Anyone else had gout that lasted for ages?
Fibromite59
Posts: 22,518 Forum Member
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I have got very painful gout in my thumb of all places. I didn't realise you could get it anywhere else but your foot and my Dad was always getting it there and I had no idea just how painful it is.
I started having a slight pain in my thumb at Christmas time and I thought if I rested it, it would go away. However, it got worse and worse, and at the beginning of February it got so bad that I couldn't stand the pain and couldn't bear to move my thumb at all, I couldn't even managed to dress myself or cut up my food.
I always thought gout was something that old men got and that it was caused by drinking, but I am female and don't drink!
I saw the doctor and she sent me for a blood test which showed my levels of uric acid were high and that meant I had gout. I was given some tablets which helped a bit, but had to take more and this went on for several weeks. I finished the tablets two weeks ago and last weekend I was saying that it was almost back to normal. However, on Monday, it started up again and although the doctor has put me back on the tablets it has got so bad that on a scale of one to ten, I would say it is then.
I just wondered if anyone knew how long I could expect it to last or had any tips to help with it. I am taking tramodol and paracetomol for it as I can't take anything with aspirin for it so ibuprofen is also out of the question.
I started having a slight pain in my thumb at Christmas time and I thought if I rested it, it would go away. However, it got worse and worse, and at the beginning of February it got so bad that I couldn't stand the pain and couldn't bear to move my thumb at all, I couldn't even managed to dress myself or cut up my food.
I always thought gout was something that old men got and that it was caused by drinking, but I am female and don't drink!
I saw the doctor and she sent me for a blood test which showed my levels of uric acid were high and that meant I had gout. I was given some tablets which helped a bit, but had to take more and this went on for several weeks. I finished the tablets two weeks ago and last weekend I was saying that it was almost back to normal. However, on Monday, it started up again and although the doctor has put me back on the tablets it has got so bad that on a scale of one to ten, I would say it is then.
I just wondered if anyone knew how long I could expect it to last or had any tips to help with it. I am taking tramodol and paracetomol for it as I can't take anything with aspirin for it so ibuprofen is also out of the question.
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No, I don't eat more protein than would be considered normal and hardly ever eat red meat. I have read up to see if diet plays a part in gout and I don't seem to be eating the wrong diet at all. My Dad had it a quite a lot of time in his foot and I have had cousins who have had it too and my doctor says it can be heriditary so I suppose that is the case with me.
I didn't know it could go on like this for months though. When my Dad used to have it, I can't remember it lasting for more than a couple of weeks at a time.
I have been taking some cherry capsules for it for about a week now, but it is probably early days to get any benifit from them yet.
Thanks I will give it a try. With pain as bad as it is now, I am willing to try anything.
Also drink as much water as you can, as this helps to flush it out of your system. Are you by any chance taking any diuretics (sometimes prescribed for hypertension), as some of these can bring on a gout attack. I suffer far fewer gout attacks since I stopped taking doxazosin.
No, I'm not taking diuretics and I am drinking a lot of water to flush it out. I can't take Diclofenic as it is not safe if you have stomach problems as I do. The only thing I did wonder about is that I am taking methatrexate and they suppress the immune system so I wonder if they are stopping the gout from going.
Pain killers only deal with the symptoms anyway, not the cause. The ACV actively helps to get rid of the crystals that cause the pain, not mask the pain itself.
Strangely I started taking Cherry Active capsules last year as it is supposed to be very good for general arthritis pain (which I have very badly) as well as gout. I took it for nine months and didn't notice any benefit so gave it up just before November last year. I still have a few capsules of it left so have started taking it again, but it hasn't helped yet. I had never had gout before I started taking it, so it makes me wonder if it is any good at all for me.