I have been diagnosed with gout now for
about three years. Even though I think I
may have been having gout attacks a lot
longer than this. I was wondering if an
injury to your foot can set a gout attack
off. I also have charcot marie tooth a
form of motor nerone. So I tend to go
over a lot on my ankles. I have had a bad
attack now for four days as I went over on
my ankle last weekend. Can this happen?
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JYY2
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Posts: 227
Posted: 05-14-06 11:10am
Charcot's joint and gout have similar
symptoms. To be sure you have gout, you
need to test the joint fluid for msu
crystals (arthrocentesis). Yes, injuries
to the joints such as sprain are known to
trigger gout attacks. Avoid using
colchicine to treat gout as its toxicity
can exacerbate charcot-marie-tooth. More
gout info can be found at http://www.Icuredmygout.Org.
Good luck.
Interestingly, the doctoral thesis of Dr.
Jean martin charcot (1825-1893) -- the
founder of modern neurology and the
discoverer of charcot's joint and
charcot-marie-tooth-- presents the
original work to differentiate gout from
other forms of chronic rheumatism.
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leeoz
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 10 May 2006 Posts: 2 Location: Australia
Posted: 05-14-06 15:10pm
The only test I have ever had to diagnose
gout is a blood test and I have this quit
often. Does this give you a definate
diagnose of gout or do you have to have
the joint fluid tested? Is colchincine
the colgout or the progout?
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JYY2
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Posts: 227
Posted: 05-14-06 19:59pm
Gout attacks are caused by monosodium
urate (msu) crystals in the joints.
Therefore, the best way to diagnose gout
is to have joint fluid tested to id msu
crystals. The blood uric acid test is
not a very reliable diagnostic tool for
gout because: 1) about 80~92 % of people
who have abnormally high uric acid level
do not have gout in their life time, 2)
during gout attacks, kidneys excrete extra
uric acid such that about 50% of gout
patients have normal uric acid level, 3)
the blood uric acid level can fluctuate
during the day (up to 1~2 mg/dl or more,
normal 4.5~7.2 mg/dl) depending on
physical and mental activities, level of
hydration/dehydration, use of medicines,
injestion of alcohol, time after meals,
... No wonder many recent medical
publications state that the blood uric
acid test alone is the most misused test
in diagnosis of gout. Joint fluid test
is the only sure way to diagnose gout --
provided the test is done properly.
Colgout is colchicine. It is used to
reduce inflammation and pain caused by
gout. Its side effects include
neuropathy and myoneuropathy which
exacerbate charcot-marie-tooth.
Therefore, it is a medicine to avoid for
c-m-t patients.
Progout is allopurinol. It's used to
lower the blood uric acid level to reduce
the frequency and severity of gout
attacks. It does not reduce the
inflammation and pain from gout attacks.
It should be taken continuously. When
allopurinol is initiated, it can
significantly drop the uric acid level
rapidly (up to 2~3 mg/dl, normal 4.5~7.2
mg/dl) and trigger gout attacks. So,
if a patient uses allopurinol on and off,
it will keep triggering gout attacks.
