Gout flare up...

[wallenba]

Darn, I was doing so good. Been on Allopurinol 300mg a few years now. Don't know what I did different, but my gout has flared up BIG time. Tomatoes are in, and I've been eating them like candy. Purine levels in them are low, so don't think they are to blame. Also am drinking diet Mountain Dew lately, normally it's diet Coke (Zero). Bought some Angus roast beef from the deli, but that's not unusual. Can't nail down the cause, or what I've consumed that's different. The seasonal fruits and melons I buy should not be a problem, and they are the only things not consumed all year long. Got some sugar snap peas... maybe.

Any gout sufferers out there with known food triggers? My biggies are liver, asparagus, bacon.

[dragonrider]

Beer triggered mine, quit drinking beer it went away. It's different for each person I think.

[Debo]

Try eating cherries

[osteodoc08]

It's your deli meat (out of what you listed)

Lots of info on gout concerning diet on the interweb.

[Finster101]

I have had one flare up. Nothing I have ever done hurt as much as it did and I have been knocked around a bit. I wish you a speedy recovery and hopefully finding the cause so it can be avoided in the future.

[kootne]

Try some of this, it don't work for everyone but it was a miracle for me. If it doesn't work, it is still some mighty fine syrup.
http://tasteatreat.com/cherryconcentrate.html
Weather also seems to affect me.
kootne

[jabo52521]

Mine flared up last night. Eat a hamburger from local chain. Asked for no salt on fries but burger was salted. Now will be laid up for a few days. Got get some cherries.

[wallenba]

Try eating cherries

Odd that you mentioned that. I've been munching on Rainier cherries and Michigan cherries for weeks. Then they dried up last week, switched to white seedless grapes, now I have a flare up.
I have heard cherries are good for gout too.

[BruceB]

A prescription medicine called "Indomethicin" works miracles for my gout. I carried the stuff all the time in my "work bag" for years, and when I felt the beginnings of an attack a dose of the stuff PREVENTED the attack.... it just never develops into a full-blown occurrence. Wonderful stuff, at least for me.

Come to think of it, I haven't had an attack in years, but man alive.... those who've never had gout should:

1) thank their lucky stars, and

2) hope they never do get it

because the pain is simply indescribable.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have a friend the suffers occasional Gout flare ups.
his trigger was Bailing Hay on a hot day.
I think the excessive sweating dehydrates the body and concentrates the uric acid.

He hates taking prescription drugs,
He has had luck with Cherries...but his newest cure is Celery Seed Extract

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CQQLFA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Beagle333]

My triggers were chocolate cake and beer. A large jug of cherry juice really helped speed up recovery.

[Moonie]

Any diuretics are bad even coffee. If it makes you pee alot don't do it. Drink lots of fluid, Cherry juice is great, I tend to drink diet V8 Splash as it has carrot juice which is also good for it. Organ meats are bad, chicken isn't as bad but not good, shrimp triggered my last flair up, was in my knee, never had it there before. I'll never eat shrimp again, that was miserable.

Warm water soaking of the affected area will help the crystals dissolve back into the blood. Drink lots of fluid to flush the uric acid from your system.

[Debo]

Even a bed sheet touching the affected area causes me pain. Miserable affliction.

[Hickory]

Eating cucumbers have been proven to reduce the pain associated with gout flare ups.

[wallenba]

Got my shoes on (no socks), made a fruitless trip (pun intended) to find some cherries. Drove to the super duper mega local produce place. No cherries, they sold out early. Drove a painful 8 miles back home. Gout is in my right big toe, naturally. So, braking and accelerating is a memorable experience. Decided to limp into the Kroger around the corner from home. No cherries. I did get a jug of tart cherry juice and a couple small bags of tart Montmorency dried cherries. At first they didn't smell too good, like something from a bait bucket I left in the trunk a month ago ( not really, but... ). They taste OK, yeah I ate em' anyway, pain is a powerful motivator.
Just gonna wait a bit. First door knockin' salesman that makes me get up and go to the door is gonna get an earful!.

[ph4570]

I have had it in toes and last year the left knee got hit a couple of times. Having it in the knee is more brutal than toes. Other than what has been mentioned above, drink lots and lots of water. I have been more active since last years knee attacks and drink a lot of water. I think both those help. I am not on any of the gout meds but when the knee event hit I did take prednisone for a few days.

[daengmei]

I got told spicy foods, and my wife is Thai, another reason for divorce? I almost always feel it and for some reason the Indomecithin(?) they give me seems to set it off. I won't take it, everytime I do I have an attack. Doc says impossible....I just know I havn't had an attack that's kept me from walkin for a few years. Mostly alcohol or high protein foods like beens and such set my misery. I was asked years ago by my daughter's teacher why I was limping and told her gout. I told her I wanted to cut my foot off, chainsaw type. She said her husband having an attack told her the same thing and that she always thought he was exaggerating. Poor fellow, no sympathy from her till now.

[Boyscout]

I had a flare up about 4 years ago. We discussed diet, drinking, and medications. My diet did not warrant concerns as related to gout and I do not drink. My medication was suspect. Many high-blood pressure medications have HCTZ (Hydro-chloro Thiazide?) as a diuretic. I have been off Lisinopril/HCTZ since the flair up and have been off allipurinol for a year now without any flare ups.

It would probalby be safe to say not everyone gets gout from the same causes. That was my trigger.

[6bg6ga]

I (knock on wood) haven't had a flare up for a while now. Cherries and cherry juice along with the other so called home cures don't do any good. I've found out that I have to drink 2 quarts of straight water a day or I get a dose of it.

[jcwit]

Maybe 10 years ago I used to get gout 3 or 4 times a year. Dr. Put me on Allopurinol, 1 a day, knock on wood, I haven't had it since.

Drinking plenty of water has many other health benefits as well.