My Bout With Gout
My Bout With Gout
I never knew it could attack your knee before, but did I EVER find out that it could. I thought it only affected the feet or toes. My knee swelled up, turned an angry pink and let me tell you, pain like I've never experienced before. Because I didn't know what was happening I continued to do all the wrong things, ate the wrong foods, drank the wrong drinks and took the wrong medicine, all of which just made it worse. I thought asperin would help, but afterwards I discovered it's an absolute no-no for gout. So it just got MUCH worse and I thought it had to be temporary. There was no escaping it, even sitting and lying down.
If you've never suffered the pain from gout, here's a little description of it from the web (and there are a lot of other articles the same there - check it out yourself).
"So, you want to know How painful is gout on a scale of 1 to 10?
The discomfort can be so agonizing that many patients feel compelled to seek emergency care, and it has been stated that when asked to rate their level of pain on a scale of 1-10, the majority of gout patients have ranked their discomfort at either nine or 10."
Another web site indicated that women have said that it's worse than childbirth.
Although I've not had good experiences with hospitals here, I had to go. After examining my knee, the doctor said the words: "No more fish or Coca Cola", and it hit me. I knew seafood caused gout, and I'd had a lot of it lately. I needed at least 3 days of hospital treatment, but I could go home a little while after the treatment each day.
Now, what to do. I had a medication choice of an injection or intravenous infusion so I chose the intravenous because I thought if it entered my body more slowly it could be more effective. I was given the choice of a bed or a chair, and I thought I'd be more comfortable in a bed, and I was, although the pain didn't stop even lying down, but with some pain medication it did ease up somewhat.
As well, because of my age, the intravenus drip was slowed to half speed because they were concerned about my ability to handle it so it wouldn't affect my kidneys, and it took around 4 hours. Then the doctor examined me again and sent me home with pain pills, celecoxib tablets to be exact. However I'm limited to no more than 2 a day.
The night wasn't too bad so I did get to sleep, but it was still bad in the morning so back to the hospital in the morning for the next treatment - same as the first day but it didn't help too much so home again knowing day 3 was coming up.
My elderly great-uncle used to work in my father's factory, and when I worked there during school vacations I remember him saying every single day "Another day, another dollar". Well, in my case, "Another day, another hospital visit", and it still hurts pretty bad so back to the hospital in the morning. This time the medication didn't seem to do much for the pain, then the doctor examined my knee and sent me home.
Not a good nignt that night even with the pill so back to the hospital the next morning. The doctor examined my knee and said it has improved, the swelling is less and the colour less vivid so he gave me medication for the gout in pill form and sent me home that morning not needing to get treatment there.
Today is the next day, and thankfully no more hospital. It's getting a little better now. I've seen on the web that it can take a week to clear up.
So my advice to all is:
1. Prepare yourself NOW even if you've never experienced it. Read up about it to know what it could be if it happens and make sure you don't do what I did, e.g. all the wrong things that make it worse.
2. Don't wait a day or two as I did and go to the hospital immediatly to start the medication. You'll be sorry if you put it off.
I hope that by tomorrow I'll be able to actually walk a little more normally, not stiff-legged. This was one of those experiences you would only want to wish upon your worst enemy,.
Good luck to everyone.
Buzz
The administrator of this group reserves the right, along with the site moderators, to moderate all and any postings to this group, including the right to enforce the ToS, the CoC, and also including anything that the administrator deems within his sole discretion to be offensive, including but not limited to political and/or off topic comments, with the power to delete in exercising that right.
It would be best, therefore, to be civil in posting on this group and not contravene the CoC, the ToS, and to not post comments that are political, insulting, taunting, trolling or offensive.
By now it should be well known that I am unable to open certain sources, videos and pictures. If I cannot, I will ask that they be described and explained. If the poster refuses to comply, their comment will be deleted. Instagrams are banned.
Tags
Who is online
77 visitors
Don't eat too much seafood and don't drink too many sugary drinks if you don't want to experience what I've been going through. Some of my favourite things now have to be off the menu, or at least consumed a lot less often. I couldn't believe oatmeal is a bad thing for this, and I LOVE my oatmeal with bird eggs, bluberries, banana slices, cinnamon, walnut powder and gojo berries. However, it's good to eat a lot of cherries. Stay healthy, everyone, cause you'll not want this to happen to you.
Too many purines in your diet, hopefully a change in that will make your bout with gout a one round rout.
You're right about the diet. I now know a lot more now about what I should and should not consume that I learned from the internet.
Buzz, you won't believe this, but I'm going through the same exact thing right now!
Stay healthy, everyone, cause you'll not want this to happen to you.
You're not kidding. I'm struggling with taking a shower.
Well, you know the famous adage "Great minds think alike", so I guess one could adapt that concept to "Great bodies suffer alike." Heal fast, Vic.
You too my friend
So sorry to the both of you for your pain. Hope you both get better soon!
Thanks Perrie. For me the worst is over, and I'm sure another couple of days will be the end of it.
Thanks Perrie.
Arvo..just reading the info here..
Oatmeal if taken in moderation is fine as in 2 or 3 times a week...when I have it I don't put all the stuff on it like you do..
Small amount of salt in the water.. when cooked and in a bowl...light sprinkle of sugar and enough milk to encircle the edge of the bowl and that is it... nothing else with it..
Maybe try that..and if you like soft drinks go for sparkling mineral water as a replacement...I have never been a big soft drink drinker and just buy the cheapest mineral water out of Woolies..
Hope you are feeling better soon Buzz...🦘
If you don't mind me asking what's wrong with the hospitals there that you don't seem to impressed with?
Well, I think the fruits I add to my oatmeal are no problem and most fruits are recommended, surely cinnamon isn't bad, there's no problem with eggs, but I use no salt. Do you think the little scoop of walnut powder can be bad? However I use a mix of hot skim milk and hot water, and although I do know that brown sugar is the greatest thing for the taste, I use instead of sugar 3 of those little Equal packets meant for a single cup of coffee instead. Up until now I ate my Australian oats breakfasts twice a week, for a little while at least I will cut it down to once a week. I won't give it up - it's my favourite breakfast, better than my wife's wonderful egg souffle or my cheese omelettes.
Sugar substitute here they say is worse than actual sugar..I don't touch any substitutes on anything..
I get tacos here the first thing I do is throw out the spice packet you are meant to put with the mince...it is all chemicals, artificial flavours etc..
Don't know about walnuts etc I try and stick by one rule..
Eat what in your case your parents ate in their day..basic plain food with as little chemical and additive crap as possible..or in my case what my grandparents ate..some of us are a tad older than others..😁
Your wife sounds an excellent cook so basic plain food all in moderation and I really can't see how you can go wrong with that..
Don't make your life a misery Buzz it's there to be enjoyed..🐨
Actually I had only one really bad hospital experience having to do with a kidney stone attack I had up in Zhengzhou but I will save that story for a little later. Except for one doctor since that time, all of the doctors here and the hospitals have been very good. The hospitals are modern and have all the latest equipment. There is no waiting time needed for a MRI (or is that MIR?). The doctor who lives near us who became a friend and whose daughter I helped with her English (she's now studying in Canada at a school about 10 miles from where I was born and grew up) provided me with the best of advice about dealing with the Covid Omicron I caught, i.e. to go to the hospital just for the examination but stay home, NOT in the hospital, is why I believe I'm still alive. The women doctors I've had here have been fantastic, and the doctor I have now who is from my wife's home district, who speaks English well (thank Heaven) has been absolutely super, getting me through this present episode as well as I could possibly expect. It's just that original experience up in Zhengzhou that made me wary of hospitals.
My wife doesn't just cook the food, she grows it. She has about a 2 acre mini-farm staked out next to the mountains within walking distance and grows many different veggies, some I've never heard of before. She grew up on a farm and really knows her stuff. The people who farm around her respect each other's crops, and often trade among themselves for things they don't grow. A couple of days ago I really enjoyed some corn on the cob, cooked and eaten within an hour or so of being picked - before the sugar in the kernals even knew it was time to start turning into starch. So I eat VERY fresh veggies pretty well every day.
I hope you're feeling better soon, Buzz.
Thank you Sandy. It is starting to ease up a bit now because I took a pain pill a couple of hours ago. I think tomorrow will see more improvement.
Have had it in my big toe joint in the past. You're right about the pain....even hurts to gently blow on it.
I was prescribed colchicine to stop the flare, then allopurinol daily to prevent a recurrence.
No noticeable side effects from the med. No flares for several years now
I wonder how many other NT members have had the experience.
It's on my leaky bucket list ... /s
Same here. I had maybe 4 episodes over a 5 year period. Always in my foot. Always excruciating. Nothing could touch my foot so I had to attempt to sleep with my feet hanging off the edge of my bed. Always lasted about 5 days. Been on allopurinol for years without any gout attacks. I was also prescribed colchicine but I am not sure how well it worked. No issue at all with allopurinol. My uric acid reading is low and I talk to my doctor about coming off it every once in a while. He said it is not worth the risk to come off it. No side effects and insurance covers cost. Of course he still says to improve diet which I have.
Hopefully not.
I had no idea that it could attack any body bone joints except in the foot, normally the big toe, which is why I didn't realize what it was when it got my knee. I hadn't banged it or twisted it so it was a mystery to me. Now I also realize that about 6 months ago my right elbow was so sore I had to eat with my left hand (I'm right handed) so now I'm sure it was gout because I hadn't injured it either. In the past I've had gout in my big toe, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my knee. From now on I'm going to be really careful with my diet.
My mom had it years ago, fortunately just once. IIRC, her ankle was the problem.
It was sort of weird. She doesn't eat much meat in general and never touches alcohol.
Beware of seafood.
She doesn't eat much of that, either.
She does like chicken livers [shudder]. Maybe they were the culprit.
Liver was on the list of the foods that were the worst to eat, and as I said above, I was eating many wrong things. I've now told my wife to never bring liver home again.
Chook livers..gulp..pass...🤮
Agreed. I can't stand the smell of them.
I did used to love eating chopped chicken liver appetizers, and beef liver with onions, but that was long ago. Here it was usually pork liver I made into a sandwich, but as I've now said - never again.
Organ meats are pretty nutritous. However they are really bad for Gout.
They are, on both counts. I think she started eating them because she had trouble with anemia, and then acquired a liking for them.
Had that about once a week when I was young and loved the taste, but its been decades since that last time I ate it
I've never had gout but if it's anything like kidney stones then I really feel for you!
Oh, I've had kidney stones a few times and beleve me they were like pin pricks compared to what I just went through. However I have a kidney stone story to tell as well, but it will be another article. Thanks for your empathy.
Gout and Kidney stones are both caused by uric acid crystals...
Pfft I drove myself to the hospital when I broke my femur and waited 3 weeks before going to the hospital with a broken hip. You younger generation types need to toughen up.
Seriously tho sorry to hear about your illness and hope you're all better soon (and hopefully I never have to learn what it was like)
Thanks, Freefaller, it is improving. This morning I'm able to walk normally, although still with a little pain, but at least not having to walk stiff-legged.
Knock out that gout, Buzz.
Although boxing was one of the sports I did in high school I was a loser at it, but at least I am knocking that gout out now.
Try shingles, lol. What a bitch that was, probably 30 years ago, like poison ivy on steroids,
but when we had poison ivy, they gave us a corticosteroid steroid shot in the ass and the PI cleared up in a few days.
There was little treatment for the shingles except for oatmeal baths and sleeping pills at the time.
My father got shingles. He was a strong man, but yes, he suffered too. That was about 75 years ago so I don't suppose they had a good treatment then.
Had a boss once who got shingles he was in a lot of pain for quite a while. Didn't affect me though, in fact it cheered me up somewhat
LOL
My father was a very hard tough man, went through extreme experiences during world war II, in civilian life he was able to endure hardship few others could. But when he got shingles he broke down and cried like a baby. I was 10 at the time and will never forget it.
I once had a patient who had lingering pain from shingles. He told me he didn't care if he woke up the next morning due to the pain.
He was lucky to be able to sleep.
I don't think he did, much.
My MIL said the same thing. She was in agony for months!
Arvo...huh was going to mention shingles..
And don't believe the old wives tale about you can only get it once..
That's BS as I have had it twice.. people who have under gone chemo are way more susceptible to it as well as I found out..plus other health factors...
There are vaccines for shingles which I didn't know about so I have had them now..cost $540 but money well spent far as I am concerned. 5 months later the government announced the vaccines were going to be free which they now are...
4 years down the track and where the shingles were on the side of my head and ear still annoy me to this very day...
So certainly consider it especially if you had chicken pox as that is what causes it.. shingles are the absolute pits...
You spoke about the cost of your shingles episode. As an indication of why it costs me so little to live very comfortably in China on my Canada pension, this whole episode of gout that I've had to endure including hospital costs, doctor's care, medical procedures, medication and Uber trips to and from the hospital has cost me, as I have no medical insurance here, the equivalent of US$175. I wonder how that compares with elsewhere.
If you were here $0...
As you are Canadian if we are reciprocal countries (UK, NZ is not sure about Canada) then you would be treated for free here... regardless of citizenship...
I don't have medical insurance and so far as I have said previously I have had approximately $500,000 of treatment cost me nothing..
As I live more than 100kms from Melbourne when going back and forth for treatment government paid petrol costs and accommodation as well if required...
One of my college friends has had it twice. It left scars on the tip of her nose. She had a peaches and cream complexion, so that sucked. And then there was the pain, too.
In Canada it would not have cost me either. And as well, as a senior citizen my prescription drugs, no matter HOW expensive, would have only cost a small dispensing fee after I would have paid an annual registration fee at the pharmacy.
No registration fee here..you are a pensioner you pay $7.70 for no matter what it is..then when you reach $277 of charges everything after that is free no matter what it is...
It renews every 12 months...
I think that's even better than Canada.
Apparently the Shingles vaccine is highly effective.
It's pretty effective now, but decades ago, it didn't exist.
And I understand it's pretty expensive if not covered by insurance. Insurance companies won't cover it until age 50.
Morning...the vaccine here in Shingrix and it's extremely effective...
It's a two injection vaccine a couple of months apart and yes it is expensive but free here now but was well worth the money....
Shingles is the pits and you can have the after affects for life...
It's Shingrix here, too. There was an earlier one that wasn't as effective, but was better than no vaccine.
Hope you feel better soon, Buzz. I know that pain can be relentless.
Thanks Perrie, I'm on the way - I think a couple more days will do it.
Unfortunately it's taking longer than it would have normally, cause guess I made it much worse in the beginning since I didn't know what it was and did ALL the wrong things to make it worse. I'm beginning to think it will take a few more days. It still hurts to walk even though the swelling and angry pink colour are pretty well gone.
As a long time sufferer of gout this is old news for me. At one time or another it has attacked my feet, ankles, elbows, fingers and knees. For the most Part Allopurinol controls it. I said attack because it always comes on quickly and has identifiable stages. Alcohol and rich food are definitely factors along with genetics. In my case stress is definitely a factor in triggering attacks.
Alcohol and rich food are a factor along with genetics.
It seems seafood, organ meats, and especially beer are amongst the worst foods for Gout.
IIRC dairy foods are really helpful. (Go with non-fat or at least low fat). And yoghurt (Low or non-fat, without fruit...add your own.
I found what appears to be an really good article re: Gout, will be seeding it soon.
Just realized I don't have time for this now. Good article (WebMD)-- here's a link:
Best (and Worst) Foods for Gout
I am lactose intolerant too. Dairy gives me gallstones. In general I avoid acidics too...
My gout has always seemed to be teiggered by what is eating me as much as what I am eating. My attacks tend to happen during stressful times like a death in the family or some personal BS.
Years ago I was tested for alergies. Results were that I was allergic to milk. (If true its apparently a mild allergy...I don't notice any symptoms after drinking milk.)
Someone suggested Goat milk-- and Goat Yoghurt. (But generslly they are full fat).
Recently I started drinking organic, unsweetened Soy Milk, and for the "friendly bacteria" I started drinking low-fat Kefir.
I also eat organic Kimchi or organic Red Sauerkraut (the kind with "live cultures").
Except on rare occasions I generally eat 100% organic. (Mostly I cook all my own meals so I can eat "extra healthy").
Although I've not had an alcoholic drink for about 2 years, I'm following the advice I just read on the web and I'm drinking a glass of skim milk every day, and eating plain yogurt often.
That is an excellent article with similar advice to the one I read a few days ago to learn all the wrong things I had been doing and all the right ones I'm trying to do now. It doesn't mention it, but one should use painkillers other than aspiritn because it exacerbates the condition rather than lessening it.
Of course stress is an aggravating factor for many illnesses.
Over many years I found that one of the best things for decreasing stress is meditiation. (Meditation benefits are medically proven BTW).
I used to do it twice a day when I lived on the Ashram but stopped. Am going back to it. (At home, twenty minutes, twice a day)
One of the better forms I would recommend for people interested in starting is "TM" (Transcendental Meditation)
Wish I had known it would attack elsewhere than the foot, because then I wouldn't have exacerbated it to make it much worse. I now know better, and realize more about previous problems.
Anyway, I woke up this morning with it not much better, so I can see that getting well again will take a while.
As others have noted above Allopurinol is the standard medication prescribed in the US. I am sure there is a Chines equivalent. It is inexpensive here with a three months supply only costing about $12 at Wal-Mart...
I have no idea what medication they used in the intravenus infusion, but the capsules for after the three days of intravenus were done were Celecoxib, which I saw on a computer search is used for the a number of purposes, one of which is similar to what Allopurinol does. I only know the total cost of the whole shtick, as I mentioned above. My wife took care of paying the total cost. However, as I pointed out, the total cost of everything including three days of the intravenus hospital care, and the pills I'm using now, until the gout subsides totally, was the equivalent of US$175.
Celecoxib is an NSAID, used for pain and inflammation. To my knowledge, it doesn't do anything to prevent the formation of uric acid crystals.
Yes, you're right. It was to reduce the pain and inflammation. I'm pretty well all better now so I'm no longer taking any medication for the gout.
Glad you're feeling better, Buzz.
Thanx.