Gouty arthritis. I'm not saying anyone on here is old.

[WaterLogged]

I'm asking because you're mostly guys. AND NOT OLD!

I think that I am going to shoot myself today. I'll be 35 on Saturday, this is a terrible birthday gift.

I'm going to make a very long story short here. I was in an accident 6 years ago, had head and spine trauma. I take a lot of medication for headache prophylaxis and muscle spasm. I also developed ocular myasthenia gravis, post trauma. I take medication for that, too.

I take a lot of sh!t.

I'm not in the best shape anymore, but I try. I have a lot of chronic pain, trying to avoid surgery on my 6 decimated discs.

One of the drugs that I take for headaches makes my blood more alkaline. So, to compensate, my kidneys release more acid. That's putting it simply without getting all Biochemistry 101. As a result, I developed gout in my right foot.

It's the most painful GOOD WORD thing I have ever had in my life. I hate it. Nothing, including narcotics (which I never take), make the pain stop. I have the usual anti-uric acid medication, but it's not clearing out the crystals fast enough. I think I am going to have to cut the toe off.

I don't eat ANY meat, I don't drink alcohol. I have to stop eating seafood, lentils and asparagus - which are staples of my diet. What the hell am I going to eat? I'm supposed to eat a lot of dairy. I'M INTOLERANT TO LACTOSE! ARRRGH.

SO, I can't eat. I can't walk.

DOES ANYONE ON HERE HAVE GOUT? WHAT DO YOU DO TO DEAL WITH THIS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Alright, I'm done being a big baby.

[red]

Sounds woeful - sorry you have to put up with the pain.
Just listened to a couple of CDs by Tony Robbins on diet (thanks Stan!).
His whole trip is acid because of the meat, sugars and dairy we ingest. He recommends 70% living food with high water content (aka veggies and fruit). See: Robert Young: the Alkaline Diet

"The Alkaline diet (also known as the alkaline acid diet and the acid alkaline diet) is a controversial dietary protocol based on the consumption of mainly fresh fruit, vegetables, roots and tubers, nuts, and legumes and avoiding grains, dairy, meat and excess salt, in order to balance the acidity and alkalinity of one's body.[1][2][3] In recent years it has been a popular topic among authors of diet and nutrition." Wikipedia

I haven't gone "all the way" yet (I eat meat but have dramatically reduced dairy), but I eat 2 veg, 2 fruit, sweet potato and rice each morning (a diet recommended by a Taiwanese expert whose name I don't know) after about 15 minutes of yoga and I can say I've never felt better.

Hope it helps.
Best wishes,
Red

[SFKneelo]

Red, a colleague swears by the Robert Young diet.

She used to get sick often, but, since taking the diet on seriously, hasn't been sick in a couple of years.

I ask, and she offers, tidbits on particular foods and their acidity.

I'm not one to jump on 'fad diets,' but, I'm seeing the benefits first-hand through her.

Without reading it 'soup to nuts,' it sounds like there's a spectrum of application.

I'm kinda easing myself into it by avoiding some blatant offenses... sounds like even less than you.

I'll ask her (again) about some foods to avoid from an acidity perspective and report back... some of the answers were surprising!

[surfhorn]

My wife is a nurse and worked for a top rheumatologist for 5 years. When I mentioned gout she said to cut out all fat and alcohol from the diet. She also said asparagus is really bad also.........I would hate that. My favorite dish is grilled asparagus seasoned heavily with garlic. Bummer.

She also mentioned 3 medications but I can't mention names -practicing without a license and all that.

She said that over 90% of people who contract gout are male. For some reason she can watch a patient walk in and diagnose gout immediately- used to drive her Doc crazy. It was because gout is so closely tied to alcohol consumption. People get that puffy look.

[Mike Fernandez]

Dang, sorry about that unfortunate situation WL. With all those complications you mentioned, shouldn't you see your general MD for a referral to an expert about all those problems? I mean they say eat dairy, but they know your lactose intolerant? Seems like you need a good doctor.

[Peaches]

WL - I've been dealing with inflamed joints for years - spinach, sweet potatoes, salmon & beets are at the top of the list...you do need to keep on top of your health issues with specialists...keep up the exercise...working out in water is the best! Oh yeah, walnuts & lactose free milk!
Happy Birthday on Saturday...

[MALLEE BULL]

VALENCIA ORANGES AND ORANGE JUICE,TOMATOES WILL ALSO GIVE YOU GOUT.THIS TIME OF YEAR.
DRINK PLENTY OF WATER TO FLUSH THE KIDNEYS.

[WaterLogged]

I have a rheumatologist, I have an appointment to see him on Monday. My neurologist has already started changing all of my medications to help with this issue as of yesterday.

But a lot of the times there are "real world" coping mechanisms and the textbook advice that doctors give over and over again.

Asking actual patients is sometimes the best option.

I don't eat meat. I don't drink ANY alcohol. I do, however, eat seafood, asparagus (one of my favorites), a lot of lentils, chick peas, etc. I don't eat much real dairy - a lot of soy dairy. I eat a lot of soy products, period!

The problem is that my kidneys are releasing acidic molecules to compensate for the drugs that alkalize my blood, and I eat too many acidic foods, making the problem worse.

However, my blood is already too alkaline. If I make it MORE alkaline, I run the risk of metabolic alkalosis. I've already had kidney stones from my overly alkaline blood issues.

It's a big problem.

There's a big swell coming next week. Hell or high water (get it?) I am surfing. I'll just wrap the sore joint to keep it stable.

I just can't anymore, you know?

[WaterLogged]

Dang, sorry about that unfortunate situation WL. With all those complications you mentioned, shouldn't you see your general MD for a referral to an expert about all those problems? I mean they say eat dairy, but they know your lactose intolerant? Seems like you need a good doctor.

My PCP was just throwing off the "usual" off of the top of her head. The same line that she gives to every gout patient. Every doctor has a party line for every common ailment - and then you have to interrupt the diatribe to remind them of particulars.

This is why we all need health care advocates in this country.

[james]

WL, from what I've read, I'm not sure if you should be eating a lot of dairy (lactic acid) as I would have thought this will be adding to the uric acid build up in your body (?)

I drink lots of cider vinegar & honey, at least three times/day, plus molasses to neutralise and eliminate the uric acid, plus lots of water.

This comes from an acid-free anti-arthritis diet recommended in this book: (checked Amazon US, but probably cheaper via Amazon UK)



This is a drug free approach, based on Arthritis & gout being a disease of dietetic origin, it involves using acetic acid (cider vinegar) to break down uric acid deposits around the joints and also requires a change of diet to acid free foods and taking vitamin, mineral & protein supplements.

I'm on it to try to get rid of my oesteo-arthritis and it seems to be working, after 9 months on the diet I'm feeling alot better - I'm going for an MRI next week to see if it's really disappearing.

I'm not sure about what you say re: metabolic alkalosis, so you'll have take proffessional advice on that, but I do know that taking cider vinegar is good for breaking down kidney stones.

[WaterLogged]

Hi James,

I'm going to recommend the two books that I've read about on here to my rheumy.

It's frustrating, because I try to stay away from certain foods because I know the effect that the drugs have on me, metabolically.

Today I have been doing a semi-fast, drinking a lot of water and organic vegetable soup.

I would kill for a piece of pizza, because I am feeling sorry for myself. LOL!