Gout Forum - Hydration is the key to kidney function

Hi - this my first post on here. I've suffered from gout for a few years and have had some severe attacks. I think I now have in under control and I think the key is hydration.

By hydration I don't mean having a drink when you are thirsty. I mean raising your overall level of hydration to a higher level above which uric acid levels are reduced and are gradually excreted by your kidneys which may not be working correctly in conditions of de-hydration..

Think : How much liquid do you drink in a day ? (Do not include alcohol in your sums) Add it up. 4 or 5 cups of tea or coffee.. or perhaps a bit more ? Thats about 1 to 1.5 litres of liquid. If you live in a hot climate, or a heated building or and air conditioned building or are physically active, that level of liquid intake is not sufficient.

The human body is very good at surviving with low levels of hydration. However the long term impact is on your kidneys. Without sufficient hydration your kidneys cannot function correctly. You may have, like me, experienced kidney pain. I believe now this is a clear sign of de-hydration.

What other factors affect hydration levels ? Alcohol. This can have a major dehydrating effect and contains ingredients which stimulate acid production (a real double whammy) which your (now poorly functioning) kidneys cannot cope with. Other foods high in purines can take you in this direction also..... all well documented (red meat, seafood etc) but the most important factor is HYDRATION.

My simple reasoning was that there was a syndrome going on here. My Gout pain was proportionate to hydration level and other factor such as purine intake.

Hydration levels rise and fall normally. If my hydration level is low I am at a high (almost certain) risk of an attack. If I drink a lot of beer with my normal (low) level of hydration, I would become dehydrated (from the beer) and ingest the ingredients which can spike up the acid levels. RESULT : GOUT. Same goes for red meat or prawns or whatever.

My approach to this bloody awful condition was to find a way to break the syndrome.

By the way : I frankly don%u2019t believe the Bicarbonate of soda approach %u2013 I suspect the extra water these people drink to ingest the stuff is doing the trick more than the soda %u2013 the chemistry simply does not work.

The first step is to begin a measured increase in water intake %u2013 pure water with nothing else added. During an attack this should be at least 3 %u2013 4 litres per day. When not in an attack 2 litres is a minimum. This MUST be sustained.

Step two is to cut out the things which spike up the acid levels.
Things on my list are :
%u2022 Red meat
%u2022 Prawns, sea food, sardines, anchovies
%u2022 Generally reduce protien intake
%u2022 Generally increase Vegetable intake
%u2022 Avoid fizzy drinks and sugars.
%u2022 DON%u2019T drink beer for at least 3 weeks

Now you may think your world has ended with this regime but you will also see your gout reduce and once you have gout under control you can re-introduce some of these items once you are sure you have a SUSTAINED HIGH LEVEL OF HYDRATION

Proper hydration can take several days or even weeks to achieve. Furthermore it is a level which is very easily lost.

Any easy way to check your hydration ?:

1. Is your urine clear and white/pale with plenty of it !!!
2. Do you Urinate at least 5 times a day ?
3. Any kidney pain or gouty pain?
4. Did you drink at least 2 litres of water in the last 24 hours ?

Its very easy to slip out of the routine of drinking water. This is my routine :

1. I drink a glass of water when I get up%u2026. Then tea if I want it.
2. When I get to work a fill a large 1.5 litre bottle with water and I use a glass to drink (because its easier to drink volumes from a glass). This bottle lasts the whole day and and I have tea or coffee as I wish. I don%u2019t feel like I%u2019m guzzling water all day. Its very easy to drink this amount in an 8 hour working day.
3. When I get home have a large cup of tea.
4. Before I go to bed, have a glass of water.

I have made some other permenant changes :
%u2022 I have almost cut out red meat as a regular part of my diet %u2013 I don%u2019t find this a problem but for me it is a major contributer to gout events. However I can enjoy the occasional red meat meal but I ensure my hydration levels are up.
%u2022 I love sea food but I make sure I am hydrated first.
%u2022 I have cut right back on beer %u2013 it%u2019s a shame but that is a major cause. I can enjoy a few but habitiual drinking is another cause. Actually any cravings for beer were greatly reduced by being hydrated. I do drink more wine but try to do this at weekends.

Weekends are the danger time. I%u2019m more tempted to drink alcohol and I don%u2019t have my routine of drinking water. Special attention should be paid to water intake especially if its hot, you%u2019ve been active and had a few beers !!!

Well this is what works for me and I hope its of use to you. With this regime my cronic gout, which was with me all the time and saw me crawling on hands an knees in agony, has been controlled. I am largely free from Gout but can feel an onset if I don't stay hydrated. Furthermore, I can tolerate gout causing food and drink so long as I am hydrated.

This is not an extreme remedy and I'm not a doctor. Don't over do the limits I have stated as excess water intake can be hazardous but an additional 2 litres of water a day will have an effect.

I know that it will be wth me always but I feel I know how it works , what makes it worse and what makes it better.

I Hope this helps some one out there. Good luck.

Mort