Rash- Allopurinol Related? Need your opinion please

Hello fellow gouties! I'm pleased to say that after the "big attack (and only one)" and starting Allopurinol over 3 years ago,?I've been attack free and living a pretty normal lifestyle (SUA readings consitently betwenn 4.0-5.0). Anyway, I posted a thread about this awile back and wanted to give an update, but moreso get your opinions. I've been encountering this rash approx. 1X per year for about the last 2 years and it's now frustrating me because my Dr, allergist and even Pharmicist are stumped. The rash is maculopapular and consists of tiny pinhead-like red dots (sometimes a little itchy). Left untreated, it spreads all? over my body in 24-48hrs. It's not patchy or blistered and I have NO OTHER SYMPTOMS (if I can figure out how to post a pic to this thread, I will do so in the future). Continue reading Allopurinol Rash...
Read More

Will colchicine save your heart?

I've just spotted an interesting news item about colchicine and the risk of heart attack. The news reported in The Australian Hub describes a study in Perth Australia, that is being presented to the American Heart Association sessions in Los Angeles today. The doctors were struck by the same phenomenon that has spiked my interest from time to time. If heart attacks are associated with massive inflammation, would colchicine help. I've never had the resources to test such a theory, but the doctors who ran this investigation did. Very good of them to confirm my theory. I'm very interested to see exactly what dose is effective, and if they have revisited the known risks of long-term colchicine at gout doses. Nice to see they've dubbed low dose colchicine with a ripper Aussie LoDoCo label. I will summarize the original research in my colchicine guidelines, but in the meantime, here's some cool irony for Americans. The news article describes some of the study details, and...
Read More

Indomethacin Gout Treatment Discussion

Indomethacin is the most commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory treatment for gout. Until recently, "3 Indocin a day" has been a valid alternative to proper control of uric acid. No longer. Rheumatologists have made it clear that the best approach is Treat To Target, and target is safe uric acid levels, set on an individual case basis, and usually 5mg/dL. There are lots of other discussions about safe uric acid levels, and I do not want to get side-tracked with that issue. Here we focus on indomethacin. Indomethacin Gout Treatment The indomethacin dosage for gout guidelines are to take 50mg three times per day. No mention is made with respect to the maximum dose of 200mg per day for gout, but this is something you might discuss with your doctor. If sleeping with a gout flare is difficult, what is your doctor's response to doubling the third dose? Please share your experiences below if you have discussed this with your doctor. Discuss your personal Indomethacin Gout Treatment...
Read More

Does Alkaline Water Help Gout?

The use of alkaline water to help gout has been raised many times, and I will summarize old discussions here. There are two aspects to consider. First, the act of taking on fluids is almost always a good thing for gout sufferers, within reason. As most drinks contain an extremely high proportion of water, it does not matter what the drink is. Avoiding dehydration allows the kidneys to excrete uric acid better, but there is little benefit beyond that. Most important aspect is to keep urine output to around 2-2.5 liters per day which helps avoid kidney stones. This is also true when on allopurinol, because unused allopurinol, usually excreted as oxypurinol, can form stones in extreme cases. For more, see my articles about water and gout. Second, is the issue of alkaline water "dissolving" uric acid. There is no evidence to support this claim. There is evidence to suggest that alkaline urine helps to lower uric acid. It falls into the category...
Read More

Who Wants Free Colchicine?

This is a repeat call for members in the US to take up the offer of free colchicine kindly donated by a recovering gout patient who no longer needs it, and kindly distributed by an American gout patient who wants to help you. The relevant information from previous discussions is: thanks to a compassionate goutie from Ireland. He gave me 8 packs with 20 pills of 1.0 mg Colchicine to be given away to a needy (without insurance) goutie here in the States. Each pill is individually sealed, has never been touched by a human hand, and ONE pill is almost as much as 2 US pills, being 0.6 mg. Rather than giving all 160 pills to just one goutie, I prefer that 4 get the benefit of 40 pills each. (WE are looking here at a total of ~$1350 if purchased.) If you think you qualify, please, ask Keith Taylor to send me your email address so that we may converse freely concerning...
Read More

Allopurinol Advice Needed

Allopurinol is great for gout, but only if the dose is right. Get it wrong, and the effect on uric acid level is useless, as this reader's father is finding out.Hello, i run into web site after helplessly trying to get some info about gout. My dad is visiting me here, and he is having one of his attacks. He is 72. I guess he was never diagnosed properly, and last 15 years he was given some non-steroid, anti-inflammatory medication. At the end he ended up in a hospital for a bleeding ulcer, and that was first time he was diagnosed with gout. That was last year in September. His gout was so bad, that he couldn?t walk. He was given injections for pain and inflammation. They put him on allopurinol 100 mg. he got better, but never 100%. When he came here, I looked through his lab tests. Back in September his uric acid was 516 umol/l. Average should...
Read More