The swelling is usually the first thing to go when I start on indocin, then the pain....But I haven't had it in my ankle...Just my great left toe. Sorry I couldn't help much.

Here is my old post.
Posted: 11-15-05 12:35am.

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... More gout info can be found at http://www.Icuredmygout.Org . Good luck.

Appropriate herb like wild lingzhi (not cultivated) is very effective for building up body system and adjusting metabolic disorder.

Thanks to you both for the additional response. I tried the geocities website and got "sorry the page you requested could not be found" .... Could it be miscopied?

Type the address heading and search probably you can find. If not send me an emai.