For teh past couple of weeks, my mom has
had extreme pain in her right knee. The
pain did not start out being small and
then gradually build in intensity - it
appeared suddenly and was rather painful
as well. My mom originally thought it was
arthritis, but then she figured it
couldn't be because of how fast it
appeared.
She describes the pain as feeling like
someone is squeezing her knee with a pair
of pliers, and the pain will shoot up into
her thigh. Driving aggravates the pain a
whole lot, and sometimes she cannot sleep
because of the pain.
She told me that her father had gout in
his knee, and she believes that this
condition may be hereditary. I do not
know the symptoms of gout, so I can't make
an "educated guess" if it really is gout.
And if I know my mom, she will refuse
medical help until she can't walk anymore,
because that's just the way she is.
Can you guys offer me any words of wisdom?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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painfree
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 73 Location: ,
Thanks: 3
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Posted: 07-25-05 07:48am
There is a hereditary component to gout,
but not necessarily in the same joint.
But gout occurs only in joints. If your
mom is experiencing pain in her thigh, it
could be something else like a compressed
nerve in or below her spine. She needs a
doctor to diagnose it correctly. I had a
similar experience that I thought at first
was a recurrence of my gout until the pain
began to migrate down my leg. My doc
correctly diagnosed it as sciatica. It
was cleared up after 10 sessions of
physical therapy, and has never recurred.
