primitives discuss gout

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/114214629

Oh my.

Big Bertha.

Bertha Venation (21,208 posts)    Wed Mar 18, 2015, 11:38 PM

Gout in the knee.
 
Preliminary diagnosis today, waiting for labs to come back.

I've read about gout online, six or seven articles, textbook-type stuff. But I hope to hear from people who have/have had it. What was your treatment and how long did it take for the pain to subside? How can I keep it from coming back -- or can I?

Here's how I found out I have it. I'm not happy. I've had this pain for weeks.

I've been begging my orthopedic surgeon for six weeks to help me with my right knee. I have problems with both, and am scheduled for arthroscopic surgery on the left. But the right hurts more. A lot more. I can barely move it and it's very hard to walk. It's as big as a bowling ball. She kept saying we can't address the right knee until we fix the left.

I went in today for the last in a series of hyalgen shots in the right knee (for arthritis pain. It's not working yet). I tried to be more forceful, and pleaded with her to do something, give me stuff to do at home, anything to alleviate the pain. I even asked her for narcotics.

Damned if she didn't tell me to lay down so she could examine it -- jesus, finally! She barely touched it and I jerked and yelped. She touched it all over, and I jerked and gasped every time. She said, "I think you're gouty." She did horrible things to the knee with two big syringes and showed me the result. *shudder* She sent me for blood work and said to come back next week.

Like I said -- I'm not happy.

Warpy (81,716 posts)    Thu Mar 19, 2015, 01:50 AM

11. Are you seeing a rheumatologist? If not, you need a referral NOW.
 
Acute gout needs to be attacked by both drugs and diet. The diet is a pain in the ass but you won't have to be as strict between bouts of the disease.

My mother had gout and hers was called mild and I wouldn't wish it on Cheney, it was so awful.

During the acute phase, when NSAIDs aren't cutting it, narcotics are appropriate. Just don't fall into the trap of taking more than necessary.

http://www.upmc.com/patients-visitors/education/nutrition/pages/low-purine-diet.aspx 

Michigan-Arizona (667 posts)   Thu Mar 19, 2015, 02:09 AM

12. Hubby has had it a few times
 
He first started out with a semi mild case in his toes, about a year later he got it super bad in his foot. It was so swollen that they thought he had a broken foot but the diagnosis was gout. They claim it is hereditary & we know that his dad had it numerous times. The day we went to the drs they gave him ibuprofen & alpurinol which did the job. His next bout was in the knee which also caused it to affect his foot. We managed to find a free pair of crutches on craigslist so he could keep the pressure off it, that helped him quite a bit. He has since cut out all red meat & drinks mostly water with lime or lemon juice in it. It has been months since his last bout. the bout he had with the knee he didn't go to the drs, we just did it with the juices & I soaked a wash cloth with pure apple cider vinegar that he kept on his knee, he said that seem to take allot of the pain away. He also kept his leg elevated for a few days...

tridim (44,786 posts)    Thu Mar 19, 2015, 08:58 AM

13. Do you take vitamin (hormone) D by chance?
 
How about magnesium?

Warpy (81,716 posts)    Thu Mar 19, 2015, 08:58 AM

15. Gout is serious
 
Supplements don't work on it. Sufferers need diet modification and medications.

tridim (44,786 posts)    Thu Mar 19, 2015, 12:06 PM

16. Too much D supplementation can cause gout.
 
And wasting of the body's crucial electrolytes at the cellular level. It is dangerous to take D without cofactors. That's why I mentioned it.

Supplements work on your ENTIRE BODY, Warpy, but only if you need them. Don't take supplements as a reaction to a symptom, use them for general health.

On edit: BTW I'm quite offended that you don't think I'm being serious and dismiss everything I say as such. Who the hell do you think you are to judge me? I like you, but damn Warpy, you don't know everything.

mopinko (43,469 posts)    Thu Mar 19, 2015, 09:05 AM

14. so glad you stuck up for yourself.
 
sorry about that exam.

i second warpy's advice to see a rheumie. your surgeon mostly thinks about surgery. rheumies think about pain, and function.

take whatever you need for the pain. pain is very bad for you.

take good care honey. 

[Carl]

The human knee was not created to deal with 250 lbs of blubber on top of it.

You don`t have gout,you have fat,fuking ass syndrome.

[franksolich]

BTW, it's about time another primitive gave Ms. Hindenberg her comeuppance.

In her haste to be the ubiquitous know-it-all, the defrocked warped primitive missed the meaning of the post the tridim primitive made, arrogantly jumping to the conclusion the tridim primitive was suggesting that.

<<<thinks it'd be good for Ugly to (1) stop thinking she knows more than anybody else, (2) stop jumping to conclusions, (3) adopt a more humble attitude, and (4) read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People.

[Mr Mannn]

Hmmm. is gout a ticket to the disability band wagon?

[Chris_]

Hmmm. is gout a ticket to the disability band wagon?

Not by a long shot.  It's more of the 'give grandma a pill' variety of healthcare that Barry O'Bama advocated.

[GOBUCKS]

Warpy (81,716 posts)    Thu Mar 19, 2015, 01:50 AM

During the acute phase, when NSAIDs aren't cutting it, narcotics are appropriate. Just don't fall into the trap of taking more than necessary.

The voice of experience!!

She should have added that if you're a registered nurse, don't steal narcotics from the hospital.

[SVPete]

I wonder how many are on BP meds. Some, such as hydrochlorothiazide, can cause gout after being taken fairly long-term. BTDTGTTS.

Eating more carefully and exercising - i.e. losing weight - enabled me to go off the hydrochlorothiazide.

Edit: Since 1985 it's not impossible that I and my immediate family have cost my medical insurance plans over $200K, not counting stuff like pre-natal care & childbirth or physicals. Not a dime of that was paid by government programs; it was all by medical insurance plans that were part of my compensation for which I worked. "If I can, you can," is a bit simplistic, and definitely shopworn, but there is a lot of validity to it.

Many people in the US are government-dependent by choice (and not just a conscious choice to be a sponge or fraudster): deciding to screw around in school instead of learning; stupid "career" choices (really, for what profession does a BA in Philosophy or History prepare you?); short-sighted indulgence (e.g. having sex when you aren't prepared to undertake the responsibility of parenting - and I don't mean $$ only! - a child; buying all the latest "music" and electronic toys - especially on credit - instead of living within your means and saving. Recognizing and taking responsibility for past stupidity won't fix present problems, but denying past stupidity is an obstacle to doing what it will take to fix those problems!

[JohnnyReb]

Gout was known as a disease of the rich.....or now the government food stamp crowd.

[obumazombie]

Gout was known as a disease of the rich.....or now the government food stamp crowd.

That's what I always understood.
The rich diet like the sauce based French dishes were invariably the cause.

[dixierose]

My BF's brother has gout, and he cannot eat any kind of shellfish (especially shrimp). His gout will flair up for a week after eating shellfish.

[Chris_]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUqrlf_26es[/youtube]

Gout 101: check out that knee!

[diesel driver]

My BF's brother has gout, and he cannot eat any kind of shellfish (especially shrimp). His gout will flair up for a week after eating shellfish.

My Mom and MIL has it, if they eat too much yeasty breads (like those King Hawaiian dinner rolls  ) , their big toes hurt bad enough they want to take an axe and cut them off!  MIL takes meds for hers, not sure about Mom, but at 83, I haven't seen anything slow her down (much) yet!

[FiddyBeowulf]

I hear drinking cherry juice will help relieve the symptoms of gout. That and drinking a ton of water.

[diesel driver]

I hear drinking cherry juice will help relieve the symptoms of gout. That and drinking a ton of water.

Ditto that.   

[Vagabond]

Bertha Venation (21,208 posts)    Wed Mar 18, 2015, 11:38 PM

Gout in the knee.
 
Preliminary diagnosis today, waiting for labs to come back.

I've read about gout online, six or seven articles, textbook-type stuff. But I hope to hear from people who have/have had it. What was your treatment and how long did it take for the pain to subside? How can I keep it from coming back -- or can I?

Here's how I found out I have it. I'm not happy. I've had this pain for weeks.

I've been begging my orthopedic surgeon for six weeks to help me with my right knee. I have problems with both, and am scheduled for arthroscopic surgery on the left. But the right hurts more. A lot more. I can barely move it and it's very hard to walk. It's as big as a bowling ball. She kept saying we can't address the right knee until we fix the left.

I went in today for the last in a series of hyalgen shots in the right knee (for arthritis pain. It's not working yet). I tried to be more forceful, and pleaded with her to do something, give me stuff to do at home, anything to alleviate the pain. I even asked her for narcotics.

Damned if she didn't tell me to lay down so she could examine it -- jesus, finally! She barely touched it and I jerked and yelped. She touched it all over, and I jerked and gasped every time. She said, "I think you're gouty." She did horrible things to the knee with two big syringes and showed me the result. *shudder* She sent me for blood work and said to come back next week.

Like I said -- I'm not happy.

Bertha, here's some of the most basic free advice you are going to get.   Gout is almost always cause by Uric acid build up in the blood stream, and that is caused by renal failure.  You are at some stage of kidney failure.  This is not treatable, only manageable.  You need to look up diets for renal failure and start following them.