i lost weight and it's returned!

[cljacobus]

I'm male, 41, weight 250 lbs, don't eat right, have psoriasis and an undiagnosed, early onset case of gout it sets up in my toes and my ankles, sometimes it moves from my ankles into my calves and makes it pretty painful to walk. A couple of months ago, I decided to see if I can do anything about it without meds. My thought process was that although gout happens to people who don't really take care of themselves, dehydration is a key 'trigger'. So, I up'd my water intake. I went from 'some' water every once in a while to drinking between a liter and two liters a day. All has been well! I haven't had an 'attack' in quite a while! The pain subsided. I still have a little stiffness in my ankles but, I can walk without pain, longer and longer, every day. For the past few weeks, I have even been able to do without ibuprofen.

Well, last week, I watched a documentary called, 'Fat, Sick and Nearly dead'. To make it short, a couple of guys decide to take charge of their lives and basically, 'juice fast' their way to good health. The documentary was pretty inspiring so, I bought a juicer, a bunch of fruit and veggies and went to work. Last Sunday was the first day. Since then, I've lost five pounds and feel pretty good. All was well until Wednesday morning. I woke up at 5am, my kidney were on fire and I could barely walk on my right ankle. It seems my 'gout' has returned. Today, Thursday, it's not SO bad but, it's still a little sore. I woke up half a dozen times last night to urinate, which is highly unusual for me.

I am taking a guess but, with the sudden weight loss, any uric acid stored in my fat is being released into my blood stream and is coursing through my system, wreaking havoc again. This is my guess and basically, I'm looking for a little confirmation in my thinking.

Although, I don't want to stop this 'diet', I am putting it on hold until I can figure out and understand exactly what it is that's happening. I'm still going to continue to juice my fruits because it's REALLY good however, I am going to dine on the vegies for lunch and I'm going to work a little protein (meat) into my evening meal. My head has been so clear this week! I have had about half a cup of coffee and today, I poured it and didn't drink it!

Anyway, like I said, I'm just looking for some confirmation as to what may be happening. So, if anybody with a medical background has any thoughts, I would love to hear them.

Sorry for the long post and thanks! ;)

[podagra]

You cannot live on fruits and vegetables, your body needs protein, if it doesn't get enough in the diet, it will dissolve tissues to get it, mostly muscle, the dying tissue will release purines. Uric acid is not stored in fat cells.

However, since you have psoriasis, you´re more likely to have psoriatic arthritis than gout and the latter is often wrongly assumed to be the culprit. First make sure it is gout by having a doctor remove some joint fluid during an attack and identify the uric acid crystals under the microscope. Psoriatic arthritis does not respond to gout medication, which will only be damaging your kidneys if you do not have gout. Gout can only be diagnosed with certainty by finding sodium urate crystal needles in the joints. Unfortunately, doctors seldom do this and often diagnose it by appearance, pain, etc,

If it is confirmed to be gout, then you can get rid of it by doing this:
http://www.goutonline.net/showthread.php?t=10755