Do i have Gout

[Lubbley]

Can anyone help me, about 4 weeks ago i woke up in the middle of the night with severe pain in my left toe. It was throbbing so bad i felt like ripping it off. The doctor thought gout and so i had a blood test for the build up of acid but this has come back normal, i have been for a xray and this has come back normal. The pain has lasted for over three weeks now and normally only comes at night. I have tried over the counter pain relief and nothing helps so doctors have given me some co-dydramol tablets which dull the pain slightly. I had a similar pain in my toes about 6 months ago but it only lasted a few days but this has been over 3 weeks now. I dont really know what to do now, the doctors seem to be puzzled. I am 34 years old, i am not overweight, i dont drink excessively. Can anyone offer me any advice. The pain has now pretty much dissappeard from my toe apart from a slight ache, but for the past 2 nights my fingers and wrists have been sore.:confused: many thanks

[painfree]

First make sure that you don't have sleep apnea. Your doctor probably doesn't know about the connection of gout with sleep apnea, so you will probably have to insist that you be tested for it. If you have sleep apnea, then follow the recommended procedure to overcome it, and your gout problems will probably disappear. If you don't have sleep apnea, then you will probably have to find a doc who knows how to treat gout pharmaceutically.

[thurstonb]

When I first started reading your post I thought that for sure you must have gout. Even when you said you had a normal uric acid level I wasn't surprised as that can apparently happen immediately after a gout attack. (You get the attack because the uric acid has crystallised out of your bloodstream. So... it's not in your blood anymore, and the blood test can be in the normal range). Gout pain can tend to get worse at night, but if you are in the middle of a gout attack then it will be with you all day, not just at night.

Have you had another blood test since the original one?

[Lubbley]

Thanks for you message, i havent been back to doctors again as they seem pretty useless and the pain has gone again. I am not really sure what to do, i will probably wait to see if the pain comes back again and go back to doctors and hope i see someone else. I definetely be taking alook at the info you sent me.

[richimok]

the next time you think that you are experiencing a gout flare have your doctor extract fluid from the affected joint not a blood test. This will with out a doubt tell you if it is a gout attack you are experiencing when he looks at the fluid under the microscope for crystals.

Hope this helps Rich

[dickey]

the next time you think that you are experiencing a gout flare have your doctor extract fluid from the affected joint not a blood test. This will with out a doubt tell you if it is a gout attack you are experiencing when he looks at the fluid under the microscope for crystals.

Hope this helps Rich

Are you kidding? If the Dr. tried that with me when I have a flare, he would have a new skylight courtesy of me going through his ceiling!

[tiger2118]

Yea the real way to know for sure is to extract fluid from the swollen joint.

[victor221]

True. I had a swollen toe. It was huge but my acid was OK. The funny thing was I took anothers pill and it went right away. I think in my case I also have this:hallux rigidus
I have been taking fish oild and krill oil. It seems a little better