Prolonged Attack

[Al O’Purinol]

3 Month Gout Attack

I am 40 in April and have suffered from Gout since my mid-late 20's. I have usually had a couple of attacks a year which have cleared up with total recovery in a week or two, sometimes without medication. I managed to lose 2 and a half/ 3 Stones in weight 2 years ago and didn't suffer much at all, probably well over a year without an attack.

Thing is the weight has started to crep back on again and I have started to suffer again. This current attack however has been going on since the beginning of November. I started with a sore Achilles and Ankle the day after Halloween and it cleared for a week or two with no medication. Then it came back at the back end of November and I saw my doctor in early December and she prescribed me a weeks worth of Diclofenac which I had never had before, my previous medication was Piroxicam and it cleared it up a treat.

A couple of weeks after the tablets finished, I was fine then towards New Year it flared up in total agony, but in my other foot (right) and I was prescribed two weeks worth of Diclofenac, which again did the trick and I finished with those about ten days ago. Now it's come back again and in the last two days in my right foot I've been in agony.

I have an appointment with my doctor again today and I'm going to explain that I am tired of the constant pain.

Are such prolonged attacks (admittedly on and off) heard of? Like I say, I have been usually shaking symptoms from Agony to full recovery in 5 days-ish but now I feel I am never going to shake them off and it's getting me down.

thanks for listening,

Dave.

[zip2play]

Dave,

I strongly recommed colchicine for an acute attack…it works a lot better than NSAIDS from my experience.

I, like you, dealt with my earlier smaller attacks with NSAIDS and the attack seemed to go away soon, I suspect they would have done so with NOTHING.

BUT, then I had the visitation from Hell in the form of screeching pain in my big toe on awakening one day. I had to crawl to the bathroom with my foot elevated behind me…otherwise stay in bed. It lasted for 9 days and nothing helped including ibuprofen and indomethacin (or tears.)

 I called and begged my doctor to call in a prescription for colchicine. I took 2 and then one an hour (nobody told me how many was max, so I took 22 pills all totalled. Well, the most vicious diarrhea of my life ensued but with the first dump my foot pain suddenly vanished. Alas the diarrhea continued for a pretty tough 24 hours. Since, I've learned that absolute max iis about 16 pills but probably 8 is enough.

It really is the BEST drug to stop an attack in its tracks.

I presume you are on daily allopurinol. If not, you SHOULD be with perhaps a prophylactic 2 ibuprofen every day for 6 months or more along with the allopurinol until your uric acid goes low and stays there.

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