Gout and it's Pain

[Sluff]

I have had it in the past and I'm glad it is not chronic for me. Anyone else have it? What medicine do you take to prevent or treat it?

[angieskidney]

Is there anything to prevent gout for people who must take Prednisone forever even on dialysis (me) but don't have gout yet?? 

[renal30yrs]

They made me take colchicine (very Toxic alkaloid), allopurunal, and good old prednisone for the past so many years.  I forgot others I took so many years ago.

[Sluff]

I'm not sure what I took last time but the pain was terrible for two days and then after I took whatever they gave me it was gone in half a day.

[renal30yrs]

I even had to have 2 surgeries on my ankles because of years of calcified gout.

[BigSky]

I have had it in the past and I'm glad it is not chronic for me. Anyone else have it? What medicine do you take to prevent or treat it?

Certain protein sources raise uric acid levels more than others.  You might get some relief in moving to sources that are less likely to raise uric acid but its hard to say.

[charee]

I was getting gout all the time when i got an attack i would have a course of Prednisone but was only allowed it 4 times after that they put me on Zyloprim(Allopurinol) 200mg every day for a few months and because that stopped anymore attacks they cut it back to 100mg a day and so far i have been Gout free hope that continues as you know its really painful.

[MooseMom]

Oh my God, gout is incredibly painful.  I've had it several times; the first couple of times, I didn't even know it was gout, but looking back, I now see that it was.  I was put on allopurinol and colchicine...that colchicine stuff is gruesome.  It gives me diarrhea, but I have read that once diarrhea sets in, then you know that you've had enough of it.  I had an allergic reaction to allopurinol; I got a rash, but that's all, so my doc reduced my dosage.

I stopped taking it once the gout subsided.  I went on holiday to France.  We had rented a cottage in a village in Normandy, and I got an attack there.  My French is not too good, and no one at the village clinic spoke English, but I managed to get my point across.  I was given colchicine; I took it according to the instructions, and once I swallowed it, I decided to read the patient information that came with it; I thought this would be a good opportunity to increase my French vocabulary.  I read that the colchicine was combined with....opium...(I couldn't believe it); opiates act as a "binder" to prevent the inevitable diarrhea.  I didn't get diarrhea, but my God, I was so sick that I had to go to bed for two days.

I had a gout attack in my knee a couple of years ago, so that's it...I take allopurinol each day, and no more gout.

[RichardMEL]

I have a gout story....

6 years ago in Dec 2000, long before I started dialysis, I was in the USA (San Diego to be exact).. ironically I was there as my mother had been flown there for a potentially life saving operation to hopefully fix up a embolism caused by DVT... unfortunately once she was there they decided they could not, after all, operate Anyway a day or so after that while we were still there more or less on holiday (as much as you can be when your mother has pretty much been given a death sentence when we had gone there with some hope). Anyway I had an attack.. and I had no idea what it was except that it hurt like hell!! I could hardly walk and was in horrible pain.

So, off we went to the UCSD (I think it was) medical center emergency and THEY had no idea whatit was. I told them of my kidney failure but even then they didn't seems to suggest that it maybe gout.. in the end they just said have an anti inflamitory and go away. Well, that helped and I was OK after about a day (thank god) and could fly home.

The doc put me on 100mg Zyloprim pretty soon after and I have had it ever since with no further attacks (hooray!).

I am not sure which is more painful.. gout or a cramp... it's hard to tell since gout lasts a lot longer but is perhaps a smidge less painful while happening. Either of which I don't want to experience again but I am sure Mr Cramp will pay me more visits before I am done.

[renal30yrs]

Zyloprim is a nasty and dangerous drug.  interactions with some immunosuppressives can be lethal.

[thegrammalady]

Gout is sometimes called metabolic arthritis) It is a disease where monosodium urate crystals are deposited on cartilage of joints, which causes inflimation.

Normally, (are any of us normal)  the human bloodstream only carries small amounts of uric acid. However, if the blood has an elevated concentration of uric acid, uric acid crystals are deposited in the cartilage and tissue surrounding joints. Elevated blood levels of uric acid can also result in uric kidney stones.

Foods that are high in uric acid  are meat, fish, dry beans, mushrooms, spinach, asparagus and cauliflower, as well as alchool.

[angieskidney]

Foods that are high in uric acid  are meat, fish, dry beans, mushrooms, spinach, asparagus and cauliflower, as well as alchool.

Wow I didn't know that! Thanks for that informative post! 

[Bajanne]

I have had an off and on relationship with gout for years.  I have had it so bad, I could not even drive myself to the hospital and had to call an ambulance.  But I am so thankful that I haven't had an outbreak recently.  It absolutely cripples me.  Once I had to use a wheelchair when I was taking a trip home.  So humiliating!

[angieskidney]

Is there any way to prevent gout or is it something all dialysis patients eventually go through??

[renal30yrs]

I wasn't aware that so many dialysis patients came down with gout.  I thought it was more of a genetic disorder.

[Sluff]

Uric acid levels cause the gout symptoms atleast thats what I was told.

[RichardMEL]

Zyloprim is a nasty and dangerous drug.  interactions with some immunosuppressives can be lethal.

Does this mean if/when I am lucky enough to get a transplant (or rather before) I should
talk to my doc about stopping it?

I don't think I need it that much these days.. I haven't even had an incling of gout since
the one incident over 6 years ago....

[renal30yrs]

Zyloprim is a nasty and dangerous drug.  interactions with some immunosuppressives can be lethal.

Does this mean if/when I am lucky enough to get a transplant (or rather before) I should
talk to my doc about stopping it?

I don't think I need it that much these days.. I haven't even had an incling of gout since
the one incident over 6 years ago....

The lethal combination of zyloprom and imuran almost did me in. 

[mallen]

I've suffered from gout for over 30 years. The first attack was surprising in its intensity. I had no idea what it was. I went to the doctor and he told me it was gout. He wouldn't even touch my foot. I was prescribed oral colchicine and that stopped the attack. For later attacks I was prescribed oral colchicine (on the label it said to take one tablet every half hour until you vomit) which killed the acute attack and I was then prescribed 300mg of Allopurinol, which I still take. The Allopurinol has kept the gout at bay. When my kidney disease became acute, I couldn't eat anything including my meds. I noticed in less than 3 days a "tweaking" in my left big toe. I forced the med down and within a day, the tweaking went away.

[renal30yrs]

I've suffered from gout for over 30 years. The first attack was surprising in its intensity. I had no idea what it was. I went to the doctor and he told me it was gout. He wouldn't even touch my foot. I was prescribed oral colchicine and that stopped the attack. For later attacks I was prescribed oral colchicine (on the label it said to take one tablet every half hour until you vomit) which killed the acute attack and I was then prescribed 300mg of Allopurinol, which I still take. The Allopurinol has kept the gout at bay. When my kidney disease became acute, I couldn't eat anything including my meds. I noticed in less than 3 days a "tweaking" in my left big toe. I forced the med down and within a day, the tweaking went away.

As long as Allopurnal can control and contain gout that's great.  Did they ever make you take colchicine?

[angieskidney]

What does Gout look like? How do you know if you got it?

[goofynina]

What does Gout look like? How do you know if you got it?

Thank you for asking that Angie, i was wondering the same thing...

[charee]

author=angieskidney link=topic=2638.msg38710#msg38710 date=1171648
What does Gout look like? How do you know if you got it?

well when i get attack it starts off with a ache and then it get really painful.I get in the foot and it gets really hot to touch, swells up and goes red and it really hurts  walking  makes it more  painful and  when you lie down in bed even the weight of a sheet hurts it.





EDITED: Fixed quote tag error - Sluff, Moderator

[Amanda From OZ]

If you have deposits of uric acid (called tophi) it may look like lumps under the skin!!

Also i found this info:

How Is Gout Diagnosed?

Signs and symptoms of gout include:

Hyperuricemia (high level of uric acid in the blood)
Uric acid crystals in joint fluid
More than one attack of acute arthritis
Arthritis that develops in 1 day, producing a swollen, red, and warm joint
Attack of arthritis in only one joint, usually the toe, ankle, or knee.

[angieskidney]

If you have deposits of uric acid (called tophi) it may look like lumps under the skin!!

Also i found this info:

How Is Gout Diagnosed?

Signs and symptoms of gout include:


• Hyperuricemia (high level of uric acid in the blood)
• Uric acid crystals in joint fluid
• More than one attack of acute arthritis
• Arthritis that develops in 1 day, producing a swollen, red, and warm joint
• Attack of arthritis in only one joint, usually the toe, ankle, or knee.

Oh thank you for that because before this it sounded exactly like Athlete's Foot! lol