Forgot to mention - I have had a bunion on
the same foot for many years - the pain
and redness centers around the bunion -
redness and swelling also extends to the
top of my foot. Wondering if this could
all be connected to my bunion instead of
gout?
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JYY2
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Posts: 227
Posted: 11-13-05 11:57am
Injuries can trigger and complicate gout
attacks. The point of order is to kill
the pain and inflammation due to gout
attack. Podiatrists will not operate on
the bunion when you have the gout attack
anyway. Are you taking any med to treat
(uric acid?) kidney stones?
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wismom5
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 14
Gout Posted: 11-13-05 12:44pm
No, I am not taking anything to reduce
uric acid. When I had the kidney stone
in august, we were unaware that my uric
acid was high. Seven weeks later I got
symptoms of gout (first time ever) and
still have them. I know it's not
advisable to take alpurinol during an
attack and have also read that it is
advisable to wait for further attacks
before "jumping the gun". I am mainly
concerned, at this point, that I may not
have gout at all. I cannot believe that
I would still be suffering five weeks from
diagnosis!
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JYY2
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Posts: 227
Posted: 11-13-05 14:40pm
What kind of kidney stones do you have?
Uric acid (ua) kidney stones? If you
have ua stones, high ua level
(hyperuricemia), and the symptoms of gout,
the chance you actually have gout is very,
very high. You don't want to start
allopurinol or the like at this time.
But you need to give the gout an effective
treatment. Otherwise, gout attacks can
linger for prolonged period of time. I
suggest that you see a rheumatologist.
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wismom5
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 14
Gout Posted: 11-13-05 15:45pm
I had only one kidney stone and they
determined that it was a calcium/oxalate
stone, but when my urologist found out
that I wound up with gout, he stted that
it probably had a uric acid core. Seems
every time I try to wear a shoe everything
flares up again. But five weeks?
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JYY2
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Posts: 227
Posted: 11-13-05 17:12pm
Before gout is completely healed, it's
better not to put a shoe and walk on it.
They will aggravate the gout and put you
back to square one. You can soak it in
warm water and raise it above the heart
level as often as you can. Without an
effective treatment and with intermittent
aggravation, gout attack may linger on for
a long time.
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wismom5
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 14
Posted: 02-17-06 20:11pm
jyy2
wrote:
before gout is completely
healed, it's better not to put a shoe and
walk on it. They will aggravate the
gout and put you back to square one.
You can soak it in warm water and raise it
above the heart level as often as you can.
Without an effective treatment and with
intermittent aggravation, gout attack may
linger on for a long
time.
me again. Back in october, when I got
gout for the first time, my uric acid was
8.1. I immediately changed my diet,
increased water to 2 qts. Daily, began
losing weight. Didn't take any pills
though. One month later, although my
gout attack continued, my uric acid level
had dropped to 7.1. No further problems
....Until now. For a while now I have
noticed that the same big toe would have
some discomfort every now and then. No
big deal, until yesterday when I got a
full fledged gout attack of that same big
toe. Although the area is red and
swollen and painful like last time, it is
much less severe this time. Just for the
heck of it I had the Dr. Check my uric
acid level and to my surprise it is now
6.3!! I thought it would go sky high
during an attack! This is the first time
it has ever been normal. What are your
thoughts?
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JYY2
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Posts: 227
Posted: 02-18-06 01:18am
About 50% of gout patients have normal
blood ua levels during the gout attacks
because kidneys excrete more ua during the
gout attacks. Very glad you are able to
lower the ua level to 7.1. But you need
to lower it to 6.0 to reduce the frequency
and severity of attacks. You may find
useful info in section 2 of http://www.Icuredmygout.Org .
Good luck.
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wismom5
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 14
Posted: 02-18-06 08:34am
jyy2
wrote:
about 50% of gout patients
have normal blood ua levels during the
gout attacks because kidneys excrete more
ua during the gout attacks. Very glad
you are able to lower the ua level to 7.1.
But you need to lower it to 6.0 to
reduce the frequency and severity of
attacks. You may find useful info in
section 2 of http://www.Icuredmygout.Org .
Good luck.
in other words, you don't think I actually
did lower my ua to 6.3 from my change in
lifestyle? You think it's only lower
becaue i'm in a gout attack? Due to the
fact that it was 8.1 during my last gout
attack and then (three weeks into the
attack and after i'd quit eating meat
etc.) it dropped to 7.1, I figured my
continued efforts were the reason it was
down to 6.3 no? So in all
probability it will rise again when this
attack has subsided?
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wismom5
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 14
Posted: 02-18-06 08:37am
wismom5
wrote:
jyy2
wrote:
about 50% of gout patients
have normal blood ua levels during the
gout attacks because kidneys excrete more
ua during the gout attacks. Very glad
you are able to lower the ua level to 7.1.
But you need to lower it to 6.0 to
reduce the frequency and severity of
attacks. You may find useful info in
section 2 of http://www.Icuredmygout.Org .
Good luck.
in other words, you don't think I actually
did lower my ua to 6.3 from my change in
lifestyle? You think it's only lower
becaue i'm in a gout attack? Due to the
fact that it was 8.1 during my last gout
attack and then (three weeks into the
attack and after i'd quit eating meat
etc.) it dropped to 7.1, I figured my
continued efforts were the reason it was
down to 6.3 no? So in all
probability it will rise again when this
attack has
subsided?
one other question - - - -if my kidneys
are busy excreting more ua does that mean
i'm more or less prone to getting another
kidney stone right now?
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JYY2
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Posts: 227
Posted: 02-18-06 13:21pm
A strict low purine diet can lower the
blood ua level by about 1 mg/dl. It's
unlikely your new diet alone actually
lowered the ua level from 8.1 to 6.3.
Have ua tests periodically (every 6
months?) when there is no gout attack.
They can assess the ua level more
accurately.
Two factors can increase the chance of
having ua kidney stones --excreting more
than 600~700 mg of ua in urine a day and
the urine ph is less than 5.5. You can
test the ph of the first morning urine
yourself. But it may need a doc's
prescription for a 24-hour urine ua
excretion test. It's unlikely the
temporally increase of the ua excretion
during a gout attack can actually cause
kidney stones. You can increase the
urine ph by avoiding acidic food and
drinks, taking mineral supplement, and
drinking baking soda in water.
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wismom5
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 14
Gout Posted: 02-18-06 13:29pm
jyy2
wrote:
a strict low purine diet can
lower the blood ua level by about 1 mg/dl.
It's unlikely your new diet alone
actually lowered the ua level from 8.1 to
6.3. Have ua tests periodically (every
6 months?) when there is no gout attack.
They can assess the ua level more
accurately.
Two factors can increase the chance of
having ua kidney stones --excreting more
than 600~700 mg of ua in urine a day and
the urine ph is less than 5.5. You can
test the ph of the first morning urine
yourself. But it may need a doc's
prescription for a 24-hour urine ua
excretion test. It's unlikely the
temporally increase of the ua excretion
during a gout attack can actually cause
kidney stones. You can increase the
urine ph by avoiding acidic food and
drinks, taking mineral supplement, and
drinking baking soda in
water.
thx for your reply. What are your
thoughts on this??? I not only stopped
(or nearly stopped) eating meat and purine
rich foods, I also increased water to 2
qts. Per day (from zero) and lost 35
pounds. Could those factors have lowered
my serum ua by more than a point?
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JYY2
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Posts: 227
Posted: 02-18-06 20:00pm
Congratulations for losing 35 pounds in 3
months! Drinking 2 quarts of water a day
(from zero) and losing 35 pounds can
certainly lower the ua level. But I
can't tell if your present ua level of 6.3
is due solely to what you have done, or in
part to the gout attack. We have to wait
for future ua tests to give us the
answer.
Rapid weight loss is known to trigger gout
attacks. To be safe, avoid losing more
than one pound a week.
