Do I have freaking gout? Anyone here deal with it? Ankle has swelled up and been painful after hard nights of drinking( bachelor party Once, one night I had probably 15 IPA's). It's not unbearable but in the past I've needed a Walgreens ankle brace and Advil to walk on it. Recently had a really stressful day and then New Years eve and I have a half assed flare up I think. It seems like diet and holding off the alcohol is making it go away, but just some Advil in the AM and I can feel a bit of soreness. I just keep reading that it's really really painful but mine isn't THAT painful and I have no injuries I can think of to cause ankle pain. Years ago I went to an orthopedic surgeon because I thought I twisted my ankle at the bar the night before but he didn't see anything to suggest that it was a fall. My alcohol intake as dropped a lot in the past 3 years, not over weight( work out 3-4 days a week), diet is spinach, chicken, eggs, rice, fruit etc. Ugh I don't know, pretty lame to be turning 30 in a monthish and may finally have something wrong with me ..... at least physically /vent
Gout is uric acid crystals, right? Detox and see if it goes away. Maybe try a fast. At minimum, drop all carbs for a week or two and see if it clears up the inflammation.
uric acid comes from purine metabolism. Purines (adenine / guanine) are in DNA/ RNA. Dropping carbs won't help. Lowering red meat is more beneficial. In any case, could be gout or pseudogout. Gout - urate crystals. Pseudogout - calcium pyrophosphate crystals. "best" way to diagnose is to aspirate the joint and send for fluid analysis. Negatively birefringent is gout crystals Positively birefringent is Pseudogout crystals. Indirect way to diagnose gout is, risk (alcohol/ cancer / anti-rheumatological agents etc.) + Uric acid levels in blood. Acute gout reduce inflammation - NSAIDs, Steroids , or Colchicine. (they are not w/o their side effects) Chronic gout - decrease recurrences. reduce purine metabolism - Allopurinol (ineffective in acute gout) Get off the Beeb; Talk to your PCP or orthopod. (should also r/o the possibility of septic arthritis and such).
Yup, dealt with it on and off for years. Biggest key when you have an attack is drink as much water as you can. Once the uric acid crystalizes out into the joint, they simply have to dissolve away over time. You can help with heat packs to improve blood flow to the area. Ice therapy doesn't really do much and honestly, for me, made it worse. NSAIDS help, like Motrin/Advil and Alleve - I'd opt for ibuprofen (Mot/Adv) as you can dose it more frequently vs. naproxen (Alleve). Rx treatments options are colchicine and indomethacin, but for mild cases OTC stuff usually is sufficient. Some thought that cherry seed supplements help, but I've not been convinced of that. I tried, didn't do a thing. Gout is primarily a result of diet. Doesn't necessarily mean a "bad" diet or that you're a slug and a fatass, just means that you're eating foods that increase your UA production - cured meats (pepperoni, salami... Italian meats), aged cheeses, alcohol, shellfish and red meat are the biggies. The pain usually is pretty bad, but depends usually on the joint it manifests in. Ie., the big toe (classic spot) hurts BAD, but mostly because it's a small joint. The knee isn't AS bad (still hurts like bitch though), however much more swelling and inflammation. I've had flare ups in the knee and have had to go to ortho and have them tap the knee and pull the fluid out (I've had 100cc of fluid pulled out - that's a LOT), but could still walk on it. Flare ups in my ankle have been HORRIFIC. Also, gout is non-migratory - usually it's same leg and not bilateral. If you are getting flare ups in BOTH ankles, or left ankle this time and right ankle next time, it's probably not gout. Only two ways to diagnose your situation as gout: UA blood test or joint fluid test at flare up. Yours doesn't really sound like classic gout, and could just be tendonitis in the ankle, but I had symptoms like yours for a few years and it progressively got worse. I take allopurinol to keep the UA levels down and I haven't had an attack in probably 4 years. But now, I probably just jinxed myself...
Red meat, fish, and alcohol will raise your uric acid level. Tart cherry juice (or tart cherry tablets) are good natural ways to reduce uric acid. Flareups can be extremely painful.
Ok, I probably need to fix my diet anyway because all of that is what I eat a bunch of. I've had it in both ankles before I think. It might just be inflammation... left ankle has been hit with a baseball when I was pitching, football I would tape ankles and have rolled them before. Ugh I sure hope it's not gout and some of this is giving me hope it's not. I'm going to start taking notes on when it does happen and see if it's always the left ankle and circumstances surrounding it. Anyways, All good info and will talk to a Dr and probably jerk off on my ankle and see if that works.
Start taking tart cherry extract. I take 3 a day, 2500mg. They help a lot. Drink tons of water. I also drink tart cherry juice when it’s really bad. It doesn’t taste as bad as it sounds. https://www.amazon.com/Bronson-Anti...=8-1-spons&keywords=tart+cherry+extract&psc=1 Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Definitely keep a log of flare ups and account for your diet the 48-72hrs prior. If it is gout you can usually find a trigger food or combo thereof. Again, drink a LOT of water.
As some suggested, uric acid crystals forming in joints is what causes the pain, and you have to do everything you can to keep your uric acid levels down. My father suffered from it on and off for years as well. Add cherries to your diet, drink a lot of water, cut down on red meat and protein slightly, all these things in help in accumulation. Still get checked out by a specialist.
Dealing with this for years.. Vitamin C helps alot 2000mg at the first sign. Turmeric also helps I take 700mg a day. It has tart cherry also. Also vegies that are high in purines.. asparagus, mushrooms. Red meat, fish And beer.. can trigger an attack. Usually attacks happen at night. Not sure why.. painful as f___k started in my toe had it my ankle knee and elbow.. at least you can walk with an elbow attack.. stress can also make things worse.
Had my first attack in my late 30's at a race weekend at Miller. Had no clue what it was so naturally I kept applying alcohol (internally) which made it worse (was stuck out there 4 days after the race with an injured teammate). I get it in my big toe joint, and that first time was completely debilitating- couldn't put any weight on that foot for weeks. Couldn't sleep much, as even with nothing touching the toe it felt like I just stubbed it on an anvil. It was bad enough to stop me drinking altogether for a few months. 12-13 years later, I've only had a handful of flare-ups and never caused more than a slight limp. Odd thing is I've gone for long stretches of heavy drinking and bad eating with no gout issues. Since I know what it feels like coming on I can better manage it by cleaning up my act right away. Last flare-up was a few months ago, doc put me on some medication for a month but as rarely as I have issues I really don't want to stay on anything forever. Tart cherry juice and diet Dew is a good combo.
Can this show symptoms in the ball of your foot? I've been getting nagging pain right in the ball area on just my right foot. Though of gout and then this thread popped up.
my name is actually Josh.. but Steak travis sounded like a wrestler, male stripper, hilarious "manly" name we came up with as a member of a 80's rock band.
nah sounds like a fatty, or a dude that plays video games in their parents basement....but whatever makes you feel better
