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]

How is Gout Diagnosed?

I'm going to start with my own story of how I came to be diagnosed with gout.  After which I will again share some material from the National Institute of Arthritis Muscluoskeletal and Skin Diseases website.

In September 2006, I moved to Fuzhou, China.  When I went I was overweight (near 300 lbs).  In my first few weeks in China, I walked everywhere and climbed the local mountain.  The day after walking up the mountain steps, I had some of the worst pain I had ever experienced in my left foot.  I was unaware at the time that I was experiencing my first gout attack. 

For 6 years I would experience similar pain.  The whole time through doctors visits in China, I thought I had a problem with my foot shape thinking my arches were too high or that I was walking incorrectly. Over time the pain appeared in different places on my left foot and sometimes even in my right foot and knee. The pain was sometimes a heated spot that was right near the surface of my skin.

Finally in May, 2013, I was introduced to a doctor that gave me the true diagnosis.  I will tell you my story, but first let's look at how gout can be diagnosed by a doctor from the aforementioned NIAMS website.: 

How Is Gout Diagnosed?
Your doctor will ask about your symptoms, medical history, and family history of gout. Signs and symptoms of gout include:

• Hyperuricemia (high level of uric acid in the blood)

• Uric acid crystals in joint fluid

• More than one attack of acute arthritis

• Arthritis that develops in 1 day, producing a swollen, red, and warm joint

• Attack of arthritis in only one joint, usually the toe, ankle, or knee. [1]

To confirm a diagnosis of gout, your doctor may draw a sample of fluid from an inflamed joint to look for crystals associated with gout.

My doctor asked me about diet, family history with arthritis and similar conditions, then had me to a blood test.  My blood test returned a high uric acid reading and he concluded that I had gout. The six year mystery had been solved, and I was ready to move on to preventative measures.

In future posts, we will discuss how gout attacks are treated, and then how to stay healthy and try to prevent it.  

Do you have gout?  What is your diagnosis story?  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.

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