I guess I'm officially old now

Found out today I have gout.

Yay.

Damn. Get well soon.

I have a relative with it and some dietary changes helped him a lot.

Ouch - Stu had that. Good luck!

I was told it's most common to affect the toes, but mine stopped short and affected my ankle, my right inner ankle to be specific.

It actually started last week. All of a sudden, for no apparent reason, my ankle REALLY started hurting and my foot swole up to the point I had to untie my shoe. Had no idea what caused it, didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Ice packs and heat soaks only made a difference with the swelling, so after a week of limping around, I went to the Doctor today.

Still not 100% clear what set it off. I don't drink (never have). Aside from the occasional burger, I seldom have red meat, I usually have chicken. While I'm not the healthiest eater, I try to be mindful of what I eat.

Doctor is supposed to email me some info. In the meantime I'm poking around online to try and figure out what changes I need to make.

Grateful its not the dreaded 'big C' but still pretty bummed right now.

I knew a guy who had that at age 30, but I don't know much about the topic.
He did get over it.
I agree as to how irritating it is to no longer feel bulletproof; been dealing with detached retina surgeries all damn summer, through Nov.

As a fellow (former) gout victim, I'll tell you this (from my experience):
- Docs like to initially treat gout with anti-inflammatories. That treats the symptoms, not the cause.
- I also have high blood pressure. My [i]former[/i] doc prescribed a concoction of medication (to include anti-inflammatories) that was toxic. I was in renal failure before it was figured out, and my kidney's are still far from "good."
- My advice: Make sure your doc deals with the cause. If they dick you around, request a referral to a rheumatologist.

For those that haven't experienced gout, it's extremely painful. I've had several broken bones, herniated disks in my back and multiple surgeries for various reasons. Broken bones don't compare to the pain of a bad gout attack.

Good luck john. Proceed with caution and do your own research on the combination of drugs you take (that goes for everyone). I used to put my life in my doctors hands. Not anymore...

Yes, look on the bright side that it is not the "big C". My Father's doctor told him his ankle pain was gout. 5 months later he was gone. Died of the "big C".

My question to you would be, did the Doctor just tell you that or did he test for it??? If he just told you that, DO NOT take his word for it. Quick detection of Cancer is crucial. My Father's APPEARED to be Gout.

Gout is a buildup of uric acid in the body. My brother got it in his 40's from eating too many almonds. The doctor told him to stop eating them and things cleared up and went away. Diet has a lot to do with it. They say red meat, seafood, and alcohol are the main reason for gout in most people, so go figure.

"I guess I'm officially old now"

Congratulations, that was the plan, right?

Thanks for the replies so far!

The Doctor took some x-rays and did some blood work, not sure what else is needed to confirm this is gout.

I have high BP (I've talked about it on here), but I've ALWAYS had it. Regardless of weight, regardless of diet, regardless of exercise, it stays the same.

I'm not on any meds for my BP because the side effects are always a big problem for me. ANY medication I usually have problems with the side effects. The last specialist I went to regarding my BP I got into an argument with because he insisted not EVERY medicine should cause a problem and if that was truly the case, I needed to pick one with side effects I 'could live with'. Ummmm......no.

Spent too much time last night looking for causes. Looks like I will have to cut out (diet) soda completely. I've cut way, W-A-Y back on my consumption of soda (I drink in a month what I used to drink in two days), but I still drink it on a regular basis. And possibly avoid tomatoes? I don't eat many fresh tomatoes, but I do consume quite a bit of spaghetti sauce. Other than those two things, I'm not really seeing anything else that could be the cause. By my own choice, I try to follow a gluten free diet. I don't live on fast food, I've always tried to avoid fried/greasy foods, and I've never been one for obvious sugary treats like cakes and candy.

Honestly, I would be more concerned with the high BP. Also as far as i know gout is not reserved for only old people.

I always ask my "older" friends (I'm 57 and feeling "older") what I have to look forward too NEXT. Sounds like I need to be more mindful of my diet. Guess I'll just eat carrots now. Thanks for bringing this to our/my attention.

Sorry to hear of your gout. I don't have gout but, I've had to change and watch my diet for stomach/digestive problems. You could try and see what foods you can get and what foods cause or worsen your symptoms. Another thing to try to watch is sodium content as well.

Yep growing old sucks. I was diagnosed with Parkinsons earlier this week. Puts a damper on the car hobby.

It sure beats the alternative.

64 going on 65 and had my first case of Gout. At least we think it was Gout. I felt it in my hands on a Friday morning when you made a fist out of your hand. Later in the day the left side of my right foot started hurting like heck. It was Labor Day weekend and when I got home from church that was the last time I could wear shoes for two weeks. I couldn’t get in to see my doctor so a nurse practitioner looked at it and took blood to check Uric acid levels and for Lyme disease as we have a lot of that in Pa. She prescribed an antibiotic but I told her from everyone I talked to and everything I read it was Gout. Finally on Friday she gave me a prescription for Gout and it slowly got better. I was on about zero sleep as I’m a side sleeper and my foot couldn’t touch the bed or a sheet. We have a very short tomato season in Pa and I was eating tomato sandwiches daily. Not sure that caused it or not but I’ll be cautious now. Not fun at all.

Never confirmed it, but I guess we will all find out, sooner or later.

To the OP, I drink 6-10 Diet sodas a day for 30+ years, went cold turkey on all sodas 11/3/19, I'm getting used to water.
I keep a six pack of Diet Dr Pepper in the fridge, to daily test my will power, so far, so good.

had gout since my 20's.
been taking alopurinol since then. Daily.
I can only remember 1 episode since then if even that.
I really haven't changed anything else.
I don't drink soda anymore, but not because of that.
I don't recall what side affects it is supposed to have, but I have never had any issues with it.

[quote}
I keep a six pack of Diet Dr Pepper in the fridge, to daily test my will power, so far, so good. [/quote]

I bet that Diet Dr Pepper is no good anymore.

"Spent too much time last night looking for causes."
My friend and his Dad get this, seems to just come and go.

Looking at our Presidential Candidates I'm not so sure..............

Today has been especially difficult dealing with this. Finally got some cool weather where I can get some work done outside, and my ankle is having none of it. Even just driving is aggravating it, and I'm the type of driver that always brakes with his left foot (automatic), so its really just movement, no pressure, on my right foot. As an added bonus, my typical workday has me driving for part of each day.

This is the first time I've had a flair up like this. I sure hope they don't happen often.

Haha, good point!

John, while I don't suffer from gout, I think because you're just finding out and learning, it's bummed you out. But I believe you'll find some triggers and learn the way and have a much easier time with it than you fear. Cutting out the triggers and adding in some of the good things, like plain ole water to flush out that uric acid! You'll find what works for you

For the guy I know who had it beets was one of the foods he had to drop. He hardly ever has issues with it once he figured out what triggered the flare ups.

I do drink water quite a bit (I think), heck, as soon as I wake up I have a glass (helps move things.... ..) then over the course of the day, I'll drink another 4-6 bottles of water. I drink one or two bottles of soda (diet pepsi) a day. If not soda, I'll have sweet tea (diluted). During the dog days of summer, I'll turn to Gatoraide.

I'll drop the soda first and see what happens. I read somewhere last nite that vitamin C is supposed to help? If so, I'll try that as well (I take the occasional multi-vitamin).

I'm actually more concerned about having to give up spaghetti sauce as pasta has always been my quick go to meal.

Purines....

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-...y-eating/in-depth/gout-diet/art-20048524

Looking at the meal plan there, I am already very close to it. A few tweaks but no drastic changes.

I could never imagine getting Parkinsons.

I hope you make the best of this and can still somehow enjoy the hobby! Do what you have to, take care!

Hope you get better too, John.

Yes I agree, sorry to hear that and good luck with it. As we get older a lot of things pop up and make us realize we should not to take good health for granted.

John, I'm not sure what size the bottles of water are that you drink, and I know you probably have had enough preaching, BUT A lot of people think they drink a lot of water, when they really don't drink enough. And if you need to flush that uric acid you may consider drinking more. I drink a gallon a day, minimally. Consider that your urine should be almost colorless if you are getting enough.

Diet soda is poison.

Consider that your urine should be almost colorless if you are getting enough.

The bottled water I'm drinking is 16.9 oz each. I gauge by my urine. Should be almost colorless? By the afternoon, I usually can't tell I urinated.

Between actual water intake, and what I'm getting from other sources, I'm not far off. I've tried to drink more and it was too much for me.

Yep...they call them the' golden years'.....
as long as your urine stays golden , you're should do OK

John, just know that some people have high uric acid, period. Perhaps you're one of us. I take 300mg's of Allopurinol daily, because I NEED IT. Living on cherries and being a virtual vegetarian didn't work for me; believe me...I tried, and I HATE taking medication (another subject). If you NEED medication to control your gout, my advice is to forego the anti-inflammatories and go straight to meds that control uric acid. Yeah, your doc isn't gonna want to go through the hassle of blah, blah whatever. Make your doc get to the bottom line immediately, and work backward from there (IF there's a path). As I said earlier, if your insurance will allow a rheumatologist to mange it, use them. You general practitioner is a band aid guy. Don't allow yourself to be tortured by that stuff any longer than necessary...

I agree with this or find a doctor who will get to the bottom of it.

Specialists are kinda out of my reach right now because of the crappy insurance I have.

BUT, I've made some changes and I'm already feeling a LOT better.

The Doc gave me something for the swelling and pain, that lasted less than two days before I started getting sick off it, so I stopped taking it.

As I mentioned earlier, I read Vitamin C is supposed to help, and while not proven, apple cider vinegar is too. I already had some ACV as I used it to help my stomach last year, and I went out and bought some C with Bioflavonoids. The C also has Rose Hips which is supposed to help reduce pain and inflammation.

Sunday afternoon, I still couldn't put weight on my foot. Today, Tuesday, while there is still a little pain, I'm able to walk normal again, no limping.

Plus, since Friday, I've had only two sodas instead of my usual 2-3 a day (unlike jcc, I'm finishing what I have left rather than let it sit ) Honestly, I don't miss it.

I'll see how this goes for awhile.

Good news John! Sounds like you're making all the right moves

Found a message from my Doc tonight in my email stating its NOT gout. Yes, no, I don't know? Uric acid test came back 5.2.

Kinda annoyed right now. No, my foot isn't hurting the way it was, but it is still hurting.

Do yourself a favor and research if you can get Gout and still have normal Uric Acid levels

A quick google mentions it may be calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) instead? But a quick search of that shows its rare and most common in men between 60 and 90.......?

I'll look more tomorrow.

Still having issues with my foot, still haven't been back to Doc so they can continue to guess........(yes? no? maybe? )

HOWEVER, since loosing 250lbs last weekend, the pan is considerably less, almost non existent. As I sit here typing this, I feel nothing unless I turn my foot a certain way.

So, MY guess is that it may be stress related?

The ex must have been a BIG girl.

Rumor has it that Satty7 has lost probably A TON of X’s just this year ... but he still has their garages he puts “stuff” in