Seasonal Gout

Oh Spring!  Everyone loves mentioning how spring is the time for birds chirping and flowers blooming, but for me Spring is gout season.

Since the weather has been breaking from lower than 50°F (10°C) to weeks with 60s and 70s F(15-20 C) I've been waking up with stiff joints in my left foot.  If not for my allopurinol this spring might be like last year where I had near daily attacks.

I do have last spring's near-disaster to thank for helping me to seek out the proper help to get my gout diagnosed, but I am not looking to relive it.  So here's some ways I'm going to try to beat my seasonal gout stiffness:

1. If I feel really stiff I will take a colchicine before bed.
I've done this a couple of times and have avoided what I think were incoming attacks.

2. Increased water consumption.
I usually drink 3 liters of water a day, though recently since I've been waking up with stiffness I've been going closer to 4.  It's a lot, but the bathroom trips are increasing and hopefully getting the uric acid out.

3. Scheduling a doctor's visit.
I want to check out the effects of allopurinol on my body and checking to make sure 100mgs is going to continue to do it for me.  I also want to be careful not to overdo the allopurinol, but making sure it's not hurting me and is getting the uric acid level to a proper level.

4. Occasional foot soaking.
A salt soak for gout can be helpful for most forms of arthritis and joint pain. I think this is a worth-while attempt that used with the other methods could help.

What are your solutions for seasonal gout?  I'm interested in sharing solutions with fellow suffers.  Leave me a comment!

The Gout Sufferers Cheat Sheet: The New York Times Gout Report

Are you looking for comprehensive gout info?  Look no further than this in-depth report from the New York Times.  All of the scientific research on gout here is 10 years old or less.  No matter your political opinion on the New York Times, the information contained on this page comes from medical professionals whose jobs are assisting people like myself and some of you who are only seeking to improve your quality of life.  In the future on this site, I will be referencing this page quite a bit.

For today, I want to highlight a couple of interesting things I found reading this page my first time.  I'll come back to this page in the future, but for today:

Dietary Considerations

"While meat and certain types of seafood and shellfish do produce high levels of purines in the blood, research has suggested that not all purine-rich foods are associated with gout. Eating a moderate amount of purine-rich vegetables (spinach, cauliflower, mushrooms, legumes) does not appear to increase the risk of gout." [1]

Some people use a chart to determine their diet to avoid gout.  I am going to tackle diet at sometime or another on this blog, but for right now, allow me to turn off my serious gout blogger mode and say this:

(joke over)...As I chat with other gout sufferers I find more and more that the foods that trigger gout for some people don't trigger it for others.  Science seems to strongly suggest that the intake of purine-rich vegetables is okay.  I'd go as far to suggest to you that it's great to consume any vegetable you enjoy because promoting a healthy lifestyle could help you to:

Maintain a Healthy Weight

"A supervised weight-loss program may be a very effective way to reduce uric acid levels in overweight patients. Crash dieting, on the other hand, is counterproductive because it can increase uric acid levels and may cause an acute attack."[1]

Another reference to how gout is a tricky condition.  Do try to lose weight if you are a sufferer, but don't do it by going crazy with the weight loss-cause you could just trigger another attack.  So if the veggies aren't making your toe, ankle, knee, etc etc etc hurt eat 'em up!  Develop a healthier lifestyle to avoid the pain.

Finally...

I hope you'll take time to read through the report for yourself.  Educating yourself about the horribleness that is gout is one of the best ways to take preventative measures against that awful pain, and that report is a VERY good place to start.  

Do you have a helpful resource concerning gout?  Let me know in the comments section! 

**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.

[Sources: 1-http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/gout-chronic/print.html]

What Causes Gout?

Many of you searching this page might be wondering how gout is caused.  I know that in my personal experience, I had no idea until a doctor told me.  Today's post will try to explain a bit of the causes of gout.  Again we'll explore the website of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases website for some more information about this horrible condition.

What Causes Gout?
Gout is caused by the buildup of too much uric acid in the body. Uric acid comes from the breakdown of substances called purines. Purines are found in all of your body’s tissues. They are also in many foods, such as liver, dried beans and peas, and anchovies.
Normally, uric acid dissolves in the blood. It passes through the kidneys and out of the body in urine. But uric acid can build up in the blood when:

• The body increases the amount of uric acid it makes.

• The kidneys do not get rid of enough uric acid.

• A person eats too many foods high in purines.

When uric acid levels in the blood are high, it is called hyperuricemia. Most people with hyperuricemia do not develop gout. But if excess uric acid crystals form in the body, gout can develop.
You are more likely to have gout if you:

• Have family members with the disease

• Are a man

• Are overweight

• Drink too much alcohol

• Eat too many foods rich in purines

• Have an enzyme defect that makes it hard for the body to break down purines

• Are exposed to lead in the environment

• Have had an organ transplant

• Use some medicines such as diuretics, aspirin, cyclosporine, or levodopa

• Take the vitamin niacin. [1]

To sum up: gout is caused by a buildup of uric acid in your body which is caused by a compound called purines.  Many purines occur naturally in your body, but some are found in the foods you eat.  
When your blood gets too high of a concentration of these purines, they can crystallize and lead to gout. Emphasis on can because in some people this buildup does not affect them.  If you have gout today, you've unfortunately won the worst lottery ever.

 Do you have any questions or comments?  I want to be a help and resource to your questions.  If you leave a comment I will do my best to answer your question.

In our next post I will discuss how gout is diagnosed and my own personal account of how I learned I had gout.

**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.

[Source: http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Gout/gout_ff.asp]