Such a Little Word, Such a Big Pain

If you wake up in the middle of the night with an excruciating pain in your big toe, chances are good that you've been bittn by the GOUT fairy.  Even though a gout attack may come on suddenly -- like a volcano erupting--the underlying cause, excessive uric acid in your blood, may have been wiaiting for just the right moment to make its presence known.

Once associated with royalty and high living, goutnow is fairly common, afflicting over 5.1 million people in the United States.  Men over 45 are the most likely candidates to manifest gout although women are not immune.  Once you reach ag3 60, women experience3 gout attacks as frequently as men do.  Not everyone who has excess uric acid suffers from gout but if you are on of the unlucky ones, you will want to get immediat ehelp and find out how to prevent future occurrences.

Commonly referred to as having a "bout of the gout", an attack usually last frm 3 to 10 days and can cause knife-like pain, tenderness, redness, heat, and swelling in an affected joint.  if symptoms occur, see a medical professional as soon as possible and start on a regime, first to control the current attack and then to try to prevent future flare-ups.  gout is the most common form of infammatory arthritis and diagnosis of the condition has more than doubled over the last 40 years.

A recent medical study noted that the increase in gout cases coincided with the dramatic increase in the consumption of soft drinks and other beverages containing fructose, a simple sugar and the only carbohydrate linked to gout.  The result of a 12 year study of men who had no family history of gout showed that those who drank two or more serving sof sugary soft driks were 85% more likely to develop gout than those who drank only one serving per month.  diet sodas, however, did not raise the risk of gout.

Short-term treatment may involve prescription or over-the-counter medications for the inflammation and to reduce the uric acid levels in your blood.  Bed res is frequently recommended.  Prevention strategies focus primarily on diet changes.  Recue the amout of beer you drink.  Wine in moderation is fine and coffee-both regular and decaf-for some unkknown reason actually lowers uric acid levels so drink up.  Add low-fat milk and yogurt to your diet and drink plenty of water.  Food high in vitamin C(citrus, cabbage and strawberries)also get the green light.  Avoid foods that either directly raise uric acid levels--bacon, haddock, herring, sardines, liver and other organ foods, turkey, veal and venison -- or with high purines (compounds found in some foods which turn to uric acid in the kidneys)--asparagus, chicken, ham and shellfish.  Try to maintain a healthy weight.   Being overweight or oese increases the probability of a gout attack.

For more information on gout--treatment and prevention--go to www.gout.com.

I hope this answers some question that have been on the board about gout. this information coems from a health pamphlet from Compass Connection

Thanks for sharing this info!
I hope you find relief and do not continue to suffer with this. I know it is just miserable!

Thanks for the great information Janet. Hope if you are having an attack that you get better asap.

Kathy and Patrice, thanks for your kind words.  It is my DH that had the bout with the GOUT FAIRY.   My sister, who suffers tremendously from Gout, sent us the article.  Compass Connection is part of their health care plan.  There were a couple of people on the Main Board who had asked for information on Gout and I thought this might help someone.  Also the always reliable, drink 100% cherry juice every day. 

Thanks for the information. My mother suffers with terrible gout sometimes. She is 62 and has had it off and on for several years. She was actually diagnosed with Rhumatoid Arthritis a couple of years ago. The symptoms of gout and RA can mimic each other and now they are not certain about her because she has symptoms of both, which the RA docs say is very unusual. She has been off the RA drugs for several months (they lower your immune system and can be dangerous) and is currently dealing with a bout of the gout in her big toe. Her father had gout and her brother does as well. I hope to escape that malady, and now since WLS I hope to escape my father's diabetes as well!

Hope it was of some help Rhonda.  I know that my sister swears by the cherry juice and fresh cherries.  She also watches her diet very carefully because so many things can set her off.
I hope the WLS keeps you from the family diseases and I am hoping mine will do the same.