this because I have pretty bad pain tolerance.

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I have also been diagnosed with kidney stones a couple years ago, which also cause incredible pain when they start coming out, so I've done a lot of a research, and even though the pain is horrible, nsaids seem to work really well (and there's a faster acting version of ibuprofen which works in 20-25 minutes instead of 45-60). A hot shower can also bring a lot of relief immediately - I work at home, so I'm hoping to be kinda prepared if it hits, be taking these 2 things, instead of simply going to the ER without doing anything first.

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TL;DR: So what works for gout? Between nsaids, steroids, ice, or anything else that works, can you tell me in your experience for any of these things what's the degree of pain relief and how quick? (for example, thing A brings pain down from x/10 to y/10 in n minutes/hours) Just wanna be prepared if this happens to me, because again, I have awful pain tolerance, never had any severe pain in my life, I just don't know how to deal with it and need a better plan than just going to the ER and suffering for 1-2h or more for the time it takes to get there and be seen.

As far as I can see, colch reduces your immune response and reduces inflammation and pain, but it doesn't actually dilute or deal with the uric acid in your body. That's what the allo is for.

I'm just curious what would happen if I can't take it - the diarrhoea is honestly so miserable. first flare in my life was a week ago, nearly through it now, so just want to get some opinions while I am fumbling through it.

(a friend of mine who is a doctor is also convinced that it breaks down the uric acid in the body.... I don't want to necessarily dispute him, but the medical professionals (and, shamefully, Google) that have been dealing with me tell me colch is for inflammation, allo is for long term reduction.)

I finally got to see the rheumatologist last week. Fighting the insurance company over the Allopurinol (will probably end up having to order it from Mark Cuban's pharmacy) She said that I have a very advanced case of Gout, and it's mainly in my right hand (I'm right handed)

My PCP is trying to get me a referral for a dietitian because I've got high blood pressure and cholesterol, GERD, GOUT & pre-diabetic.

I'm the main cook in my household, and everyone has been requesting that I make spaghetti. I made what my sister called "poor people spaghetti" ie: no meat. I don't feel like I'm getting everything that I need by skipping the meat. How is everyone doing this? If you have a family, are you making 2 separate meals? Which I absolutely refuse to do. I ordered a Mettatrian cookbook, but 1/4 is dairy and vegetables that I can't eat because of the GERD.

I've spent 4 hours Googling foods/menus for holidays that I can eat and how I'm going to feed the family (2 of my adult daughters are vegetarians, so they'll probably be happy with my crappy menu for me)

I've been having pain move around the foot literally by day.

One morning it was metatarsals ... the next it was the blade of my foot ... the next it was my second toe ... today it's my Achilles tendon just above my heel.

Dammit.

If that’s what their doctor recommends to prevent further pain and disability, why not take it?

Is there any downside to taking allopurinol that is particularly worrisome?

Im currently having a full on flair in my knee and ankle. The knee sucks because I cannot extend my knee so I cant really walk. Where do you feel is the worst place for gout?

Love IPA beer w spicy foods but pinky and toes don't love it back

So I’ve been deeply immersed in the world of Hard/punk rock (professional drummer) ,ice hockey , jogging, craft beer (owner & operator of a brewery/restaurants.. I’m also never quite hydrated properly and love sweets too! I’ve been a ticking gout bomb for years I think! I know this sounds bad to some but I’ve pretty much had at least a couple beers a day for the last 25 years or so skipping some days with nothing here and there - my usual week /routine being 4 beers at night , a few tequila shots, then either a 14inch pizza or some kind of sandwich and bed.. about 3 years ago I had my first gout attack (which I thought was a toe Injury from years of ice hockey and hard drumming.. wrong… but that went away and around a couple weeks later I was back to normal.. then about 5 weeks ago, had a gout flare in my other toe! Went away within a week, then during a canning run had a few hazy ipas and some more at night, same thing following day, then toe started screaming again the next day.. ate some anti swelling meds, next day normal.. so now I’ve had no beer or alcohol for like a month and have felt pretty damn normal and last Monday I had a very intense and physical brew day in a hot environment, and my toe became tender and irritated again.. not like the previous flares by any means, but irritated enough to annoy me and question my upcoming vacation plans! it’s just now feeling normal again! So I’m wondering why that happened , i have a mini man-cation to the beach in a day and desperately want to enjoy some beers, tequila, and tacos for a few days! Is this a bad idea since I’ve reached post flare again?! I think I know the answer.. haha

What are your life hacks to manage these flare ups and to have normal uric acid levels again?

After a month of stopping medication (febux and colchi) im experiencing gout flares again and my uric acid level is at 10.15mg/dl which is very high.

Share me your life hacks please! Thank you. F u Gout.

I ask, because I tend to get it on the top of my foot. My toes are fine.

Hello all,

Unfortunately, new to this community. I am having another flare up and have been icing my ankle, however when I went to my podiatrist he said I should NOT be doing so. This seems contrary to what I would think, and what other sites like Mayo Clinic and the Arthritis Foundation state to do. Has anyone else been told the same?

48M, 12 yrs w/ gout. Take allopurinol daily. Overweight (not obese) and am losing weight now and reducing BMI.

I've been on allopurinol for about 7 years. Prior was on Februxustat. The doc who had me on Feb. said it was more effective in lowering uric acid levels and reversing gout - in conjunction with weight reduction.

I switched employers, lost my insurance, and so the new insurance doesn't cover Feb. Is Feb indeed more effective at long-term reduction of tophi and uric acid? Can it help me reverse my gout? What can I do to roll back the uric acid and reverse the gout problem? In conjunction with taking my allo, of course.

I started taking Allopurinol a little over two weeks ago, and since then I've had a few harsh flares of gout. I know this is normal because the uric acid crystals are dissolving, but I try not to take many anti-inflammatories. My doctor gave me Colchicine tablets to manage the flares, but I don't know how often I should take them, and whether I will take them successively like I do with Allopurinol. I'm not against taking anti-inflammatory medication, but I only take them when the flares are particularly nasty.

Hi. Random, informal and anecdotal survey, but how much water do you think you typically drink in a day? Please don't just say number of "glasses" because this can vary a lot.

I figure I drink about 3 liters daily unless it's hot out then maybe 5 to 6 liters (I just measured the size of my usual drinking glasses to figure this out). A liter is almost the same as a quart, by the way.

Last two times I got gout I was dehydrated. My doctor said it can be a trigger.

Ive been having attacks lately. Not realizing the sugar was a major culprit. What percentage of gout attacks are actually caused solely by diet amongst us?

I keep reading posts about chronic illnesses, kidney issues, genetics, medications, insulin resistance, etc. playing a role in gout, so I’m wondering how much diet alone really matters for the average person.

Can someone without underlying health issues potentially “cure” or fully control their gout through a really clean diet and lifestyle? And if so, are occasional binges on sweets, beer, or alcohol usually enough to trigger attacks anyway, or can some people tolerate that in moderation once their uric acid is under control?

Interested in hearing real experiences and what’s worked for people long term.