I'm starting to feel my age

I didn't really say anything about it to anybody this weekend, but I woke up Thursday night in excruciating pain. It felt like someone was stabbing a knife in my left knee and kept me awake most of the night. When I got up in the morning I couldn't bend my knee or stand on it for several minutes. As the day went on it subsided somewhat and gobs of ibuprofen did help. It happened again Friday night and again Saturday night, each time worse than the night before and by Sunday there was noticeable swelling and fever halfway down my leg. So when heading home Sunday I called my wife and asked her to schedule an appointment for me at urgent care. The way that it was swelling and with as much inflammation as there was I was thinking that I had a septic joint. Before I had gotten home though she had run into our family doc at the grocery store. At her suggestion I paid her a visit this morning. Turns out that I have gout., which is a deposition of urate crystals into my joint. And it was exacerbated by the high protein diet, spirits, and not enough water intake. I'm feeling better today and am looking forward to a good night's sleep but I suppose this is the wake up call for some lifestyle changes. It's time to start exercising again, eat a healthier diet, and lose some weight. Oh, I can still have a couple drinks in the evening, but now it's got to be red wine.

Wow, Pam is at Urgent Care right now. On the way home Sunday her knee started swelling like she ran into something, but she didn't. Nurse neighbor said it looks like fluid. Now her pain is all over the leg and she feels like I could not get her in to our hip and knee surgeon until next week. See what they think when she gets home.

That's a tough deal folks hope everyone feels better soon. Diet and exercise are the key. At least you'll die healthy

Gout is some pretty cold-hearted stuff. Mike (Z0608)has had it bad for the past 5 years in his feet. It puts him in the bed, literally, for several days. He says it's from too much red-meat.

Hope you all have a speedy recovery

My Dad had gout in his later years. he would get it in his wrist , and he could not even
pick up a glass. it would get so bad. and in his ankles , he would be completely
bed ridden ....

I feel your pain. I get it in my foot maybe once a year and it hurts like a mofo. Hurts for a sheet to lay on it. Dr gives me meds to make it go away pretty quick.

In the old days Gout was called "rich mans disease" ....had that shit in my big toe....damn it hurts!!

I've deal with it for 20 years, not much fun!

Damn Nathan, that sucks!

The Urgent Care doc said it is Gout too. But she doesn't drink alcohol or eat the crud that they said would cause it.

My grandparents and uncles get gout from eating pinto beans and such.

Gimpy wrote:

The Urgent Care doc said it is Gout too.  But she doesn't drink alcohol or eat the crud that they said would cause it.  

I hope she's feeling some relief by now, I'm almost back to normal. It's amazing sometimes what the right medicine will do for you. I've been doing some research into this and I am not convinced that diet really has much to do with it. One can certainly lower their blood uric acid by eating a low purine diet but there is no correlation between low uric acid and one's propensity for an attack of gout. It's similar to cats with FLUTD and bladder stones. At best there is a 2% less likelihood that you will prevent future attacks by adhering to a very strict diet. The biggest changes that I can see are achieved by drinking more water. Alcohol blocks Anti Diuretic Hormone, in essence acting as a diuretic. This will cause dehydration thus increasing the likelihood that uric acid will precipitate and cause an acute attack of gout. Beer is especially bad because it also contains high levels of purines from the yeast. So it's probably best to avoid beer or at least only drink it in moderation and always with plenty of water. This is the approach that I'm going to take, hopefully it will work!

She is not whining today, so the shot must have worked. They told her she must not be consuming enough water too.

I get it bad in my ankle. There's no way to describe that pain. Medicine works wonders. I got mine from a binge eating shellfish on our honeymoon. To many shrimp boils!

Glad you are feeling better Nate!

LOL... Joe... Looks like wrong thread..... but is you cant go wrong with H&S Tuner. That is what I had and loved it

Sorry Nathan did nto mean to hijack you topic, I'm dislexic this morning. Glad your feeling better!

red meat, alcohol, and shellfish are largely suspects in gout attacks, I used to get one or 2 bouts a year starting six years ago, finally got so bad that I went to the doctor and he put me on allopurinol 300 mg and and I regulated the rest of the intake. eating a lot more chicken and less fried foods. shellfish crab and shrimp and oysters I cut back but still eat the stuffing out of fresh seafood, I think the iodine in the shellfish is a key... but since I got the allopurinol haven't had the first attack. lots of people use the black cherry pills from GNC also.... mostly drink a lot more water to flush the system better