Help with Gout

Sorry to get off the gambling path but this isn't the first time I'm turning to my friends here for some quick advice. My hubby is having an attack of gout. He has had it before and was told (quite some time ago) that they couldn't do anything for him. Well this time it is very bad. It started in the left knee, travelled to the left ankle, switched over to the right foot, which was by far the worst, and now that that is "starting" to subside a bit, it is now in the left foot.

I have done alot of reading and it appears that you have to prevent it more than you can treat it. He is eating painkillers like candy and they are not touching it.

I know now that they have meds, again to prevent it, but does anyone have a quick home remedy? I'm desperate. I'm hoping that we will be able to make it to the outpatient today but it isn't going to be easy.

Thanks for any help......

NO CHICKEN or POULTRY! Apply aloe vera gel to the affected areas and wrap with Saran Wrap, leave on for an hour or more, then remove.

RGALP, Google is your friend:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=how+to+avoid+gout+attacks&aq=0&aqi=g1&oq=how+to+avoid+gout
Results 1 - 10 of about 199,000 for how to avoid gout attacks. (0.24 seconds)
http://www.ehow.com/how_4873632_avoid-gout-attack.html

LOL TDTAT, I've ben googling away........

Nothing has helped so far

Cora, thanks, trying that now.....

My dad get's it all the time, think he was told to elevate his foot on foot up on a cushion!!! Don't know if that's any help but thought you might like to know!!! ops:

Yes, elevating the affected foot, along with wrapping it as above does help. At least it did with my mother-in-law.

Try soaking the foot in 1 part vinegar, 1 part water, heat this to a warm temperature, the vinegar will balance the ph levels. Also eating cherries, or drinking lemonade will sometimes help.

Thanks for the help guys..... We ended up at the hospital last night because the situation was unbearable. Had to go by ambulance because both feet are bad.

But, after the nice drugs they gave and an the drug indomethacin it is finally starting to subside a bit. The pain is much more bearable and the swelling is down.


Thanks again!!!!!!

glad to hear meds are working, Hope all is good real soon.

glglglgl

Take care

Thanks Gonecamping.....

my boyfriend has gout too, i do not know about your husbands, but my bf's was caused from alchohol and hereditary. he has tried everything and there is no quick home remedy unfortunately. the only way to prevent flair ups is to get a prescription of colchicine. colchicine is not a prevenative treatment for gout but a treatment for the symptoms of gout only. once my bf quit drinking and used colchicine the flair ups almost came to a stop. and looks like now they have stopped as he has not had a flair up in almost 10 yrs. allupurinal is a prevenative treatment for gout. if taken it will help prevent flair ups, where as if you have a flair up and take colchicine it will treat the flair up symptoms. basically what this means is allupurinal to prevent flair ups and colchicine if you already have a flair up. they both are prescription but if your husband gets these meds i am telling you it will change his life for the better. have they tried removing the fluid around the swollen joint? the pain is because of the crystals in the fluid sac in the joint and when there is movement it is basically like having shards of glass rubbing the joint that cause the pain. good luck to you both, but hubby should get those meds, they are not that expensive, and for what they do it is definately worth a trip to the dr.

Daremeto, thank you so very much. His doctor prescribed Colchicine (?) and the hospital prescribed Indomethacin. He was worried about taking 2 together, especailly being from 2 diferent entities.

I am giving him your advice and he is going to start up with the Colchicine.

Thanks so much for the advice. I'm sure you know full well the suffering that this condition causes. Not only for the patient but for the people around them.


The pain has really subsided, but he still can't walk well. But my concern now is the swelling. He put two fingers into his ankle and there were two large holes that stayed there. It looked like play dough. That scared me....

Thanks )

you are most welcome. the colchicine works fast, although not fast enough for him being in pain, 2-3 days usually. but remember once he gets well from the colchicine, he really need to start taking the allupurinal to help prevent the flair ups. i am surprised his dr. didn't give him a script for it. normally the two are prescribed together, with instructions to take the colchicine first and when flair up is gone start taking the allupurinal.

gl to the both of you, we sure don't miss those days. gout is the worst arthritis there is and when they are in pain, it makes us feel so helpless because there is nothing we can do to ease their pain, and there is nothing they can do to get comfortable, just lay there suffering until it subsides. not a fun way to live!

God you are so right Darement. Every time he moved he moaned. Just brushing by the skin hurt. Of course our animals don't know any better and it was hard keeping them away. Thank God (as of today) he was up and walking with the aid of crutches. Though tonight he was able to get around the house with nothing!!!!!!

He is going to see a doctor that specializes in this so I'm sure he will prescribe the Allupurinal.

Thanks again for all the help, and, maybe this post will help someone else. I'm sure most can't even imagine how serious and painful this is until they experience it first hand.

God bless you for taking the time to share )