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Hardhittinz

New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Oct 2005
Posts: 13
Location: Maryland
New to the Boards/gout
Posted: 10-29-05 00:01am

I finally found someone to talk to about my problem.Anyways im a 24 yr old male and about 3 months ago at about midnight I got this bad pain in my ankle and it got so bad that I couldnt even walk to make a long story short went to the hospital and regular doctor and come to find out he looks at my last blood test and see's my uric acid level was high so therefore he figured out what I had(gout) he put me on colchicine and some other green cpasule and it helped but once the pain stopped I stopped takin the meds and then I got it in the other foot so I took the meds again for a few days and it cleared up well I had been doin good for like 3 weeks now with no pain so I just went and had my uric acid level checked and it was high like a 950 so im like whoa so he saids just keep takin colchicine and come back and we will check it again.Well now my ankle is hurting slightly to day so maybe it is coming backbut anyway is this what I should be takin to lower my uric acid level I mean the stuff gives me direa and I looked online and it had lots of scary side effects also.I mean im just worried about gettin a kidney stone or something like that so thats the main reason I want to lower my uric acid level.Im sorry for the long post I just needed to vent..Thanks for any help..
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JYY2

Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004
Posts: 227

Posted: 10-29-05 15:18pm

If your uric acid (ua) level is really 950 (i think you meant 950 mmol/l, which is equivalent to 15.8 mg/dl), your ua level is way off the normal level of < 420 mmol/l, or 7 mg/dl. Anyone with such extremely high ua level is prong to have gout, ua kidney stones, etc. My suggestion is that you study gout and track down what causes your high ua level (hyperuricemia). Also keep a good records regarding what happened, what med at what strength you are taking, what the docs say,... I am sure these info will help you a great deal in the long run.

The doc has not given you uric acid lowering drugs yet because he/she wants to wait until next blood test to be sure your ua level is really that high. You can prevent diarrhea by taking prescription drug lomotil which is habit forming. When you are given ua lowering drug, make sure to start at a low dosage and gradually adjust up. Also take colchicine or an nsaid to prevent gout attacks which often follow the initiation of the drug. More gout info can be found at http://www.Icuredmygout.Org .

Good luck and take care.
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Hardhittinz

New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Oct 2005
Posts: 13
Location: Maryland

Posted: 10-29-05 16:48pm

Well I just confirmed that my uric acid was a 9.2 last time I had blood work and my doctors scale saids it should be no higher than a 8.2 and see the worse thing is is that when I first went in a few months ago and he thought I had gout he looked at my prior blood test which was from 2003 and saw that my uric acid was high then I mean if he had said something then I may have been able to lower it and may have never gotten the gout that just makes me mad...
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JYY2

Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004
Posts: 227

Posted: 10-29-05 19:48pm

I am glad your ua level is 9.2 (mg/dl), not 920 (mmol/l) as I thought. Most people who have high ua level don't have gout in their lifetime. Therefore they are not routinely treated for hyperuricemia until they have 2~3 gout attacks because of the possible side effects of the medicine. Hyperuricemia at your age is unusual -- it may be caused by genetic, drinking, ... Track down the causes and avoid them. Good luck.
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Hardhittinz

New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Oct 2005
Posts: 13
Location: Maryland

Posted: 10-31-05 05:54am

Well I dont drink,but I do have high blood pressure and I take toprol xl and hydrochlorothiazide but I dont eat very well which I think I will start to eat better and my body mass index is a 36 so I dunno..Thanks for all your help so far.
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painfree

Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2004
Posts: 73
Location: ,
Thanks: 3
Thanked:0

Posted: 10-31-05 06:41am

Hardhittinz -

make sure that you don't have sleep apnea. Both gout and high blood pressure are indicators of sleep apnea.
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philedog

New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 2

Posted: 10-31-05 12:40pm

Watch the high protein beef, nuts, gravies etc...They can trigger an attack....If they persist, ask you doctor about allipurinol, it has worked for me..

The colcezine and endomiathsine are used to knock down the goat attack...Sometimes the stomach distress, dizziness and diareha make you forget about the pain..........

Good luck....
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JYY2

Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004
Posts: 227

Posted: 10-31-05 21:15pm

Hi, hardhittinz,

i have the following fyi:

1) ask your doc to:
a) take you off hydrochlorothiazide. It can raise the blood ua level and is known to cause gout.
B) see if it is ok to replace toprol xl with losartan (cozaar). Losartan (cozaar) can lower both the blood pressure and the ua level.
C) give you a 24-hour urine uric acid test to measure how much ua you excrete a day. Using the results from the blood and the urine tests you can estimate how much ua you are producing and excreting which is very useful in the management of hyperuricemia.
D) start ua lowering therapy using allopurinol, benemid, etc. They can lower the blood ua by 1~2.5 mg/dl in a few weeks. Start with a low dosage with colchicine or an nsaid, and adjust the dosage up every 2~4 weeks. Otherwise, they will trigger gout attacks.

2) work on your bmi. Extra weight produces extra ua. But don't loss weight too quickly, which can trigger gout attacks.

3) avoid large serving of high purine diet. Avoid atkin's diet which is known to cause gout. See section 2 of http://www.Icuredmygout.Org for things that you can do to help your gout.

4) see a rheumatologist if your condition does not improve.

Good luck
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