Gout - experience?

[TakeYouToTasker]

 

 

I thought that was illegal these days

Since you can't be rejected for pre-existing conditions most folks wait until they're sick or in need of care and purchase it at that point if they want private coverage, or if they can't afford it, submit to a means test for Medicaid.

[Gordio]

I have had gout for 20 years.

 

Here is my advice.

 

First, I think that the red meat and alcohol stuff is mostly nonsense, as does my doctor. It has no affect on me at all, and I eat red meat almost every day and drink a lot. It has little to do with the flare ups and the doc has a lot of patients that are vegans and non-drinkers.

 

Go to a foot doctor, or your regular doc and get a prescription for allopurinol, and hope you don't have a reaction like inkman. Most people there are zero side effects. Allopurional is a deterrent -- you take it to prevent flare ups. Colcichine is both a deterrent and a remedy for the pain and swelling and lessening of the uric acid.. The best remedy for it is usually indomethacin or Indocin (the brand name). Take that if it flares up and it will go away in a day or so.

 

If you have good insurance and don't have to pay for any of this stuff, get all three. Take the allopurional and colcichine to prevent it, then if it flares up, drop the allopurional and start the indomethacin. Otherwise, just take the allopurional and it shouldnt flare up. A couple years ago, Colcichine went up about 1600% in price for no reason so don't pay out of pocket for it.

 

Your spot on with your analysis. I have had gout for about 20 years(since I was 20 years old). When I first got diagnosed with it I used to play alot of basketball & it was so painfull to walk I honestly thought somehow I broke my foot. They ran some blood tests & found out what the true cause of it was. The doctor wanted me to go on allopurinol but I was young & like you & said I don't want to take a pill for the rest of my life so I did not take it. Well the flareups continued about 2-3 times per year & they were bad. I mean so bad that sometimes I could not walk. After about 3-4 years of that I went to see an arthritis doctor & he told me you got to start taking the allo or your going to continue to have these attacks. One thing he did tell me though he said that was different from the regular doctor was take the cholicine(sp) with the allopurinol for the first 30 days & then just go to the allopurinol. He said when a person takes the allopurinol at first sometimes it causes an acute attack. The cholicine would prevent that attack.

 

I have been taking the allopurinol for about 14 years now & have not had an attack since. I drink quite a bit, don't eat a ton of red meat(maybe once every week or so) & am about 20-30 pounds over weight)I am 6'1 around 218. So I think with the medication you should be good to go. I would not put off getting the medication. It will come back if not taken care of. & it is debilitating. The minor attacks that I do get maybe once a year or so(very minor, nothing like I used to get) I just jump off the allopurinol for a day or so & take the indomethicin for a day & it is gone.