What's new
By:
Filters

Gout: The Disease of Kings

evernoob

evernoob

Reactionary
Joined
May 21, 2020
Member Number
1083
Messages
4,597
It's official: I am old.

In case you didn't know, old Ben Franklin used to suffer from the gout something fierce, and wrote an essay about it:

Dialogue Between Franklin and the Gout
https://www.bartleby.com/109/3.html

Gout was the 'Fashionable Disease' back in Georgian times:

pnCYCJW.jpg


So I woke up with a throbbing pain in my right foot, that soon morphed into a searing read hot dollop of molten iron collected in the knuckle of my big toe. It was so bad, it took me a good 3 minutes to get the sheet off of my foot.

I had no idea what was going on so I figured at long last the rheumatoid arthritis which devastated my mother had finally set in. It finally backed off a bit so I went back to sleep, then staggered out of bed in the morning and hobbled my way to the bathroom duties and such.

Then it occurred to me I had gout. The joint was all red and swollen with a big protrusion on the inside of the foot right at the base of the big toes. The day before I had eaten almost an entire pound of honey-roasted peanuts ($1.99) which are loaded with HFCS. Plus earlier that day I got a hankering for some mustard sardines, so I had a couple cans of those.

Finally I had a bunch of ice tea in the fridge that was pretty old so I decided to drink it up, instead of my usual gallon or so of water I drink per day.

Yeah, that's all risk factors for gout :lmao:

But back in Franklin's time, you really weren't anybody if you didn't get the Gout once in a while.

40674_2015_12_Figa_HTML.gif

gout11.jpg


“The common cold is well named – but the gout seems instantly to raise the patient’s social status”,​

and to another in Punch in 1964,
“In keeping with the spirit of more democratic times, gout is becoming less upper-class and is now open to all … It is ridiculous that a man should be barred from enjoying gout because he went to the wrong school.”​
Click to expand...


Now the good news:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/g...ia-hltz5klpfbr
Gout sufferers ‘less likely to get dementia’

The risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease drops by 24 per cent if you have a history of gout, according to a study.
 
Been there, done that... Drink more water. I got some Chanca Piedra off of Amazon as well as some Tart Cherry extract stuff to help rid my body of Uric acid. I took it for a long while after my gout went away to help flush it out. Haven't taken any in a long time now though and haven't had gout in a couple of years.

Also see if you can get a script for some Indomethacin from your Dr. or if anyone you know has some lying around start taking that shit A.S.A.P so you can at least start walking again.
 
I had it bad myself. I got rid of it by following a friend's advice ... Drink more water on a night of drinking and if you're going to be drinking don't do red meat at the same time. That helped for years.....
 
Had it like that 5x in the last 2 years. Shellfish knocks me in the dirt.

800 MG Motrin will get you walking again, and drink water constantly.
 
In the unlikely event that it isn't gout, it could be psoriatic arthritis.

Had a friend with it (may still have it, but no longer a friend so IDGAF).
 
ExWrench said:
In the unlikely event that it isn't gout, it could be psoriatic arthritis.

Had a friend with it (may still have it, but no longer a friend so IDGAF).
Click to expand...

Doesn't that usually come with psoriasis? Ex wife had it and would get red dry patches all over her body in addition to the joint pain. Had to take $$$ shots for it.
 
I haven't been drinking. I must have been saved by my usual water drinking from an earlier attack.

I didn't have an NSAID around but took 1,000 mg of tylenol and I'm walking though the joint is swollen and painful. It's definitely let up, that brought me out of a dead sleep.
 
ExWrench said:
Yes, as far as I know, it always does. No idea if OP has psoriasis, was just throwing out an alternate root cause.
Click to expand...

I think I'm susceptible to it and I've had some small dry patches on my finger. I had shingles already too, that was unpleasant. But no arthritis so far except the joints I've damaged like my right knee and that time I dropped a motorcycle on my right foot, that will flare up sometimes.

Nothing auto-immune yet thank god, that inflammation did my mom in and it wasn't pleasant to see.
 
I get a flare up every now and then. Over the years I've learned to watch my diet and avoid too many back-to-back days of red meat, shellfish, or foods containing HFCS. Averaging about 1 bad flare up per year... I can usually "feel it coming" and drink lots of water, abstain from foods that are triggers and get it to subside without a full blown flare-up. Oddly enough, I've only ever had it once in my big toe area (where it is most common); I've had it in my left wrist, both ankles and a knee (ankles is the most common).

First time was in my wrist, after 2-3 days of it hurting like crazy, went to an urgent care; Dr. said it was arthritis and gave me Indocin and it went away. Second time it hit my ankle, saw my family doctor at that time, he had blood drawn for a test for uric acid levels, but they came back normal. Next time was in my knee and my family doc sent me to have fluid drawn and that's where they found the crystals... not a fun experience having a giant needle inserted into a swollen with gout knee.

I take cherry extract and drink lots of water, and avoid having red meat more than 2 days in a row, but I don't take alopurinol. When I get a bad flare up I take the Colchicine and Indocin and ice the heck out of the joint (it's amazing how much cold you can endure when your joint is on fire with gout).
 
I've been dealing with gout for awhile as well. Seems sour beers cause a flare up for me or will at least trigger it quicker than other beers/alcohol. Normally can feel it building and between drinking a LOT more water than normal, getting in some extra exercise, and watching the what I eat a little closer I can stop it before it gets too bad. Generally hits the big toe for me.
 
IEATRKS84 said:
so youre a fat fuck that gets no exercise, makes sense
Click to expand...
It can definitely be diet based. I had a flare up when I was working out 3-5x a week and used to eating clean then went partying day after day on a work trip filled with beers and junk food
 
I had my first ever, and only so far, gout flare up after a trip to germany in October of last year. I drank nothing but wheat beer, and ate german food coated in gravy, woke up when I got back and i wanted to machete my foot off. I had been excessively drinking beer and eating like shit for a few years prior to that and had an insane stressful job. I wasnt THAT fat at 245lbs 5'11, and I'm 36. Fucking sucks, but it led to some pretty drastic life changes. I gave up drinking, I have an occasional beer (foot aches the next day) and changed up my diet big time and quit my super stressful job, and lost almost 50lbs. I recomend drinking a glass of 100% tart cherry juice a day and getting this cookbook and following it:
20200731_151300.jpg


I have gotten the hang of what I can and cant eat, so I dont follow that book religiously. I did for the first few months and dropped a ton of weight and the recipes are really good! I haven't had another flare up since then, but I can feel my foot ache a bit if I do have a few drinks or eat alot of red meat for the week. I am not going on meds for now because I wanted to drink less and get into better health first. Let me know if you have any questions.
 
Did you get tested or just assume?
Your post reads as you just woke up one day in pain and said, I have gout.
 
I got my first round of gout at the age of 28 years old. I was 5' 10' and 170 lbs. I spent a large amount of time in my 20's drinking beer daily and not watching my water intake. Then I picked up a job that required a lot of travel. Stress went up, was eating out every night on the road, drinking on company tab, and not paying any attention to what I put in my body. I lived that way for quite a while and would just try to tough out the flare ups. At the age of about 32 the flare ups were so bad that I couldn't walk at all or put on a shoe a couple times per year. The uric acid built up so bad my foot had deformed. Got on alopurinal and started pounding water daily. Haven't had a flare up it quite a while and my foot is returning to normal.
 
welndmn said:
Did you get tested or just assume?
Your post reads as you just woke up one day in pain and said, I have gout.
Click to expand...

And this! Make sure you get tested for it because managing gout fucking sucks balls, and there are other issues that manifest themselves the same way.

Mine was I went to the clinic after I couldnt stand the pain anymore, they looked at it said you have gout, tested my blood, confirmed I had it and the docs told me "sucks getting old, eat better and drink more water" and sent me on my way.
 
Last edited:
welndmn said:
Did you get tested or just assume?
Your post reads as you just woke up one day in pain and said, I have gout.
Click to expand...

Well no there's more to it than that but I didn't want to bore everyone with a big health history. It dawned on my that I had gout after thinking hard about what was going on with my foot. Believe me, the pain will make you think real hard about what you just did to your foot. Welp, that foot has been injured when I was riding with my BIL, I got knocked off my bike and next to it, then it started falling over on me so I jammed my boot (not motorcycle boot) up under it to wedge it up, of course it crushed my foot and tore the ligaments along the first knuckles in my foot (not that bad, that's a serious injury I got lucky). So that was a few years ago and that area would flare up now and the, I chalked it up to that. Sprained a foot sucks, really bad, I got off easy.

Anyway, my BIL a few years back discovered the joys of fleischman's yeast and homemade wine. So after about 3 months of nearly free booze, he got gout.

So that was the connection, my BIL getting gout, and that foot being injured while romping through the swamp on bikes with him.

The rest is just research. My symptoms and the causes read directly off the CDC website practically.
 
evernoob said:
Well no there's more to it than that but I didn't want to bore everyone with a big health history. It dawned on my that I had gout after thinking hard about what was going on with my foot. Believe me, the pain will make you think real hard about what you just did to your foot. Welp, that foot has been injured when I was riding with my BIL, I got knocked off my bike and next to it, then it started falling over on me so I jammed my boot (not motorcycle boot) up under it to wedge it up, of course it crushed my foot and tore the ligaments along the first knuckles in my foot (not that bad, that's a serious injury I got lucky). So that was a few years ago and that area would flare up now and the, I chalked it up to that. Sprained a foot sucks, really bad, I got off easy.

Anyway, my BIL a few years back discovered the joys of fleischman's yeast and homemade wine. So after about 3 months of nearly free booze, he got gout.

So that was the connection, my BIL getting gout, and that foot being injured while romping through the swamp on bikes with him.

The rest is just research. My symptoms and the causes read directly off the CDC website practically.
Click to expand...

I would get that checked by a doc, it's a blood test and an xray. You luckly may not have gout. I did all that self diagnosis and research to convince myself I didnt have it, but do, but like I said earlier there are a lot of other issues that have similar symptoms.
 
Slander said:
I had my first ever, and only so far, gout flare up after a trip to germany in October of last year. I drank nothing but wheat beer, and ate german food coated in gravy, woke up when I got back and i wanted to machete my foot off. I had been excessively drinking beer and eating like shit for a few years prior to that and had an insane stressful job. I wasnt THAT fat at 245lbs 5'11, and I'm 36. Fucking sucks, but it led to some pretty drastic life changes. I gave up drinking, I have an occasional beer (foot aches the next day) and changed up my diet big time and quit my super stressful job, and lost almost 50lbs. I recomend drinking a glass of 100% tart cherry juice a day and getting this cookbook and following it:
filedata/fetch?id=88471&d=1596226665

I have gotten the hang of what I can and cant eat, so I dont follow that book religiously. I did for the first few months and dropped a ton of weight and the recipes are really good! I haven't had another flare up since then, but I can feel my foot ache a bit if I do have a few drinks or eat alot of red meat for the week. I am not going on meds for now because I wanted to drink less and get into better health first. Let me know if you have any questions.
Click to expand...

Yep, I bought a bunch of pork recently because it dropped in price after it went up... so I filled my freezer and usually chicken is my staple. I've been eating a lot of smothered pork chops, pork roasts de-glazed with wine, and I stocked up on sardines b/c Prepping... then those peanuts with HFCS which I usually avoid. Then I purposefully ate up a bunch of ground beef that was getting old in the freeze. I laid off the beer recently but I drank a fifth of vodka over about 4 days with OJ, cheap of course with HFCS, I don't normally drink cheap OJ.

Edit; oh yeah, dried beans too, I'm going through the stock I set aside in February b/c plague...

Plus I got some of those boxed greens on sale... all spinach :lmao: It's all those 'purine' foods. I backed off on my water... created a Perfect Storm.

Then a couple stabbing feelings I chalked up to an old injury... and the weight, I'm 240 5'10" (well I'm shrinking actually with my huge gut deforming my spine), so right on the cusp of getting seriously obese.

It's gout man. I need to get tested but that big knob down there, you know it feels like a red swollen pimple that won't pop but it's foot sized. Shit got my attention no doubt.
 
Last edited:
evernoob said:
Yep, I bought a bunch of pork recently because it dropped in price after it went up... so I filled my freezer and usually chicken is my staple. I've been eating a lot of smothered pork chops, pork roasts de-glazed with wine, and I stocked up on sardines b/c Prepping... then those peanuts with HFCS which I usually avoid. Then I purposefully ate up a bunch of ground beef that was getting old in the freeze. I laid off the beer recently but I drank a fifth of vodka over about 4 days with OJ, cheap of course with HFCS, I don't normally drink cheap OJ.

Plus I got some of those boxed greens on sale... all spinach :lmao: It's all those 'purine' foods. I backed off on my water... created a Perfect Storm.

Then a couple stabbing feelings I chalked up to an old injury... and the weight, I'm 240 5'10" (well I'm shrinking actually with my huge gut deforming my spine), so right on the cusp of getting seriously obese.

It's gout man. I need to get tested but that big knob down there, you know it feels like a red swollen pimple that won't pop but it's foot sized. Shit got my attention no doubt.
Click to expand...
Yea that would do it I guess.

Say good bye to those sardines!! Spinach is actually good for it and helps stave off flare ups despite being high purine. That cookbook is sweet, and if you are any sort of a chef you can easily spice up the dishes and change them up a bit to make them taste better, but cooked as is they are quite tasty for diet food, or really any food. I love food and drinking, but that pain made me change it up. I know you can get on that pill, but I needed the lifestyle change bad and need to develop better habits before getting on a script. My wife was ready to have a drinking intervention with me (not kidding), got really.lucky there! I dropped all that weight by following the cookbook, and stopping drinking, I didnt really increase the exercising at all.
 
RaginCaucasian said:
I got my first round of gout at the age of 28 years old. I was 5' 10' and 170 lbs. I spent a large amount of time in my 20's drinking beer daily and not watching my water intake. Then I picked up a job that required a lot of travel. Stress went up, was eating out every night on the road, drinking on company tab, and not paying any attention to what I put in my body. I lived that way for quite a while and would just try to tough out the flare ups. At the age of about 32 the flare ups were so bad that I couldn't walk at all or put on a shoe a couple times per year. The uric acid built up so bad my foot had deformed. Got on alopurinal and started pounding water daily. Haven't had a flare up it quite a while and my foot is returning to normal.
Click to expand...

I must say I didn't think this was a issue for young people , but I should have known since my oldest boy got shingles at 8 years old , I was like WTH ?
 
FJC11 said:
I must say I didn't think this was a issue for young people , but I should have known since my oldest boy got shingles at 8 years old , I was like WTH ?
Click to expand...

Honestly its embarrassing! Especially when people were asking why you were hobbling around, you tell them why, and they say your too young for that shit!! I was on the road for work alot, also drinking and eating on company/vendors dime and drinking a TON to cope with stress. If it wasnt beer or a martini, it was coffee I was drinking.

I had a friend get shingles at 25, I couldnt imagine getting it at 8! That seems like it sucks at any age!
 
FJC11 said:
I must say I didn't think this was a issue for young people , but I should have known since my oldest boy got shingles at 8 years old , I was like WTH ?
Click to expand...

That's terrible :eek: Poor kid, that's unfair. That was like having acid thrown on my skin. But I had the pox as a kid, that's how they did it back then make us visit with our infested cousins. :lmao:
 
evernoob said:
That's terrible :eek: Poor kid, that's unfair. That was like having acid thrown on my skin. But I had the pox as a kid, that's how they did it back then make us visit with our infested cousins. :lmao:
Click to expand...

Yup that is how I got the measles, but we survived to tell the stories. lol
 
Had it to a crippling degree in my mid-late 30's. Gave up drinking, started/got back into physical stuff, haven't had a bout in a while (couple years) now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh