App Store Apps for Gout Recommendation: Argus

Howdy friends!  Today I wanted to let you in on an Apple store app that I have been using for about a month and a half now, and feel comfortable enough recommending it as a great app for gout sufferers.  May I introduce: Argus

Argus is meant to be a lifestyle tracker, an interactive daily diary that can be very helpful for the gout sufferer.  After downloading the app you'll be prompted to enter some personal information such as your name, email, weight, height, and gender as shown below.  

After you've done that you'll get to a few different settings.  The main setting I recommend turning on is "Show Steps on App Icon":

The step tracker has been a great tool for my personal life and battle with gout.  The steps tracker lets me see how far I go in a day.  As long as my bluetooth is on the tracker is fairly accurate.  It's amazing to see how far I can go on clean and clear days and how difficult it is on days that I don't.  

It should be pretty obvious the days where I was hitting the colchicine and ibuprofen.  

Another tracker which you control yourself that can be extremely helpful is the water tracker.  

Most days I go well over the "8 glasses a day" requirement, which my 8 glasses is actually right about 3 liters, this helps me ward off the horrid gout.

One feature that I make less use of, but could if I wanted is the food photo tracker.  This can definitely help you remember how much meat and vegetables you've consumed, making gout prevention easier.

The app is free, and you can add friends.  If you do add the app, be sure to add me: james l goode.  Hope to see you there!

Do you use applications or technology to prevent or track your gout?  Leave me a comment!

The Water of a Gout Sufferers Life: WATER!

I'm going with obvious information today, but if your new to gout maybe you need to hear this.  Drinking water is one of your best ways to prevent that horrid pain.  Don't believe me, then don't take my word for it?Google: gout water.  This is what I came up with on the front page, If you're going to leave my site, don't worry I'll wait for you:

Water May Wash Away Gout Attacks

Fighting Gout with Skim Milk and Water

NYTimes-Why Do I have Gout? "Many doctors who treat patients with gout advise them to cut down on purines and drink more water."

Water and Gout

Gout: What Can I Do to Help Myself - "Drink lots of water – between 1.5 and 2.5 litres a day (six to eight glasses) to help prevent kidney stones."

Water does a marvelous job of washing away the uric acid in your body, stopping it from forming into crystals that cause the horrid pain.  It should be your first line of defense against the feelings of pain, defenselessness, and fear of walking that can plague gout sufferers.  (In my opinion, Allopurinol with a big glass of water is your second one-after you are well committed to drinking the water.)

My personal goal of water consumption everyday is 3 liters.  I feel like a 50% bump on the always quoted 8 glasses a day aka 2 liters gives an extra oomph to wash out uric acid. Oh-and I should add-coffee seems to assist in lowering uric acid levels (According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health). If that link wasn't fun to read you can see some of the same basic information in laymen's terms from MedPage Today.  According to that link tea didn't really have any effect on your uric acid levels, though as long as it doesn't seem to affect you I use it once in awhile to substitute a few mL to get up to my 3 liters for a day.

Of course there is a study out from Medicinenet and the American College of Rheumatology that basically contradicts that other article.  If you've read some of my other entries you know: gout is tricky and seemingly different people get attacks from different triggers.

If you're looking to increase or track your water consumption, might I recommend Argus to you.

For me personally: getting the heavy dose of daily liquids is far more of a help, the only major drawback is I have 5-6 trips to the restroom everyday.  As I recall in the beginning I would wake up once or twice in the middle of the night to empty my bladder as well.

Do you find coffee helps or trigger a gout attack?  How much water do you drink in a day?  If you drink as much or more than me you must go for a leak quite a bit!  Leave me a comment!

**This website is for informative purposes and should not be substituted as advice of a medical professional.  If you believe you have gout, I STRONGLY recommend scheduling an appointment with a medical professional and getting the problem checked out.