Resources on gout?

nvmomketo

My husband has had a lot of pain in his knee, and even an arthroscopic surgey to figure out the cause. Now, it looks like it may be gout. I don't know a lot about gout but I am looking into it. I have been googling the foods that could hurt or help him, but I don't know what is bunk and part of the usual "eat whole grains and low fat" regurgitation or what is actually helpful for those with gout. Do whole grains and low fat dairy actually help? Or would low GI veggies like green beans and homo milk be better choices? It looks like meat and beer are bad choices no matter what... he isn't impressed.

Can anyone point me towards some current info on gout that is not just the usual HCLF dogma... Unless it is actually helpful, that is. I'd appreciate any help.

As an aside, cooking for gout for him and LCHF (meat based) for my diabetes doesn't seem all that complimentary. LOL This could be interesting.

wabmester

Was he LC at some point? Ketogenesis can cause an increase in serum uric acid.

Never heard of whole grains and low fat as a cure. I think they just mean whole grains are better than white bread, but carbs in general can be a trigger.

Low fructose and maybe low purines is pretty well established. But I only briefly read up on it when I had a kidney stone, which is somewhat similar.

Edit: reasonable looking resource here with info from a well-regarded nephrologist and specialist in uric acid:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/27/gout-uric-acid.aspx

ladipoet

Unfortunately, if your husband has gout, he may find it challenging to stick with eating LCHF partly because of what you already pointed out about eating protein on this WOE and becaause some of the food recomended for thhose with gout is high-carb. I do know that cherries (and cherry juice) of all things are good for gout and they are definitely not LCHF friendly. lol

http://www.craysor.com/cherry-juice-help-gout/

Hope this info helps your hubby!!

KnitOrMiss

My coworker went keto with me about a year ago. He's yet to have a gout flare up on this WOE - whereas he had several per year prior to that. He does focus heavily on BPC and coconut oil/grassfed butter, across the board, so I don't know if that helps with not having the flare ups as much, but we've both been pleasantly shocked/surprised at his lack of issues on the plan. I know that's not scientific proof, but it can be done if the focus is on fats first.

nvmomketo

Thanks guys.

My hubby is not LCHF. He's on the high end of moderate carbs if anything. He's a meat and potatoes man. We agree on the meat, I skip the potato and he skips the veggies. I don't think LCHF would contribute to the cause. It is good to know that it wouldn't hurt his treatment. If his diet shifts that way.

Poor guy loves his red meats.

And cherries.... Good to know. Has to be the most expensive fruit out there doesn't it?! LOL

I'm going to go watch that video now.

nvmomketo

Reading. Googling. Reading.

High purine foods raise levels of uric acid? My worry is that this is like how they used to say that foods high in cholesterol will raise your serum cholesterol levels...

wabmester

http://www.hopkinsarthritis.org/arthritis-info/gout/gout-treatment/

About 20% of uric acid is derived from purines ingested in food. Causes of hyperuricemia can be divided into two major categories: decreased clearance of uric acid from the kidney and increased synthesis of uric acid.

So somewhat similar to cholesterol in that most of the uric acid comes from our own cells rather than from the diet.

ladipoet

nvmomketo wrote: »

And cherries.... Good to know. Has to be the most expensive fruit out there doesn't it?! LOL

I know, right?! Lol Tart cherries are better than sweet cherries in connection with Gout because tart cherries contain more of the chemical compounds that help with gout as compared to sweet cherries.

reblazed

My son has periodic bouts with gout and I have had one only and am praying to never have another. He takes Dried Tart Cherries, Hoosier Hill Farm when he feels an episode coming on (normally after eating red meat). He gave me a handful when I needed them and the flare up went away with 2 days. He gets them from amazon.

nvmomketo

wabmester wrote: »

http://www.hopkinsarthritis.org/arthritis-info/gout/gout-treatment/

About 20% of uric acid is derived from purines ingested in food. Causes of hyperuricemia can be divided into two major categories: decreased clearance of uric acid from the kidney and increased synthesis of uric acid.

So somewhat similar to cholesterol in that most of the uric acid comes from our own cells rather than from the diet.

Good to know but not good to know. Now I'm googling kidney issues and why uric acid is produced in excess or not cleared properly.

It's one of those areas where I am learning how little I know. I am woefully ignorant on this.

Thanks for the info.

ladipoet wrote: »

nvmomketo wrote: »

And cherries.... Good to know. Has to be the most expensive fruit out there doesn't it?! LOL

I know, right?! Lol Tart cherries are better than sweet cherries in connection with Gout because tart cherries contain more of the chemical compounds that help with gout as compared to sweet cherries.

I don't think I've actually had tart cherries before. I'll have to look into them.

reblazed wrote: »

My son has periodic bouts with gout and I have had one only and am praying to never have another. He takes Dried Tart Cherries, Hoosier Hill Farm when he feels an episode coming on (normally after eating red meat). He gave me a handful when I needed them and the flare up went away with 2 days. He gets them from amazon.

Ouch. I've heard gout pain is usually pretty bad. Repeats don't sound like fun.

We're not sure he has gout yet, but it's looking that way. Some of his symptoms seem off but some points to gout. He doesn't seem to have that tender to touch pain but his knee was stiff and worn out feeling for months (not gout?) and then he slipped on the stairs and it became swollen and painful within hours (gout?). It stayed sollen and sore for 4 months (not gout?) but when they scoped his knee there was all sorts of inflammation and wierd fibrinous stuff in it which they flushed out (gout?). Unfortunately they did not sample for gout. He'll get tested early next week and get a steroidal shot at the same time. I hope it helps.

ladipoet

Wow...I hope they figure out what's going on with your husband (and I hope it's NOT gout)!!

dasher602014

Doesn't sound exactly like gout. It normally is really, really tender, swollen and red. My brother(s) suffer from it. With anti-inflammatories and rest, it clears up in about a week to 10 days. But long term solutions? For one brother, daily meds, for the other, it was his blood pressure medication causing the elevation in uric acid. Changed the blood pressure meds, gout flare-ups ceased.

I think there is a cherry juice available in the 'health food' aisle. Where you find cranberry or pomegranate. The kind you mix with water.

Stiff and worn with swelling and pain after an accident? Sounds more like more common arthritis. (Bad enough) I hope they figure it out.

Good luck.

daylitemag

I have gout. Doctor prescribed Allopurinol which I take daily. It has been around for several decades and is easy to adapt to. Haven't had a flare since taking it and I can eat whatever I want. My diet now is mainly protein and fat. I tried to resist taking the meds but finally got fed up with the pain which had become disabling at times.

nvmomketo

ladipoet wrote: »

Wow...I hope they figure out what's going on with your husband (and I hope it's NOT gout)!!

I'm hoping it IS gout... The other one they were tossing around was RA. It doesn't sound like RA to me though. It is just in one knee, on one side, he doesn't get that fatigued-Ifeel like I am sick but I'm not sick - feeling, and there is not a single case of autoimmune disease in either side of his family that I know of... I am sooo hoping the kids got his genetics.

But I wish itin't gout too.
Thanks.

nvmomketo

dasher602014 wrote: »

Doesn't sound exactly like gout. It normally is really, really tender, swollen and red. My brother(s) suffer from it. With anti-inflammatories and rest, it clears up in about a week to 10 days. But long term solutions? For one brother, daily meds, for the other, it was his blood pressure medication causing the elevation in uric acid. Changed the blood pressure meds, gout flare-ups ceased.

I think there is a cherry juice available in the 'health food' aisle. Where you find cranberry or pomegranate. The kind you mix with water.

Stiff and worn with swelling and pain after an accident? Sounds more like more common arthritis. (Bad enough) I hope they figure it out.

Good luck.

I know! It's odd. You can push on it and examine it and everything. He does have some OA in the other knee (where he smashed the top of his tibia, meniscus, and ACL) and the pain was more severe than that normally is.

And the swelling is ridiculous. It has been big for 4 months and was sore sort of like arthritis with a tad bt of swelling for a while before the big swelling (after his slip on the stairs). Prior to the slip on the stairs, we thought it was just a bit of OA acting up. When he slipped on the stairs we thought maybe he ripped something. It hurt more and then withn 3-4 hours it swelled right up and got very stiff. A few years ago when he hurt/broke his other knee he ended up with a DVT. The swelling is like that. You can see it through loose fitting clothes. And it isn't DVT again, we checked that right away.

Hubby has started taking anti-inflammatories. After surgery, when they flushed the knee and cleaned up a small mensical tear, he had anti-inflammatories for about 10 days. His was improved then. From the flushing or the NSAIDs? I dunno. It did swell up again and he is starting another, much longer round of prescription NSAIDs.

He had the arthroscopic surgery and there was meniscal wear and tear. Minor. The bones are fine. It isn't OA. Or if it is it is very earlt OA and shouldn't be creating symptoms like that.

nvmomketo

daylitemag wrote: »

I have gout. Doctor prescribed Allopurinol which I take daily. It has been around for several decades and is easy to adapt to. Haven't had a flare since taking it and I can eat whatever I want. My diet now is mainly protein and fat. I tried to resist taking the meds but finally got fed up with the pain which had become disabling at times.

Ouch. Glad it is better for you!

So no problems with the Allopurinol? No side effects? I was reading your post to my husband and then we looked up Allopurinal and he was scared off of it almost immediatey with lines like:

"Allopurinol may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert. Avoid drinking alcohol. It may worsen your condition."

and

"Allopurinol can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections. This can make it easier for you to bleed from an injury or get sick from being around others who are ill. Your blood may need to be tested often. Visit your doctor regularly."

https://www.drugs.com/allopurinol.html

Your experiences were positive then?

I wonder if they'll (doctors) suggest drugs right away? He's getting the steroidal shot when they chcek for uric acid crystals. I imagine they'll see how that goes first.

I am jumping the gun here. We don't even know if it is gout for sure yet.

daylitemag

nvmomketo wrote: »

daylitemag wrote: »

I have gout. Doctor prescribed Allopurinol which I take daily. It has been around for several decades and is easy to adapt to. Haven't had a flare since taking it and I can eat whatever I want. My diet now is mainly protein and fat. I tried to resist taking the meds but finally got fed up with the pain which had become disabling at times.

Ouch. Glad it is better for you!

So no problems with the Allopurinol? No side effects? I was reading your post to my husband and then we looked up Allopurinal and he was scared off of it almost immediatey with lines like:

"Allopurinol may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert. Avoid drinking alcohol. It may worsen your condition."

and

"Allopurinol can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections. This can make it easier for you to bleed from an injury or get sick from being around others who are ill. Your blood may need to be tested often. Visit your doctor regularly."

https://www.drugs.com/allopurinol.html

Your experiences were positive then?

I wonder if they'll (doctors) suggest drugs right away? He's getting the steroidal shot when they chcek for uric acid crystals. I imagine they'll see how that goes first.

I am jumping the gun here. We don't even know if it is gout for sure yet.

SSorry for the late reply. I've never experienced any ill side effects and from my understanding it has been around for a very long time. I've been taking it for about 7 years without any issues. When I first went on it my Doctor gave me a different med that was meant to help me adapt to taking the allopurinol. I think it was called colchichine or something like that. I think that was because when first taking allopurinol it can bring on a flare so the other med alleviates that concern. I only had to take the other one for a week or so but that was a long time ago. I really have nothing but good things to say about allopurinol. That's my experience.

kmn118

I have had 2 gout episodes, years apart, both in my right big toe. So painful that couldn't put ANY weight on it at all. Doc gave me a medicine that you take in incrementally increasing doses until you experience extreme diarrhea and then, stop the medicine. It has worked both times.