Still Swelling After 5 Weeks. Is This Normal?

Im having pretty much the same problem as your fiance. Went to emergency room about 4 weeks ago thinking I had a stress fracture
and they informed me it was gout. Im just 36. I have no insurance and
out of work so I cant see a rheumatologist. They gave me antibiotics and
indocin at the emergency room. My life is like on hold, till this crap goes away. Still after a month there is a red knot on my left toe joint. It just wont go away. Cut out red meat and beer, but still the swelling wont completely go away. This seems to be a common problem from what im reading on this forum. I just dont see the baking soda working, been trying it for a week. I hate the er but guess I need to go back for more
medication or something. Im a regular walker and jogger so this is most
disturbing for me not to be doing these activities.
--not to mention I enjoy my fricken beer!
Im assuming this wont stay in my joint forever, im just not sure if there's not some kind of permanent damage.

A bad gout attack can destroy a lot of tissues and body fluids -- that's why it's so painful. Depending on how bad was the attack, it may take weeks or months to clear these fallen heroes out of the battle fields. Here are a few things that can help:

1) use the attacked joints as little as possible.
2) soak the swollen joints in warm/hot water for 10~20 minutes at a time and gently rub the playdough-like substance to break it off. Do this a few times a day.
3) raise the attack sites high above the heart level as long and as often as possible to help drain the fluids, especially after the soaking.

After the gout attacks, the mono-sodium urate (msu) crystals which cause gout attacks are coated by certain proteins and will stay in the joint forever, unless you lower your blood uric acid level to 6 mg/dl or lower. Allopurinol doesn't help reduce the swelling. But it can reduce the blood uric acid level and slowly dissolve the msu crystals (tophi). Initial gout attacks along are unlikely to cause permanent damages. But if left untreated, the build-up of tophi over years or decades can erode the bones. Avoid heavy drinking, especially beer. It is a very potent trigger of gout attacks. Learn more about gout and have war plans ready. Most likely it will be back. More gout info can be found at http://www.Icuredmygout.Org . Good luck.



L

Appreciate the information,jyy2.

Thank you for the response. Really appreciate it.

I also read somewhere that it is best to try to make the swollen gone before trying the allopurinol.

Hopefully his swollen will get better over time.

Initiation of allopurinol often triggers gout attacks. Take a look at paragraph 3.8 of http://www.Icuredmygout.Org to see how to avoid it. Good luck.

I am a 42 year old white male who was diagnosed with gout in 1999. I suspect I had been suffering since 1994. My lifestyle in the 90s had a lot of rich foods and alcohol. My weight has varied between 180 and 225.

I used to be on various gout drugs and grew weary of the complications. The final straw was when the damn doctor made me get emergency mris over thanksgiving weekend. Nothing was damaged but I quit seeing him.

I took matters in my own hands and as I am an engineer began a long road of discovery and experimentation. I'll rate each step 1 to 10 with 1 being worst and 10 being gout free.

My first experiment was to radically alter my diet to exclude alcohol and most rich foods. As you all know, hard to do for a length of time. I did this for 6 months and reduced the duration and frequency but did not eliminate it. Rated 3.

My next stab at this was to use a product called gout cure. It helped much better but I had to continue to abstain from alcohol and rich foods. The ingredients were advertised to clean out the liver and kidneys which to an engineer made sense. Clogged filters don't work well at cleaning anything. Rated 4.

The next experiement had me examine neutralizing acid via lemon juice and water. I still used gout cure. This went on for 3 months. The combination seemed to work well but occasional pain was experience. Duration and frequency was at the lowest. I noted the tophi reducing in my body. Rated 7.

The next phase had me focused more on acid reduction. I bought coral calcium powder and swilled a 12 ounce glass each morning. Maybe one teaspoon of the calcium. I ceased gout cure and saw yet another jump in quality. Rated 8.

I am now better understanding my situation. Ph is critical. On my own I tried baking soda. The results were immediate. I actually had entire weeks of zero pain. The tophi reduced. My urine ph was being measured daily and spot checked during the day. I was steadily alkaline. As a test I ceased the baking soda for several days. My urine was very acid. I did a shot of jack and saw the ph move to the max acid the ph could measure. A teaspoon of baking soda in water made the urine alkaline once again. My tophi began to reduce, soften and break up. My gf noted my elbows looked 20% reduced. I'd say 25%. Now I discover another problem.

As my blood was saturated to an extent that uric acid crystals could solidify and 'reef up' the baking soda reduced the saturation in liquid and the reduced saturation caused uric acid to come out of solid into solution. If I was not steadily on the baking soda and lapsed i'd get a severe attack. A quick bit of baking soda did radically reduce the pain in 8 hours. So, as I get better I find I need to be on top of the baking soda. Saturated blood can recrystalize. Pain ensues. Rated 9.

My next step is to do a further change and reduce soft drinks to one a day. I am allowing myself some alcohol and rich foods. I am trying to find baking soda capsules. I find that club soda alkalizes blood nicely so I keep a few bottles at work and in the car. My tophi are reducing steadily. I expect complete reduction in 6 to 9 months. Occassional pain is experienced but is bearable.

Anyways, my 2 cents. I am no doctor so I encourage everyone to see their doctor before trying this. Your results may vary.

One thing I appreciate is that tumors and various diseases both thrive in acid blood and promote acid blood. Your body works best in the alkaline range, not acid. Put another way, a sick body promotes further sickness. I find the baking soda solution to be cheap ($0.49 a box), easy to administer and for me it works. I am hoping that I can lose about 15 pounds to help matters along. If I get down to just one glass of baking soda water a day I will most likely continue this for the rest of my life and the great part is I can enjoy my old favorites again. Just in moderation.

Anyways, good luck and good health!