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I know how you feel. Do you drink baking soda at all? You might want to start with a little (1/2 tsp) three times a day and see what that does.
baking soda always works to calm the attack for me. i take a 1/2 tsp every three hours during an attack while drinking a ton of water.
SOunds like you are on the right track now. I would make sure you have plenty of baking soda for your African trip. I would take 1/2 tsp every three hours until your joints feel much better. You are also going to want to drink an awful lot of water while in that hot climate so that you don't get dehydrated.
the baking soda did not trigger the re-attack. i would stick with the baking soda until the swelling goes down, maybe a 1/2 teaspoon 4 to 6 times a day. 100% cherry juice concentrate 3 times a day may help too. your uric acid may be low because you are in throws of an attack, which usually the case. once the attack subsides get your uric acid tested to determine the extent of you hyperuricemia.
The results from my 24 hour urine tests are in and my uric acid production was insanely low, like almost zero according to my dr. he has prescribed probenecid. i think my concern over that is the much smaller volume of information available about probenicid on Goutpal. can anyone give a testimonial about it? should i start a new thread?
That is so great to read. I am looking forward to getting a prescription of allopurinol and being normal again.
About how many flares or attacks do you have in a year at this point in your condition? I mean, you have a world of knowledge about gout, uric acid, your triggers, etc. When does it “get” you despite your expertise?
GoutPal said:
- You do not know if the flare is due to new crystals forming or old crystals dissolving. This is not just an issue with allopurinol – it applies to all uric acid lowering therapies whether medicinal or dietary. To avoid this, you must measure uric acid frequently and keep it below 6mg.
- Crystals can accumulate without giving the typical acutely painful attack. Though you might not notice this, it can lead to the worst kind of gout pain – the pain of crumbling joints. To avoid this, you must measure uric acid frequently and keep it below 6mg.
The message is: you must measure uric acid frequently and keep it below 6mg. There is no way that the odd cup of tea or coffee, glass of wine, or a shrimp or two is going to influence this.
So when i start to monitor my uric acid, how much fluctuation can i expect? would it be 5mgs before a a seafood dinner would push it up to 9 mgs in a manner of hours, for example? Do you monitor once a week, month, few months? How does the knowledge of your uric acid level what you do next? do you take more allopurinol, baking soda, or refrain from beef?
i get that if your ua is 5 or under new crystals are not forming and old ones are dissolving so you want to be in that range all of the time.
zip2play said:
Firstly,
I LOVE your name. Like a Shakespearian character with a sore foot!
Yes, it is normal and unfortunate that these attacks tend to accelerate a bit when allopurinol first starts to do its work (I was lucky and had no major attacks from day one of allopurinol.)
Yes, it is fine and WISE to take colchicine at the first tingle of an attack. You can get quite good at learning the exact minimum of colchine to abort the atttack…sometimes ony 2 at the first sign, sometimes 4. Wait too long and its LOTS of colchicine. It seems the more tophi you have the longer it takes for allopurinol to get completely in control.
I assume you're on the “generic” dose of 300 milligrams/day?
I think you could start eating “normal” food now and trust the allopurinol top do its work. It was for times WITHOUT allopurinol that people got these dreary stringent dietary restrictions. Just don't go overboard with booze, small fish, and organ meats…but even they can be eaten in moderation. But lots of veg and fruit never hurt anyone either.
I've stated before that my doctor wants me to take the 24 hour urine test to determine whether i am over-producing or under-excreting before putting me on medication. i have read that 90% of gout sufferers are under-excretors and 10% are over-producers. Allopurinol if for over-production and Probenecid is for for under-excretion, right? If that is true, why are so many people on Allopurinol?
My other question is, just how normal of life do you live when on Allopurinol that gets your uric acid under 5 mg?
I had an attack settle in last night which started to get pretty painful. My right ankle got very stiff and I was unable to walk or even sit comfortably. The reason I bring this up here is that this attack came two days after drinking the black bean broth. This could have happened for many reasons. It could be due to elevated uric acid levels from the beer and meat i consumed for three days prior or the intense exercise during that same period. I think intense exercise is my #1 trigger, so i am chalking it up to that. But, could it be that the bbb caused a drop in iron, then a drop in ua leading to the proteins on the msu crystals to be stripped?
incidentally, i took baking soda every three hours, tons of cherry juice, and celebrex and it appears the attack has subsided before reaching the acute stage. my fingers are crossed as i am typing this.
Thanks for the link. Just curious about how often you give blood and the impact of doing so for you personally.
thank you for the explanation. I am currently making my first batch of bbb. after about 15 minutes in the pot the water is already pitch black. i'll let you know how it works.
On the topic of iron, i am intrigued by the idea that giving blood could benefit gout sufferers by lowering the blood's iron count. is that a major topic that has been discussed on this forum? is there any evidence to support that hypothesis?
