Prolonged gout attacks on Fingers, Please help.. feel so desperate..

[JENNY LEE]

Prolonged Gout Attacks on Fingers

Hello,
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I am a 40 yr old woman.? I am not that heavy 5′ 3″ weight 130lbs (but my body fat content is very high at over 35%).? My diet was heavily on protein for years (plus I was on Atkins diet, protein/no carb diet for a very long time as well, my diet involving lots and lots of (turkey) bacon, turkey, asparagus, seafood esp. shrimps with no fruits or other vegetables).?
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Just before the attack I had trouble in the family and I was under extreme stress that led me to eat lots of sweets and junk food so I gained about 10 lbs in just 2 months.? During these months, I’ve noticed my hands were always like Popsicle cold (perfect for crystals to form)
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I currently have a very prolonged SEVERE gout attacks on my fingers of right hand.? This was actually my very first severe attack so I didn’t even know I had gout before this attack (just occasional pain on my foot few times, didn’t know this was because of gout)
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It started on the 15th of Feb with crazy itching all over my right hand then, burning sensations on my pinky finger near the joint.? Then pain got worse and worse.? Being ignorant to gout, I just thought this was the worst form of Eczema, so I ate whole bunch of Fried clams and fatty sushi.? That night, I had the complete flare up with the worst pain of my life with all my fingers in excruciating pains I’ve ever experienced before.
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Then the pain seems to get somewhat controllable, subsiding to the tolerable pain (although they were very swollen) after few days later.? Because I didn’t have any medical insurance, I didn’t want to see the doctor right away.? My sister asked my symptoms to her doctor and she told her that I may have gout.?
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So, I bought Cherry extract tablets and bromelain and took 2 each and ate a bag of dried cherry.? That night, I had my 3rd Flare up… stabbing pain just like the 2nd attack if not worse, I was literally crying because of pain and the next morning, my fingers were all purple and swelling was unbelievable.?? My fingers were three times bigger than my unaffected fingers in the left hand.? As things were getting worse, I went to the emergency after 3 days later (I truly regret that I didn’t go to the doctor earlier) as purple area got bigger and the pain was not getting better.
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I guess lowering my uric acid too fast caused the UA in my body to flush into my fingers and created another attack.
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They gave me Indomethacin to control my severe inflammation and today is my 9th days since I took the indomethacin, the swelling has been greatly improved.? However now I have several Purple patches around the joints of my fingers which are extremely tender to touch.? I can’t move my fingers as trying to move causes severe pain as if my fingers are broken.? but with Indocin, if I don’t move my fingers, I don’t have much pain.
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Starting yesterday, I’ve lowered my Indocin from 3 tabs (150 a day) to 2 tabs since it’s been 8 days and I only have 6 tabs left.? And the throbbing, tingling, burning sensation on my finger tips got definitely worse as Indocin wore off (from scale 1 to 10, with med, it was 2-3, without, it’s 6 or 7 at night).?
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Indocin makes me somewhat depressed (plus stomach upset, drowsiness, etc.) I can’t take it for a long time but, stopping Indocin, I’m dead scared that I’d have another attack.? It seems like one more attack, I feel like I’d never be able to use my right hand forever due to joint damage.
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From the beginning stage, it’s been more than 2 1/2 weeks (will be 3 wks by Friday) and I’m still in pain…
Is this normal?? Has anyone had the similar symptoms as I do?
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Ever since I found out that I have gout, (it’s been 2 wks that) I’ve been eating nothing but cherries, strawberries, blueberries, dried seaweeds and few TBs of Apple cider vinegar and recently I added skim milk and fat free yogurt and 1 bowl of steamed squash with Tumeric/ Cayenne pepper.?
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I’ve ordered At-home Self UA test kit and I’ll get it within next 1-2 wks.
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Should I take cherry extract and celery seed extract?? What if I get another attack?? I’m so scared to have another one as my current pain has not been resolved yet.
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Because I don’t have any insurance and I’m currently unemployed and have no GP (I recently moved from another country). All I can go is to go to Urgent care clinic because it’s obvious that PA from UCC will refer me to GP who will ask me to get all kinds of expensive test for sure and refer me to rheumatologist which I can’t afford at this time.
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Could anyone please help me and give me your two cents about what I should do?
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(I can’t type, so my sister typed this for me)
 

[KeithTaylor]

Hi Jenny,

As a first step, I strongly recommend that you look at needymeds.org

They have a massive range of help programs for getting cheap or free diagnosis, and the medications to treat them.

Indocin will help ease the pain, but if you actually do have gout, then you have to get uric acid down to 5 mg/dL. Some people with mild gout can achieve this with diet improvements, cherries, and other supplements, but you still need to monitor uric acid level.

Many people (including some medical people) do not understand that gout can attack when you lower uric acid, just as much as when your uric acid rises above 7 (or 6 when joints are at lower temperatures). If you do not monitor uric acid levels, diet changes are just a lottery.

I’m glad you are getting a test kit, but please be careful how you use it. It takes time to get used to, and you have to be methodical. Test the same time each day, and follow the exact same test procedure. Double check that the amount of blood you test matches the instructions. Home test kits are usually very accurate, but they rely on the correct amount of blood.

I hope you can get some professional help soon using the NeedyMeds website. If you want any help using the uric acid test kit, please come back to the forum.

Prior to getting a proper gout diagnosis, many pharmacists can give advice on pain relief. Quite often, a combination of more than one pain medication works best. Anti-inflammatories like Indocin are good for gout, but people have different reactions to them. Some people tolerate ibuprofen or naproxen better than Indocin. They should never be mixed, but other pain relief can support them. You must get professional help to get a safe combination. Most pharmacists will help with this.

Good luck, Jenny. Please keep coming back for any further help, or just to report your progress.

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