Just Diagnosed with Gout...what the...?

What . . . . . . the . . . . . . HAIL! :evil:
I eat healthy and on occasion have a few too many beers, but I don't eat the bad seafood, eat lots of salads, bananas, fruit sorbets, drink lots of water, and I ride bicycles a lot, compared to some...
Thursday noticed my right foot aching a bit at work, Friday morning I had tractor work to do and my foot was throbbing, had no idea what was going on.

Took today off work and went to the Doctor, she told me I have Gout... WTF...
That's what unhealthy people get, at least so I thought.
I know, as always I will bounce back, I always overcome, just Very discouraged right now.

 

So sorry to hear. I believe Gout is related to Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus and Crohn's disease. It has little or nothing to do with what you do and what you eat. It is an autoimmune deficiency problem when your body attacks itself. It sucks. My wife has had Rheumatoid Arthritis since she was 30 and has had a hell of a time fighting it. The medications for Gout, RA, Crohn's and Lupus are often the same. Enbrel, Remicaid, Humira, Orencia are biologic combatants that may be prescribed. Tami was on Enbrel for ten years, then Orencia (currently) and both helped her dramatically.You will also be prescribed powerful anti-inflammatories and other chemo meds like methyltrexate, arrava, prednisone and more. It's manageable, but you will most likely have flare-ups for a few days at a time that will be excruciating. You don't deserve this, :thumbdown: but you can manage it! :thumbup:

I think at least one other member of IMTB might chime in here.

 

Sorry about the diagnosis, Mikie... But, like Herz has explained in his usually detailed way, it is manageable! You got this! :thumbup:

 

^^ What they said. +. You got this.

 

Mikie my friend I'm sorry to hear of this but as the other guys have said you got this. Disclaimer, I'm no doc and I didn't stay at a Holliday Inn last night either...

I too was diagnosed with gout about 8 years ago. Don't believe the stereotypes that it only happens to overweight guys that are drunks and eat like crap cause I can tell you first hand that's BS. I literally went to bed one evening feeling perfect and about half way thru the night I woke up to the most excruciating imaginable pain in my big toe . Hurt so bad I couldn't let the weight of a sheet sit on my foot. After a couple days of suffering and considering self amputation I went to see the doc and he suspected gout and did some blood work to confirm a high uric acid level. Also told me that my uric acid had been high for several years and that he was surprised that with my levels I hadn't been in to see him earlier. He told me the only way they can confirm a gout diagnosis is to verify high uric acid levels thru blood tests or to extract fluid from the inflamed joint and send it to the lab. For several years they just treated the flare ups(toes, foot, ankle, knee, hip you name it) with steroids & anti inflammatory pills(typical Kaiser) like Herz said but they never tried to treat the underlying problem. I would get several flare ups a year(usually lasting 3-4 days) and finally after showing up to the doc with my knee swollen up to the size of a basketball (you've seen my bird legs) he referred me to the orthopedist thinking it was something else. The ortho literally poked around for about 5 seconds and said he was sure this was gout and he wanted to extract some fluid from the joint to confirm(this needle is NOT fun but they can see the crystals in the lab). He immediately recommended I be placed on meds to help control my uric acid levels and told me that all the perfect dieting and exercise and such simply was not going to lower my acid levels enough to avoid the complications. I've now been taking a daily uloric pill for about 5 years which is something I would normally totally oppose. Several blood tests later have confirmed that the acid levels are now pretty much in check and guess what I still get some flare ups maybe twice a year or so but they are VERY minor compared to the real thing.

I'm sure the beer and bbq and such probably don't help me but no special diet I ever tried did either so I say lets go ride and have a beer or two my friend.

Oh and thanks herzalot. I think you educated me more in a one minute read than all the doctors have thru the years.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-l...ealthy-eating/in-depth/gout-diet/art-20048524

Some info Mikie for ya.

 

Sorry to hear Mikie but I'm pretty sure you can handle it like a champ !!!
Hang on and keep pedaling !!!
By the way, I usually go to Tijuana and if you need medicine from mexico just let me know and to clarify why do I offer this kind of help, is I'm from mexico and we trust the doctors and medicine from over there, the example I can give, is that my daugther was diagnosed with asthma and of course me and my wife were sad, since I suffer from allergies, so after a year of going back and forth with the pediatric and antibiotic, or steroids to open ber lungs we decided to visit a doctor (pediatric with masters on pneumology studies)that helped my lil bro years ago, and we did, and after telling the doctors the symptoms, be said "Jaime after the symptoms you just told me I'm seeing the way your daughter breathes and I can tell you she is not ashmatic she just have allergies, any of you have allergies? "Me" I said, and he started the check up on her, did the allergie test on her arm, she was positive for egg yolk, cat and dog hair and some types of pines/trees, prescibed some medicine, a shot and a follow up for the following week, and belive or not, she was waaaayyyy better in a week of treatment and even gain 1 pound, and we have my daughter under treatment with the doctor, and we go for the new vaccine which we have to apply once a week on her arm and no allergies and no difficulty of breathing, no more absences at school... well she is doing fine, so thats why I go to tijuana, and thats why I recommend medicine and doctors from mexico. hope this helps Mikie !!

 

Sorry to hear this Mikie. I hope it's not too painful.

 

Well that's a drag Mikie. Could be worse, you could have chicken legs and feet like me!!

Chin up, bike on!!! XXOO

 

That sucks Mikie, but like Voodoo Tom said, it should be manageable with a good doc treating the underlying cause (excess uric acid). And you may not be able to have those 20oz steaks every day, anymore

 

I wish I had your Mexican doctor when I was little! They had me on more inhalers, pills, and shots than I can count- and even a week in an oxygen tent! The final straw was when they wanted to break and reshape my nose at 13. I told my mom that was it... No more guinea pig.

Sorry for the thread jack, Mikie... I guess my point is to seek second opinions and educate yourself as much as possible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

many of these conditions are environmentally caused more than from diet. Its hard to pinpoint causes so people just think genetics. But look at the changes to our health in the last 60 years, every other kids seems to have asthma or touretts and every other adult has some autoimmune disease. Look at those alternative treatments that others have brought up, good luck and stay positive - that has an effect also

 

Sorry about the gout, I thought I had that too until I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis last year. Now I am on a newer med called Otezla which has helped but I still have some very sore finger and toe joints, some of my fingers look like Jimmy Dean sausages because the joints are so swollen. Before I started Otezla there were some mornings that I had to walk with a bad limp because I was in so much pain (my whole ankle was swollen before the meds).

One of the best things for my joints is to ride, I notice a lot more stiffness when I am off the bike for a week or two. Not sure if keeping the affected joint moving helps with gout though. I also soak my feet in a warm bath with mineral/epsom salts that have eucalyptus in them which feels good after rides. My wife mocks me about my "pedicures" when I pull out the foot bath though (we constantly rip on each other in good fun).

I had just turned 33 when I was told I had psoriatic arthritis and was a bit discouraged but have dealt with it and only think about it when I get a sharp pain trying to button my shirt in the morning on occasion. Sounds like you are a healthy dude, hope the flare ups are kept to a minimum!

 

Yo mikie.... maybe you can start rehab with this Dr.... [emoji41] [emoji41]

 

Mikie, I work in the inflammation / medical device field and just met with three of the world's leading rheumatologists today and I can say you are getting good advice here. Herz' has provided you good counsel as have others here. As we age, most of us will face crazy (and not so crazy) things. The doctors discovered that I have thyroid disease about 10 years ago--not fun, but manageable. I'll pray for you and all of us here.

TA

 

Sorry to hear Mikie, I'm sure you will work through this. Seems to be some very good advice, Michele is going through and figuring out 3 auto-immune diseases, hang in there and research, you can do this, cause your Mikie Watson!

 

One of my friends has been living with gout since he was 21. Since then, until about 2 years ago, he ate a clean diet and ceased drinking altogether. Throughout those years, he did have a few gout attacks, and his doc said that it had to do with stress. Perhaps you need a vacation.

 

Huh... The last 6 months I have been more stress free than I have been in the last 5 years! The Blood Test Results did NOT reflect having Gout, yet my (barely discernible) doctor the from the Philippians stated it still was Gout. Sooo I have my doubts and seeking a 2nd opinion from a foot specialist. I have heard it could very well still be Gout.

So far I have turned vegetarian, no caffeine, no BEER, and I have added an additional 2.2 liters of water to my daily intake. Admittedly, I DO feel better in general, but I think I am still detoxing.
So I can be very crabby at times...
But I'm managing...

 

How about oxalic acid? I eat a LOT of spinach, and my nutritionist friend (Kelly, author of the book I sent) warns that too much oxalic acid can exacerbate gout symptoms.

 

Yep! I bet Popeye has a chronic case of Gout!
(I read that too...)

 

Your Pilipino doctor actually said, "You hab doubt. Your doubt will be your downpall."

Know what you call two Filipino pilots? A pair of pliers.

I kill me.

(He wasn't really a Phillipian. Those dudes are from the bible, and they're extinct.)

 

Ha ha hahhh!
RwS will be here all week, with shows at 12:00, 3:00, and 5:30.
Ahhh Thank you very much! Wah hah...

 

Research:

turmeric
ginger
pineapples
Try making juice with those.

All help reduce inflammation. I've seen turmeric help people with blood pressure but it has many benefits for different ailments.

 

Here's the video mikie, sorry I took too long to fixed ! but thanks to Varaxis, because in another thread he explained how to do it !

 

So...what was the result of the second opinion?

 

Gout.... Dahmeet!
No doubt revolving around my diet at the time (more than likely beer was the big push over).
So I have changed my diet and things have been good so far.
Thanks for asking!
Mikie