I feel you pain, my friend. I'm 31, have been dealing with gout for about 10 years, but my attacks are coming slower now, thankfully.

Not to say that this is YOUR case, but I was quite overweight. After dropping about 40 pounds through exercise and changing my eating habits (hopefully permanently) I rarely get attacks anymore, but last week I got one that is just starting to recede now, in my ELBOW of all places. This is completely new to me, and I thought it was biceps tendonitis at the outset. It wasn't until the initial intense pain receded that I realized the pain was entirely in the joint, and not in the muscles or tendons at all.

My biggest suggestions to anyone suffering frequent attacks would be to drink more water, and try some of the daily "natural" remedies. By this, I don't mean the quackery that I see around, but more like.. dietary supplements. My favorite is morning lemon water. Every morning, I have the juice of one lemon (or lime, if you prefer) squeezed into a glass of water (you can use as much water as you like to make it palatable, or at least drinkable, to you). This acidic drink, paradoxically, it seems, alkalizes the blood, by forcing the body to release bicarbonate ions to neutralize the acid in your gut, but the ions are hijacked in your blood by the uric acid ions, and are neutralized, thus lowering your uric acid count.

Its not a miracle cure, and it won't solve all your problems, but drinking 2-3L of water a day, and starting your day with a glass of lemon water instead of coffee, is not a bad thing, overall, and can help in a myriad of ways.