new sufferer needs help

[mr pain]

im depressed. was just diagnosed with gout today.

of course now i have all the newbie questions, please bear with me while i learn what i am really up against.

first, i feel ashamed of my condition because it seems the "word on the street" is that you get it because you drink too much. most of my family and friends do indeed know me a someone who loves beer. i am 40 and drink far less than i used to and really thought i was on the right track to a better lifestyle. guess not. i am an avid beer fan and even brew my own as a hobby. it seems this condition may take all that from me. is it possible to continue to drink beer and keep this ailment at bay ? is it possible others may understand gout in a way that wont label me as an alcoholic ? i sure dont want my employer to know.

second, i am still in denial. i want to believe my attack was brought on by something other than excessive alcohol consumption. my symptoms first started after after taking several generic vicodin a friend gave me for "fun". as soon as they wore off my toe began to sing to me. i also have been known to go DAYS without drinking much water. i was also recently prescribed a low dose diuretic with my HBP medicine. i stay away from most veggies and love a beef tenderloin for dinner (i also cook all my families meals). in the past i am positive i passed kidney stones but that was several years ago and not diagnosed. at the time my favorite beverages were iced tea (the stronger the better), lemonade, coffee, and beer.

third, i guess i am looking for support or stories about folks who have managed to beat this and still live the life they want to. or perhaps stories about people who had one attack and never had trouble again. am i setting my goals too high ? will i end up even more depressed and in worse shape if i continue this course ?

right now i have not been able to put weight on my left foot in days. i have never needed to rely on anyone for help doing anything. now i cant even cook meals for my kids and my wife is doing double duty. i fear this situation could hurt the relationship. my situation is compounded by the fact that i have osteoarthritis in my right large toe and the only cure is to have the bone fused. so essentially my one good foot is gone.

am i really cursed to suffer from this wretched pain for the rest of my life ? i am no sissy but this is worse than most pain i have ever felt.

sorry for the long post. what a great 40th birthday present !:mad:

[curemygoutfast]

To me (as a fellow sufferer. It looks like you have to seriously rethink your diet.
Iced Tea
Beer
Beef etc are all known to be bad for gout.
As you say you think you have passed kidney stones the you have probab;;y had gout for a while but it has recently surfaced.
( I passed a kidney stone the size of my little fingernail and the doctor did not believe it until we did an ultrasound scan and he found three more.)
15 lithotripsies later I only have crumbs left (I hope)
I suggest you get a good book on gout diet and stick to it - it really helps
All the books tell you not to eat shellfish,beef,cola,cakes and pastries but to eat lots of fruit and veggies (which neither of us did in the past !)
Keith

[Brett Thurston]

I hope things have improved since your post. I just thought I'd drop a note to tell you a bit about my story. I started getting gout problems in my late 30s, and it was really a problem. I too am really rather fond of beer and I did wonder whether the drinking was causing the gout. I gave up drinking all alcohol (not because of the gout really, but lets just say that my drinking was becoming problematic), and I really thought that my gout would clear up because I wasn't drinking.

In fact my gout got worse after I stopped drinking. That was really annoying! Here I was finally doing something good with my health, and things appeared to be getting worse. It actually started spreading into my ankles and then into my elbows. Unfortunately it took a while to get my gout diagnosed.

I realised that I needed to make other changes in order to get rid of the gout, and had to take a good look at the foods I was eating (and enjoying). And I increased my water intake and lost weight too. And now I don't get any pain at all, and my blood tests are good too!

So yes I did have to make changes, and I did stop drinking beer (all alcohol actually). But I personally don't think the beer had a lot to do with the gout, because - as I said - my gout got worse after I stopped drinking.

It's important to realise that gout is not only present when you are experiencing pain in the joints. The underlying condition, hyperuricaemia, is there regardless of whether your toe (or ankle or knee or elbow...) is hurting right now! Those nasty little uric acid crystals are there causing damage whether you know it or not!

All the best!

[jbrianchamberlin]

Man, I'm going through the same thing right now and it sucks. I was diagnosed with gout some time ago but never thought to look on the net for a forum. Glad I found you guys. I'm 40 and just started getting attacks this past year. Most of the time it's in the toe but I'm also getting it in the heel. It's horrible. I'm in so much pain right now I can barely think. I was given some allopurinol but I'm horrible at taking it every day. I certainly wish I had right now! Usually I can feel the pain start for a couple of days and then I go through hell for about 24 hours. I'm in the 12 hour mark right now and just want to die. Hopefully tomorrow will be better but I don't think so. After reading some posts it looks like I'm going to cut back on the red meat. I'm a drinker but it's been a few weeks since I had a beer. I can't imagine that causing it. I did have some crabs about a week ago. So depressing having to give that stuff up but I can't take this crap anymore.

[Brett Thurston]

I feel your pain man! I had gout for years, and as I stated above it ended up being in pretty much all of my larger joints. The absolute worst was when I had a patch where I had gout in both ankles at once!. And by "patch" I mean about a month! Not pleasant.

I note from your post that you say you had a beer a while ago and some crab about a week or so ago.

These by themselves won't be causing your gout. It is possible that they may have tipped you over the edge, but ultimately it's the fact that you are on "the edge" that is the problem. If your uric acid levels are high then there will be urate crystals being deposited in the joints and causing damage all the time. Every now and then the body decides to fight back, causing the swelling and inflammation and the immense pain.

Note also that gout can actually cause permanent damage. Most people think it is just the painful "attacks" that are the problem, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. All the time you have uric acid crystals in your joint they are damaging you. To this day I still have very stiff ankles, and although the gout has gone I'm still suffering the consequences.

If it sounds like I'm trying to scare you into getting that uric acid level under control... I am!! It's really worth it in the long run!

Cheers
Brett

[jbrianchamberlin]

Yeah, that's what I've been reading. It's crazy. Last night I wanted to kill myself and today, hardly any pain at all. Not even a limp! It's crazy. I'm going to stick with the allopurinol for now and cut back on the bad eating habits for the time being and see if that works. I did notice it gets worse when I take sleeping aids or nyquil... not sure why that is other then the alchohol.

[Brett Thurston]

Good on you! If only more people with gout would be so responsible!

When you have it, gout pain is so intense that all you want to do is cut off your foot! But then the pain suddenly disappears, life goes on, and you forget about it.

And I reckon that's why people get recurrent attacks. Human nature really - the problem appears to have gone away, it's not impacting on your life, and so you get busy doing what it is you normally do. (and the stuff you couldn't do in the middle of your attack!). And you forget that you still have gout...

...until the next attack.

If gout attacks actually lasted longer I think more people would be willing to make the diet changes necessary to keep them away! But a few days here and there is often not enough of a problem for people to worry about.

It's a shame really, because all the time the damage is being done, and it will only get worse until you make the necessary changes.

People often say that "my gout comes and goes", when in actual fact it comes and stays!

[Goldenboy]

i just had my first attack two weeks ago. pretty painful. been doing a lot of research and recommend this book: "beating gout" by victor konshin. pretty informative. but like you, i would love to not give up the beer. i see my doctor next week, gonna get my uric acid tested and try to find out what brought my attack on.