r/gout

First: I have seen a podiatrist. It was unhelpful. He didn't even LOOK AT my foot. He was like: it's gout. Here's colchicine. He also said they can't test my uric acid levels during a flare (huh?) and then when I had to go have a follow-up with a different doctor in the same practice, she gave me the exact opposite advice and sent me for expensive blood tests (my uric acid level was 7 and that was after taking colchicine.)

So now it is six months later, and I'm having what I am assuming is a flare up, but it goes against the various things I was told. Here's how it happened:

Last Friday I wore stupid shoes and hurt my left foot. I had a very small amount of pain on the side of my foot; there was a small soft lump that hurt when I pressed it. But it was like a level 2 pain, I could walk, and I figured I just messed up my foot in the dumb shoes.

Then on Wednesday we went on vacation and I made a series of poor choices. I put many miles on my bike, climbed metal stairs in towers, ate oysters, and got dehydrated. I know, I know. Anyway, on Friday night the side of my foot hurt a little bit more so I decided to try to massage it out, and WHOO BOY was that a mistake. It went from a level 3 pain to level 9 and has pretty much stayed there. It is now Monday morning.

I took one .6 mg colchicine very early on Saturday morning, and another today. Plus very conservative amounts of Aleve--1 per day. I still cannot put weight on my foot and am using a cane.

Other things my podiatrist told me: diet won't do anything to fix this. He even told me to keep drinking beer, which I am choosing to not do (I quit alcohol entirely 11 months ago due to this and do not plan to go back to drinking.)

So my main question is: is it possible that I injured my foot and THAT caused a flare? This has happened before--I took my hiking boots off without untieing them, that pulled at my muscles and I got a REALLY TERRIBLE flare.

Help.

And no, I can't go back to the podiatrist any time soon. I don't have sick days and am in fact writing this from work.

I just wanted to share my experience on my gout trip. I first was diagnosed with gout 20 years ago. I did everything to try and avoid taking allopurinol for the rest of my life and tried dozens of natural remedies. About 3 years ago I realised nothing is working so started the Allo route. I took 3 X 300mg a day for more than a year and my uric level got as low as 3. Still not wanting to take drugs everyday I slowly started to lower the dosage. For the last year I literally take a tablet every 10 days or so. I just had a test after a particularly unhealthy holiday and my uric acid is at 6. I still drink beer twice a week, 3 litres of water a day and avoid too much unhealthy and purine rich foods. I haven't had an attack for 2 years ISH. I am 57 a little overweight and have a moderate exercise regime. My gout level before allo was up to 13 plus and I had tophi on my elbows. After seeing pics of how bad tophi can get I realised it was time for a change. Has anyone else managed to control their gout in a similar way?

Quick question for everyone. I’ve been under the assumption that avoidance of red meat (amongst other things) is important to prevent flares and I have some anecdotal evidence that my flares are associated with beef. I’ve been sticking to chicken breast as my main source of protein since diagnosis with some good effect. However, I was checking today and it surprised me to find that chicken breast has more purines/100g than lean beef does. And that turkey which I thought was a white meat that was associated with flares has maybe even less purines than chicken.

Is this correct? Should I be avoiding chicken too? I know all meats and fish have a certain level of purines, I just didn’t realize that chicken was potentially higher than beef!

Thanks

My dad is 73 and has had gout for almost 50 years. He started having gout in his 20s. Unfortunately, where he lived before, medical care was pretty limited and his gout was never really treated properly. Basically whenever he had pain, he would take some kind of anti-inflammatory/pain medication. He never had consistent long-term treatment to actually lower his uric acid.

After having gout for this long, he has a lot of tophi, and many of the joints in his hands and feet have already been damaged by gout.

He recently came to the US and we are finally trying to get this properly treated.
His recent blood work here showed:

Uric acid 9.6
Creatinine 2.05
eGFR 34
BUN 45
Potassium 4.4
Hemoglobin 10.3

He had blood work done in his home country about two weeks before this. At that time his creatinine was 155.6 umol/L (around 1.76 mg/dL) and uric acid was 498.2 umol/L (around 8.4 mg/dL).

He also had an ultrasound there. His left kidney is quite small, about 7.2 cm, and the report says the kidney tissue is thin (around 0.7 cm). They also saw some small possible stones/calcifications in both kidneys. No hydronephrosis. His prostate is enlarged as well.

The concerning part is that for years he has been taking different medications from his home country whenever his gout bothered him, and sometimes he would take an “anti-inflammatory” medication every day so he wouldn’t have pain. We don’t even know exactly what was in some of those medications. His US doctor told him to stop taking anything when we don’t know exactly what it is, especially with his kidney function.

Right now he actually has no gout pain.
His doctor just started him on 50 mg allopurinol once a day. I know that’s a very low dose, but I’m assuming it’s because his kidney function isn’t great and they want to start slowly.
I’m curious if anyone here has been in a similar situation, especially someone older with CKD and a very long history of gout.

Now that his kidney function is not great, it seems like his options for uric acid lowering medications are more limited. I feel like there’s no really good solution.

Ps: I have scheduled an appointment for him to see the specialist but that’s a long waiting and that’s why I am asking advice here.

Thank you!

I used to drink coffee occasionally, but lately I’ve been drinking coffee daily with no cream and no sugar and I feel that I got less flare up. The question I have for my gout buddies here is that do you guys drink coffee daily?

I don't have gout as badly as a lot of people. I had two flares this year (this is my third year since I have been diagnosed), both in my ankle. They feel like a sprain—not the worst pain in the world, but still extremely uncomfortable.

After those flares, I decided to cut out alcohol completely. I don't eat much red meat, but I do eat a decent amount of chicken and alternate it with tofu.

My doctor sent me for a uric acid test, and my level came back at 8.4 mg/dL, it doesn't seem crazy high to me. Is that high enough to start allopurinol? Also, if I take allopurinol, could I return to a regular diet and occasional drinks with friends?

Got diagnosed with gout March of 2026 this year, but since then I haven’t gotten it since.

I’m a pretty active dancer about 15 ish hours a week so it took a while for my foot to get back to normal, but I have been taking allo and colchicine since getting diagnosed.

I limited my red meat intake by a lot and sometimes I still feel residual soreness here and there, but not enough that it restricts me from moving. I’ve kinda accepted that I’ll probably live with that forever lol

But I can’t really tell if it’s still uric acid build up, a flare coming or it just gets sore more easily now when I dance

45 y.o US male - no longer drinking /eating red meat /shellfish etc. slightly overweight but losing (praise God). Uric Acid levels were 8.9- doc prescribed me 100 mg allopurinol. I also just started taking sulphorapanse (brocolli byproduct/compound that’s supposed to help with gout), I may take a break on the sulphorapane. My question is - Is 100mg enough? I do believe I had a flare up right after the allo but I have no plans on quitting allo-. Ty in advance- any advice & comments/feedback is welcomed.

#tGbtg

Had my first attack in I think the end of August. They put me on colchisine, which helped a little, but not much. Probably my fault, as I took a couple of days to go to the doctor's office. They put me on allopurinol at the end of the following week. It has been helping, but now I'm dealing with the rebound flare.

Sorry to be slightly whiney, but this sucks. Due to other health issues, I can't take anything for pain except acetaminophen, which is, as I'm sure you all know, very ineffective. I imagine I'll try to get some colchisine prescribed tomorrow, but this effing hurts. Stupid weekend flare. I'm just annoyed because I can't do anything like this.

Ugh. Like I said, just whiney about it.

I have been taking it for about two years now on a daily basis. Recently I have experts ringing in my ears. I am not directly connecting the two but did note that a small percentage of long term users have experienced this as a side-effect. Has anyone experienced this?

I just got my Uric Acid levels checked, the result was:

6.3

What do you guys think?

History:

• I had 1 bad attack about 4 years ago
• A recently (past 2 weeks), I have been feeling some mild pain in my toes and joints (wrists, knee, toes), and can feel gout coming, so that prompted me to get my Uric acid levels checked.

I'm just curious. I started getting bouts of gout about two years ago. It came on strong, and there were many days during the first year where I could not put weight on my feet. I remember lying in bed in the middle of the night needing to go to the bathroom, but resisting as long as possible because of the pain I knew I would have if I got up.

After much research, a great doctor, and getting on allo, I haven't had any bouts in months. I don't even have to worry about what I eat anymore.

During the months of pain before being diagnosed, I was trying everything. Tart cherry juice, no alcohol, no red meat...I went through it all. I also bought new shoes, all kinds of over the counter meds, compression socks...you name it, I tried it. I ALMOST went to a place called "The Good Feet Store". I don't know if it's local or national, but they promised to cure foot pain with a custom made insole they charge about $1200 for. I'm so glad I got the diagnosis and allo before I went.

My question is...how much is needlessly spent in remedies that don't work? And do places like The Good Feet Store look at the possibility of gout before selling remedies? I'm so thankful I found the answer to the pain for myself. I feel bad for others who search for the wrong solution when, if it's gout, a good doctor and allo can do the trick.

Hi all. I've had 4 gout flares since June + many more rebound flares.. have been flare free for last 3 yrs prior I'd get maybe 1-2 a year. I think it's time to start allopurinol... I can't go on like this... However, I experience adverse reactions to most medication since getting COVID which gave me a diagnosis of CFS/ME, polyneuropathy, and dysautonomia. I suspect some kind of underlying subclinical kidney function or mitochondria disorder... The doctors will not order any more sensitive tests beyond eGFR. I'm also very sensitive to colchicine (caused nerve damage) and NSAID'S (heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and somnolence, and chest pain)... I'm aware these are given when starting allopurinol as a shield -- and God knows what allopurinol itself might cause in way of adverse reactions. Drs want me to start at 100mg and 15mg Meloxicam (which I think is also a strong NSAID). I am thinking to start at 25 mg allopurinol on my own accord and slowly titrate up. Has anyone been in this situation??? Any expertise greatly appreciated.