I am a 23 year old male.My Dr. did a blood test on me and I have been told I have gout.?

Question

I had broken my ankle 5 years ago and since have been experiencing pain in my toe and ankle area.I went to my Dr. 2 days ago ,had a blood test, and was told yesterday I have gout.I do not have any visable signs of gout,just the Dr's word and a prescription of Indomethacin.I was also refered to a "foot doctor" because 1 of my ten screws may be working itself out of the bone slowly.My ankle hurts any time I try to flex to either side and sometimes when I put weight on it.My medicines warnings (Indomethacin) says not to drive or operate heavy machinery until I see how it effects me.It takes away the pain,but also causes drownsiness,dizziness,and for me to be lightheaded.

What are the very best home remedies for gout? I have been out of work for 3 days because of this but will be going back on Monday.Help!

Please do not copy and paste from other websites! I have researched a good bit already, I need real advice from someone who actually knows!

Answer 1

I'm 33, a registered nurse, and I suffer from gout. I work for a group of kidney specialists (nephrologists). I've discussed my problem with pretty much all of them and all have differing opinions on how to treat gout flair ups and prevent the pain from occuring. Averaging the answers of them all, and doing a little experimenting myself, I've found that lots of water helps relieve the pain along with NSAIDs such as Ibuprofen. The best prevention I've found for myself is to stay away from alcohol. When I drink, which is quite often, I know that I'm going to hurt the next day. There are diets which are low purine (low animal protein) diets which supposedly aid with the prevention of gout. I haven't found that this helps me. Also, if you're overweight and out of shape, lose weight and exercise. I know it hurts, but if you can force yourself to work through the pain the reward is well worth it. I don't know about Indomethacin (too lazy to look it up). I generally take steroidal anti-inflamatories when I have serious pain. However, I doubt you'll find many physicians willing to prescribe that for you due to long term side effects. I take prednisone 20-40mg by mouth for about 3days along with lots of water.
In short, no alcohol, lots of water, and anti-inflamatory meds such as ibuprofen. And lots of water. I keep mentioning lots of water, because the increased water intake will aid in the flushing out of uric acid, the cause of your gout. (body isn't eliminating uric acid as readily as it should).
I've also read that increased potassium intake will help prevent gout. I'm in the process of trying this out, it can't hurt.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I feel your pain. I'm 52 and have had gout attacks for several years. However, it's rather odd that someone as young as you has gout, but apparently it has been brought on by your injury. Indomethacin is the popular medicine for it, but I don't use it because it upsets my stomach. I have found that drinking plain old water has helped a great deal. Lots of water. Five or six big glasses of water a day. Also drink as much cranberry juice as you can stand. At least a big glass of it a day. The water and juice helps to dissolve and flush out the uric acid in your body which is what crystalizes and gathers in your ankle and toe joints. The crystals are jagged and irritate the nerve endings in these areas which causes excruciating pain. It means a lot of trips to the bathroom, but it has cut my gout attacks from once a month to once a year. Oh yeah, go on line and learn about the foods you're not supposed to eat.

Answer 4

Gout is a condition where uric acid crystals build up in the body.
This can happen in the area of the big toe and cause a lot of pain.
Our foods contain purines; some foods are higher in this than others.
The doctor may place you on a lower purine diet (of which they will usually provide you a list of foods to avoid. There is also medications that can lower the uric acid in the blood
Here an alternative way to cure gout?

Answer 5

i work in podiatric office--if your doctor did blood test, uric acid i assume, then his diagnosis was based on high levels of uric acid and should be accurate. there is diet contributions to gout also, you should limit red meat, beer, nuts--you should eat more chicken and fish. if you haven't been on myfootshop.com to do some research, you should really try it out, it is a wonderful and informative site. use the source as direct link and take a look. the ankle screw backing out could be a separate complaint of pain and you should consult a podiatrist in your area regarding treatment for that. the lightheadiness with gout medicine could be because you are not eating with meds or you need to try different medicine. good luck

Answer 6

Here's a great site for more info:
http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/gout/gout.htm

Answer 7

Oh you poor thing....I know all about gout...I had a close friend with it and he suffered terribly.... Here's a wealth of information.... foods to avoid, and things to help...

http://www.health911.com/remedies/rem_gout.htm

Best to you!!!

Answer 8

You should drink cranberry juice.

Answer 9

With proper treatment, most people with gout are able to control their symptoms and live productive lives. Gout can be treated with one or a combination of therapies. The goals of treatment are to ease the pain associated with acute attacks, to prevent future attacks, and to avoid the formation of tophi and kidney stones. Successful treatment can reduce both the discomfort caused by the symptoms of gout and long-term damage of the affected joints. Treatment will help to prevent disability due to gout.

The most common treatments for an acute attack of gout are high doses of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) taken orally (by mouth) or corticosteroids, which are taken orally or injected into the affected joint. NSAIDs reduce the inflammation caused by deposits of uric acid crystals but have no effect on the amount of uric acid in the body. The NSAIDs most commonly prescribed for gout are indomethacin (Indocin*) and naproxen (Anaprox, Naprosyn), which are taken orally every day. Corticosteroids are strong anti-inflammatory hormones. The most commonly prescribed corticosteroid is prednisone. Patients often begin to improve within a few hours of treatment with a corticosteroid, and the attack usually goes away completely within a week or so.

* Brand names included in this booklet are provided as examples only, and their inclusion does not mean that these products are endorsed by the National Institutes of Health or any other Government agency. Also, if a particular brand name is not mentioned, this does not mean or imply that the product is unsatisfactory.

When NSAIDs or corticosteroids do not control symptoms, the doctor may consider using colchicine. This drug is most effective when taken within the first 12 hours of an acute attack. Doctors may ask patients to take oral colchicine as often as every hour until joint symptoms begin to improve or side effects such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, or diarrhea make it uncomfortable to continue the drug.

For some patients, the doctor may prescribe either NSAIDs or oral colchicine in small daily doses to prevent future attacks. The doctor also may consider prescribing medicine such as allopurinol (Zyloprim) or probenecid (Benemid) to treat hyperuricemia and reduce the frequency of sudden attacks and the development of tophi.

What Can People With Gout Do To Stay Healthy?

To help prevent future attacks, take the medicines your doctor prescribes. Carefully follow instructions about how much medicine to take and when to take it. Acute gout is best treated when symptoms first occur.
Tell your doctor about all the medicines and vitamins you take. He or she can tell you if any of them increase your risk of hyperuricemia.
Plan followup visits with your doctor to evaluate your progress.
Maintain a healthy, balanced diet; avoid foods that are high in purines; and drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Fluids help remove uric acid from the body.
Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy body weight. Lose weight if you are overweight, but do not go on diets designed for quick or extreme loss of weight because they increase uric acid levels in the blood.
What Research Is Being Conducted To Help People With Gout?

Scientists are studying which NSAIDs are the most effective gout treatments, and they are analyzing new compounds to develop safe, effective medicines to lower the level of uric acid in the blood and to treat symptoms. They also are studying the structure of the enzymes that break down purines in the body to achieve a better understanding of the enzyme defects that can cause gout.

Scientists are studying the effect of crystal deposits on cartilage cells for clues to treatment. They also are looking at the role of calcium deposits in pseudogout in the hope of developing new treatments. The role genetics and environmental factors play in hyperuricemia also is being investigated.

Where Can People Find More Information About Gout?

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
National Institutes of Health
1 AMS Circle
Bethesda, MD 20892-3675
Phone: [phone] or 877-22-NIAMS (226-4267) (free of charge)
TTY: 301-565-2966
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
www.niams.nih.gov

NIAMS provides information about various forms of arthritis and rheumatic diseases and bone, muscle, joint, and skin diseases. It distributes patient and professional education materials and also refers people to other sources of information. Additional information and updates can be found on the NIAMS Web site.

American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals
1800 Century Place, Suite 250
Atlanta, GA 30345-4300
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.rheumatology.org

This association provides referrals to rheumatologists. The organization also provides educational materials and guidelines about many different rheumatic diseases.

Arthritis Foundation
1330 West Peachtree Street, Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone: [phone] or 800-568-4045 (free of charge)
or call your local chapter (listed in the phone directory)
www.arthritis.org

This is the main voluntary organization devoted to arthritis. The foundation publishes free pamphlets on many types of arthritis and a monthly magazine for members that provides up-to-date information on arthritis. The foundation also provides clinic referrals.

Acknowledgments

The NIAMS gratefully acknowledges the assistance of N. Lawrence Edwards, M.D., University of Florida in Gainesville; John H. Klippel, M.D., Arthritis Foundation, Washington, DC; Barbara Mittleman, M.D., NIAMS, NIH; Roland W. Moskowitz, M.D., University Hospitals of Cleveland, OH; Lawrence Ryan, M.D., Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee; and G. Bernadette Tyree, Ph.D., NIAMS, NIH, in the preparation of this and previous versions of this booklet.

The mission of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health (NIH), is to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases, the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research, and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Information Clearinghouse is a public service sponsored by the NIAMS that provides health information and information sources. Additional information can be found on the NIAMS Web site at www.niams.nih.gov.

This booklet is not copyrighted. Readers are encouraged to duplicate and distribute as many copies as needed.

Additional copies of this booklet are available from

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal
and Skin Diseases
NIAMS/National Institutes of Health (NIH)
1 AMS Circle
Bethesda, MD 20892-3675