I am a female my weight now is 105 lbs, I have always fought a low body weight and ate any and everything to keep weight on. I ate canned sardines and oysters; I love liverwurst!!
5 years ago I had severe pain in my hip for over a year (to the point of being disabled to work) and finally convinced my doctor to test my uric acid since gout runs in my family He argued that gout does not happen in the hip. (11.6 was the outcome).
My history is of being a commercial fishing captain where I sit in a chair with my feet propped out the window and my but being to lowest center of gravity.
My questions:
- How often does gout occur in only the hip?
- When it lasted as long as it did is there anything to help my hip (I rarely have flareups of gout but have constsnt pain from the prolonged gout)? I can not afford the MIR etc.. my doctor wants me to have.
- How can I gain weight back?
Thank you very much for your time, I know this has been a long letter,
Terry
Hi Terry,
Please do not worry about long messages – the longer the better. With more information, you get better answers and I wish more people would spend a bit more time explaining their situation.
With your good information, you’ve just about answered your own question – gout in the hip is unusual, but so is sitting all day with your feet propped making your hips the lowest point. As well as being painful, gout is a lazy little !!**##er, and will always go for the easiest, lowest, coldest part of your body.
Gout can attack any joint, and gout in the hip is only rare because most of us do not sit all day with our legs in the air.
At 11.6, you have no choice but to get meds to reduce your uric acid. It is pointless to waste money on useless tests to bolster your doctors lack of knowledge.
By the way, the gout has started in your hip because that was your particular weak spot, but it will spread to other joints if left untreated.
The weight issue is something separate, but why worry if you are healthy? You obviously have a high metabolism (assuming you eat a normal diet). For most gouties, the problem is too much weight. Weight gain is a simple result of consuming more calories than we burn. To avoid it, the solution is to eat less and exercise more, with food planned to boost the metabolism. The opposite will help you gain weight, but if you are seriously worried about being underweight, you must get checked for underlying medical conditions that might cause this. You might need a brighter doctor for this.
as an afflicted hip, shoulder, wrist, knees, big toes, neck, elbow gout pain sufferer, get a uric acid meter and test your diet till you achieve relief. i tested 4.0-7.0 during some of the most painful episodes. now with diet , allupurinal, indomethicin, colcicin, hot and cold treatments ican say most days are pain free. the last week tests show 2.0-3.0 with usmeter.
Wise words indeed, carlee
Not too sure about the cold treatment though. I know icing is a very useful technique for reducing swelling, but uric acid crystals are very temperature dependent, and will form much quicker at lower temperatures. I think gouties are better sticking with heat treatment. An old sock full of rice or beans, heated in a microwave is an excellent gout pain reliever, though you are absolutely right that controlling uric acid is the only way to beat gout.
I love the fact that you are mostly pain free. I love even more your determination to monitor uric acid and make sure the pain stays away permanently.
i cheated over the july 4th. had a hamburger,with cheese and bacon,baked beans, no alcohol.
readings july 12th.
bp-126/77, p-77. cozarr, lazik
uric acid 4.4 mg/dl. allipurinal 300mg.indocin 75mg about every 3rd day for hip pain
total cholesteral 162.
glucose 126.
most days i drink 1gallon green tea with honey.
5 large cups coffee.
water filtered thru brita filter pitcher.
the weight gain corelates to the time periods on extensive steroid scrips.
i’ll get into bone spurs and stenosis on spine later.
i agree on heat and cold treatments, many times the podiatrist was correct in suggestion to use cold then hot.
What an unusual story! Is it possible that hip gout would be less painful than a smaller joint?
The hip is a large joint and to get gout there would hint of substantial deposits of UA which at least aren’t somewhere else.
On the diet, if you cut back on the fleshy type protein and ,when hungry due to this, eat more ‘carbs you will definitely put on weight.
The safe thing for gouty diet is soured or fermented milk products like yohurt, not hard cheese though- due to acid forming tendencies. Cottage cheese is a winner and provides a load of calcium too.
Fruit and veg are a must- though at sea, these are hard to keep well. [I’m ex Navy,too!]
I hope UA lowering drugs help, but be wary of deposits shifting elsewhere once adrift again- a slow process is a must and you are obviously well up to monitoring yourself. Drink double the water you normally do if at all prone to dehydration. Thirst signals deteriorate dramatically as we age!
A UA meter to self test would be essential for longer periods out at sea and must therefore be tax deductible ;~)
As someone who has had flares in my right big toe, both feet, both ankles, both knees and both elbows, I can tell you that from my experience, there is no one joint that is better than any others from a pain perspective. The elbows at least didn’t effect my mobility, so I guess if I had to choose one that was better, that would be it. But the pain was equally unbearable in all.
The shoulder is a strange one for me. Mobility is impaired, but the pain is not as acute as knees and feet.
Does anyone else have unusual joints affected?
I am affected by gout in my right shoulder and the right hip along with the usual feet and hands. Went undiagnosed for years because of a ignorant GP. He kept blaming my pain on a old car accident! Thank the Lord he retired and I had to see a new doctor. He sent me immediately to a Rhumatologist and I was diagnosed 4/26/11.
I just this morning decided to check and see if gout can exist in the hips. I suffer tremendous hip pain and have had xrays and ultrasounds to find the source. They come out negative. Today I am in so much pain I can’t bend over and h ardly walk due to the pain. I called a doctor’s office and the receptionist made an apt. with the dr. but said she never heard of gout in the hips. I am happy believe it or not to hear that it does exist, to complicate matters I have diabetis also.
This is part of the problem of relying on general practice doctors for managing gout. If you are lucky, you get a good one, but you are at risk of getting treated by someone who has no idea.
Gout can attack any joint. Left untreated, it will affect every joint eventually.
The solution for hip gout is exactly the same as gout in any joint – get uric acid to a safe level. Safe means no higher than 5mg/dL (0.30 mmol/L).
Hello! yes you can have gout in the hip! I developed gout in my big toe about a year ago and shortly after (3months later) I started having severe lower back spasms and pain in my hips and butt. my doctor was convinced I had a disc injury so I went to 12 weeks of phys. therapy, saw a chiropractor, had an MRI, CT scan and X ray. All negative….and no consistent improvment. About 2 months ago the gout attacks in my toe got worse so I was referred to a rhuematologist. I gave him a thorough history of both my big toe gout and back/hip pain. His words were flat out “gout doesn’t cause back pain” So that was that.. Well I started allopurinol and the severity of my back pain has decreased dramatically. I’ve been taking it for 5 weeks and my pain level is about 50% of what it used to be. I still can’t run or ride a bike or bend at the waist comfortably but I CAN walk and get in and out of the car without having excrutiating pain. I believe its specifically my sacro iliac joint that has gout.
I’m praying that eventually the Allopurinol will work. I’ve read on here it could take months so I’m trying to keep a positive attitude. I’m a military aviator and recreational skydiver and I feel like gout has taken a big chunk of my life away, put my job in jeopardy (been medically grounded) and generally put me on my ass… if you or anyone else has similar experiences please speak up, or give a follow up.
Don’t give up though! I was told by 3 doctors including a rhuemy that my back/hip pain absolutely wasn’t gout. It wasn’t until I did my own research that I found out they were full of crap…
Nick
any advice or comments would be appreciated. this is my first post!
Brilliant first post, Nick.
I find it unbelievable that professional qualified people can make such horrendous mistakes. Any small degree of understanding of the way gout works must tell that gout can affect any joint. Moreover, tophi can build up in any tissue. Any part of the body that is connected to the blood supply (which is basically everything apart from hair and nails) is a potential target for uric acid crystals. Given a high enough concentration of uric acid, or a low enough temperature, uric acid crystals will form anywhere.
And quick consultation of any medical history texts will show several reports of gout in the spine.
Very soon I shall launch a campaign to spread the word about gout beyond the confines of the GoutPal websites. I hope you’ll be able to contribute, as it’s experiences like yours that prove to the world that we gouties must stand up for ourselves. Please sign up to one (or all) of the gout information update services to stay informed about progress.
My husband and I think he too has gout in his hip. He has had shots in the hip, phys. therapy and was even on Morphine but has been upped to Methadon with hydrophone. He is STILL IN PAIN. If I pull a blanket while in bed you would think I had hit him with a bat.
No one can tell us what is wrong other then he has arterial necropsy But I don’t believe that can wake you up out of a sound sleep just because someone pulled a sheet across you leg.
Has your husband seen a rheumatologist about this suspected hip gout?
Why is gout suspected? Does he have it in other joints?
If gout is not treated, it will spread throughout the body. Every joint gets affected sooner or later. The only answer is to keep uric acid in the blood below 5mg/dL. Your husband should know his uric acid number – if not, get a blood test from your doctor or a local lab as soon as you can.
Everyone I talk to does not believe I have gout because it is in my hip. The strange part about it is I can feel fine for hours and then it can hit like a ton of bricks and I cannot walk.
I have been having severe pain in my hip daily, but then it goes away. I have tried vicodin and that does not help with the pain.
Who should I go to for help?
I can only imagine that you suspect gout because you have already been diagnosed with it in another joint. If so, untreated gout will spread to every joint eventually. In any case, you need to see your doctor, get tested for uric acid, then get treatment to lower uric acid below 5mg/dL.
I too have gout in my hip. It began two years ago but I did not have a clue what was going on. Then …. last month I had a
severe attach on my right thumb – long story short – GOUT!
I did not even know what gout was at that time. Earlier in the day of the thumb attack I had noticed that my hip was sore but just brushed it off thinking it was odd. I am now fairly certain that this is gout – as in my thumb.
OMG ….. oh so painful!
Hey your information opened my eyes. My hip is on fire – painful; and I never thought of gout. Last week all sorts of tests and xray was done and appeared negative. GPs have been tested all kinds of drugs on poor me. Next step is to request for a uric acid test.
Great!
Tjinduu
It is a little unusual for the hip to be the first joint affected, but not impossible. A uric acid test is noy definitive, but it is a good indicator. Do not settle for a “good/normal/low/high” assessment – it is the number that is most important. Anything above 5mg/dL (0.3mmol/L) is cause for concern. A lower reading does not completely rule out gout, but it is a strong indicator that something else is to blame.
The best diagnosis is from a rheumatologist, who will perform more specific tests for gout, and conditions that mimic gout such as pseudogout, bursitis, septic arthritis, etc.
Hello,
I found your website while searching for information regarding the possibility that I too had gout in the hip.
I’ve suffering for almost two years with severe inflammation and pain in the hip, thighs, and even my foot swelled up too. And it was the foot on the ‘other’ leg!
So you can imagine my dismay at having to deal with pain in my hip, and inflammation almost daily, along with severe pain on my right side, only to have my left foot swell up with pain. I must have cried for days, wonder why in the World is the happening to me.
My father had both hips replaced before he passed away, and my sister just had hip replacement surgery,
so I began to accept the fact that I too had osteoarthritis of the hip as well.
Well I’ve been taking a list of supplements that are suppose to alleviate the pain, and rebuild cartilage.
They did reduce the main some, but the most exciting thing that I’ve found to help me is Black Cherry concentrate or Black Cherry Juice!
My cousin, who has gout bought me a bottle of Lakewood Black Cherry Concentrate and reluctantly I tried it. [since I’d tried everything else],
And then Oh my God, within two weeks, I have noticed a tremendous decrease in pain! I can get out of bed without having to hold on to my dresser to steady myself. I still have a limp though, but everyday it’s getting better. A thunderstorm even came last night and usually I would have been in the bed with severe pain! The Cherry Juice has reduced my inflammation so dramatically, that I thought that I too may have gouty hip arthritis. I’ll keep you posted with my progress.
Gout in the hip, or any other joint, needs proper management, or it WILL develop into osteoarthritis. First you need uric acid blood tests, and you must set a plan for getting uric acid number to 5mg/dL or below. Stopping the pain is not enough – uric acid crystals can still destroy joints even if there is no inflammation.
As gout pain subsides naturally in a few days, I would question the value of black cherry concentrate, but if you like it, it will certainly do no harm. The cheapest way to buy it is in a twelve pack, but if you only want to sample it, then search Amazon.com for Lakewood Black Cherry Concentrate. Lakewood is not available in UK, but other similar concentrates are available.