Can Elevated Uric Acid Levels Cause Other Non-gout Problems? Posted: 10-29-07 08:46am
Hello everyone,
I'm new here.
I just realized that last time I had
blood drawn that my uric acid level is a
little high (6.9-7.2 usually). Its been
this way for awhile and I didn't know it.
I don't have any toe problems, other
than arthritis and spasms in my big toe.
But.....I have fibromyalgia with tons of
stiffness and muscle pains. The doctor
says the elevated uric acid levels are
inconsequential, but it makes me wonder.
I'd hate to overlook a possible connection
with fibromyalgia/joint-muscle pain if it
really does have something to do with the
uric acid.
Do any of you know of any other
conditions that may arise from an elevated
uric acid, without any apparant gout? All
my inflamation-type lab tests are normal
(sedrate, rheumatoid factor, etc.) What
do you uric acid levels usually run?
Thanks for your help.
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painfree
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 74 Location: ,
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Posted: 10-30-07 08:07am
Much new medical research is showing that
elevated levels of serum uric acid are
associated with many serious conditions,
including kidney disease, cardiovascular
diseases, and rheumatoid arthritis. Many
of these researchers express surprise when
I inform them that the chronic
intermittent hypoxia (lack of oxygen) from
sleep apnea has been shown to cause excess
celular generation of uric acid, and they
are grateful to receive the list of
medical journal references that they
request from me.
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CatherineA
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 7
Posted: 10-30-07 08:39am
Thanks painfree,
That's very interesting! I began using
an APAP machine last summer. I will do a
search for some of those articles. It
will be interesting to see if my uric acid
levels go down after using the APAP for
awhile.
THanks painfree. Lots of good
references!
Was that your own personal story?
Next time I see my Internist, I'm going
to show him this list. I doubt he's ever
known about a connection. Thanks again.
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painfree
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 74 Location: ,
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Posted: 10-31-07 19:42pm
Yes, that is my personal story.
But to focus on your concern about
fibromyalgia - a medical study conducted
several years ago found that 80% of the
people with fibromyalgia and had sleep
apnea. That's an enormous percentage! I'm
glad that you are being treated for sleep
apnea, and it will be interesting to see
if your serum uric acid level goes down to
the normal range. Some of the references
on my website did find that benefit after
treatment for sleep apnea by the use of a
pressurized CPAP mask while sleeping and
by surgical reduction of the uvula, the
punching bag at the back of our mouths.
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CatherineA
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 7
Posted: 10-31-07 20:41pm
Thanks painfree,
So you're not interested in using a
CPAP machine? I really fought it. I had
a sleep study a couple years ago and it
was not fun, since I'm a anxious person.
They didn't tell me that I had to go back
again for a titration test. I said no.
I just couldn't do it. My Internist knew
about fibro and sleep disorders and was
hoping a machine would help. I told him I
just couldn't go through with the
titration test. He encouraged me to see
this one sleep doc. When I went to him,
he was willing to let me try it without
another study. I was very grateful.
He set my pressures low and we went
from there. I've had several problems
since I started it in May, and I didn't
want to mess with the machine during those
times, but I'm back on it and have been
for about 2 months. It does give me
energy and motivation. However my aches
and pains are still there.
It will be interesting to see if my
uric acid levels go down.
I don't have gout.....but I wonder if
I was headed in that direction?? Time
will tell......if my levels go down.
(Although I know that some people with
high uric acid levels still don't have
gout).
With fibromyalgia, I have another sleep
problem too (as many of us do). I have
alpha wave intrusion.....which means as
soon as I start to go into a deeper sleep,
the bad fairy slaps me, and I wake up.
hahaha So even though my machine is
stopping my apnea, I still have that other
problem.
Do you think your whiffle ball is
helping you enough? Would you consider a
machine?
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painfree
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 74 Location: ,
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Posted: 11-01-07 08:38am
As I mentioned in my website, after 18
months of sleeping with the balls strapped
to my back, I found that I had trained
myself well enough to avoid sleeping on my
back without them. I rely on five
indicators to reassure me that this method
is working: absence of gout attacks,
absence of atrial fibrillation, my annual
hemoglobin A1c blood test to reassure me
that my diabetes has not returned, my
occassional overnight testing of my blood
oxygen saturation level using a rented
pulse oximeter with a tape printout, and
my wife telling me that my snoring is very
infrequent. But this method is not
effective for many people. At least one
medical study finds it most effective for
people who are not overweight. As long as
it wokrs for me, I don't intend to use a
pressurized mask while sleeping.
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CatherineA
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 7
Posted: 11-01-07 09:16am
Hi Painfree,
I don't blame you one bit for not
wanting to wear the mask/machine. Sounds
like you have a good system for keeping
your eye on your apnea.
I've noticed that if I eat too many
carbs, my sleeping is deeper, and I tend
to have more apnea. I think as long as
our GI tracks are asked to work, our
brains are awake, and our sleep isn't as
good, so I also try not to eat after
dinner and before bed.
I wish more doctors thought like you.
I'm always thinking of cause-and-effect
connections, but when I bring them up to
the docs, they dismiss them. Its just too
easy for them to prescribe meds, instead
of really thinking through.
I think alot of my apnea started with
menopause. I'm not sure the whiffle ball
would work for me. But I'm glad it worked
for you.
I just find it strange that so many people
are having this problem. Is it our
lifestyles? Our eating habits? Our
constant sleep deprivation (and by that I
mean we don't take sleep seriously and
don't get enough of it)?
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painfree
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 74 Location: ,
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Posted: 11-03-07 19:31pm
Hi Catherine,
I too wish that more doctors thought like
me. If they did, they would be routinely
screening all of their patients for sleep
apnea, just as they routinely screen all
of their patients for high blood pressure.
A very authoritative epidemiological study
from a few years ago concludes that about
20% of the adult population of the US has
sleep apnea in at least the mild form, and
that even mild sleep apnea can lead to
very serious, even life-threatening
consequences. Those with gout have an
unignorable alarm from gout pain that
sounds almost immediately, well before the
more serious consequences develop.
Unfortunately, only a very small
percentage of people with sleep apnea have
been diagnosed with it, which I consider
to be a major failure of modern medical
practice. It's not completely clear why
this disease is so prevalent in the US.
I'm sure the obesity epidemic has a lot to
do with it, because as the body mass index
increases above the acceptable level, the
likelihood of developing sleep apnea has
been found to increase exponentially. But
skinny people are not immune from it. It's
just less likely to occur. As other
countries adopt the modern American
lifestyle, the prevalence of sleep apnea
in those countries rises quickly as well.
At least this much seems clear to me - the
modern American diet is not compatible
with the modern American lifestyle.
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VaNole
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 25 Location: Va Beach Virginia
Posted: 12-13-07 14:22pm
Catherine,
I have not been as lucky as painfree with
the getting my sleep apnea under control
to help alleviate gout. I wish I was and
am glad it works for him. I've been a
gout sufferer since 1990 and have had a
CPAP machine since 2000. I also have
fibromyalgia. Sleep deprivation will
definitly play havoc with fibromyalgia.
What are you taking for the
fibromyalgia??
Concerning other things that uric acid can
cause problems with. On 13 Nov I had my
first of 4 bouts with kidney stones last
one the docs in the ER got tired of seeing
me and admitted me. I have past 11 stones
during the 4 bouts and all stones analyzed
were of the uric acid variety.
One of the things I learned was that
Probenicid (gout med) and Losarten (heart
med) that I was taken helped in
formulating the stones so the docs have
taken me off these two meds and added two
different ones to the mix.
Wish you well.
Very Respectfully,
Jeff
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JYY2
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Posts: 227
Posted: 12-13-07 20:46pm
Hi Jeff,
I am very glad you are well and back home
now. Take care.
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VaNole
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 25 Location: Va Beach Virginia
Posted: 12-13-07 23:31pm
JYY2,
Thanks my friend. I still owe you some
lab answers. Will dig them out in the am
and post them. Last month has been
awful.
V/R
Jeff
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CatherineA
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 7
Posted: 12-29-07 09:34am
Hi Jeff,
I'm sorry I didn't see your reply
earlier.
I'm curious if you feel that your CPAP
is helping you at all?
I don't take any meds, except calcium
and magnesium for IBS. I seem to be so
sensitive to most meds, that taking them
is usually worse than just tolerating the
symptoms of the fibro.
I'm sorry you're having such a rough
time. Good luck to you.
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VaNole
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 25 Location: Va Beach Virginia
Posted: 12-29-07 11:10am
CatherineA,
CPAP is helping with the sleep apnea for
sure. It has had no positive or negative
effect on Fibromyalgia. Here recently you
see meds advertised on tv for
fibromyalgia. I volunteered to test that
med and it did not interact well with the
meds I was taking at the time for gout.
Wrists and Anles had a falir so I dropped
out of the study. The thing that works
the best forme in that realm is
Tramadol/Ultram (non narcotic however it
can be addicting). Doc wrote the script
so I could take up to 4 a day. Most I
ever have taken was two and don't know
what was worse the pain or dizziness I
experienced the rest of the day. However
one Tramadol will make my day a bit more
pleasant.
Catherine hope all goes well for you and
that you are having a great Holiday
Season.
Very Respectfully,
Jeff
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CatherineA
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 7
Posted: 12-29-07 15:07pm
Hi Jeff,
It seems to me when a male gets
fibromyalgia, it can be some other
condition.......like ALS, Lyme disease,
etc. Have you been tested for others? I
think alot of women's fibro is somehow
related to their hormones. It seems like
lots of women I've talked to develop it
during perimenopause (the months/years
before actual menopause). that seems to
be what happened to me.
I've also become extremely aware that
what I eat definitely affects my
muscle/joint/tendon pains. For me, I'm
wondering if I have a mild case of celiac
disease?? Also, alot of salt and
sugar/carbs seems to have a slow, but
intense affect on my body. I've been
eating poorly through the holidays, and
now my body is acting up again, with
various aches and pains.
Do you have any GI problems with your
fibro?
Its really hard for me to tell if my
CPAP helps with my fibro. I definitely
have more energy in the day, but then it
seems the more active I am, the more pains
I get. Sometimes I wonder if we had sleep
apnea for so long, that there is just some
permanent damage?
I'm glad the holidays are almost over
and I can get back to a better eating
habit. It will probably take me a month
to un-do the harm that's been done with my
bad eating. Darn it. It tastes so good!!
Good luck to you Jeff. I know we're
all constantly searching for all the
things that might help us have a better
life. Are you bothered by winter weather
at all?
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VaNole
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 25 Location: Va Beach Virginia
Posted: 12-30-07 06:22am
CatherineA,
Yes I have been tested for both ALS and
Lyme. Once diagnosed with Fibromyalgia
and doing some reading I was surprised
more women than men have this affliction.
Just as in gout more more men than women
have it.
The pain in your joints from eating etc
could be more gout than Fibromyalgia. As
a diabetic I carb count so am of no help
there. However after my 4 bouts with
kidney stones here the last month the
dietician (sp) at Portsmouth Naval gave me
a handout and it recommended eliminating
salt to the max extent possible.
You bet I experience GI problems with
Fibromyalgia and one of the gout meds
colchine will contribute to this. I have
been taken two .6mg tablets of this a day
for the past 8 months due to recurring
gout attacks.
I'm with you on the CPAP works great
for sleep apnea. Nada for gout and
fibromyalgia. It seems by your comments
that the CPAP machine is doing exaty as
advertised for you waking up with more
energy and feeling refreshed. I to
experience more pain the more I'm active
and that is a real downer if you have been
prevously a very active person. I used to
road bike then switched to mountain bikes
and now I have memories. If I get on a
bike a pedal for 10 minutes I will pay for
days for that 10 minutes dearly.
Speaking of weather I just recently
retired from the Navy 1 August after 32
years. I spent 2 years in Bahrain 02/03
warm, hot and dry. Never felt better in
my life. Only 1 gout attack the two years
I was there, Fibromyalgia was bearable
rode the stationary bike like a banchi.
Back to CONUS and Va Beach and all h*ll
broke loose. So yes weather I feel does
affect my condition.
Please take care and enjoy the rest of the
Holidays.
