Tophi And Allopurinol

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
This discussion is now closed. Please see the tophi guidelines, or start a new discussion in the gout forum. Get treatment for gout to remove tophi before your knees look like this! Gout brings strange swellings to elbows, knees, hands and ears. Uric acid crystals build up as lumps outside the joints. Each lump is called a tophus. You usually get several tophi - a stage of gout called tophaceous gout. A reader is anxious to hear your experience of tophi and allopurinol, but first some background. When tophi grow near the joints, particularly on the fingers, you might need surgery to remove them. Tophi also need to be removed if they break through the skin and risk causing infection. The alternative to surgery is to lower uric acid low enough so that crystals in the tophi, and in the joints, dissolve. In the study, "Effect of urate-lowering therapy on the velocity of size reduction of tophi in chronic gout", the authors conclude: Serum...
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Gout Diet

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
What's In A Good Gout Diet? The nicest aspect of running GoutPal.com is the messages I receive. Sometimes full of praise, often full of information, continually full of questions. Today I got a question about gout diet. As I reviewed my answer, a thought grew in my mind - "Physician, heal thyself." Now I'm no physician, but I do know about gout, particularly my own gout. I know that most gout problems are diet related. One of my New Year Resolutions was to develop and maintain a healthy gout diet. I can't put it off much longer. Gout sufferers get obsessed with food. At least, this one does. I think it starts with all that purine stuff. You worry about the type of food you are eating, but forget about the amount and balance. The answer is not really a gout diet, more a gout lifestyle. But first, a few foody thoughts. (more…)...
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What Happened To Your Test For Gout?

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
I am compiling a test for gout list, to include all the different tests that gout patients undergo. Usually, they are tests of your gout symptoms to help your doctor determine a diagnosis of gout or something else. Some of these tests should continue through your gout treatment - after all, gout treatment is supposed to reduce your gout symptoms, and repeat tests will show if this is true or not. Speaking of which, earlier today I reported on a new attempt to develop a test to measure when gout is finally controlled. This is mainly a test for doctors to measure the effectiveness of the treatment plan. However, most gout sufferers would be very interested in getting the closest thing a gout patient can get to an "all-clear." I will add the complete lists of gout tests that I have heard of soon. As well as the well known medical tests, I will cover patient assessment tests, which are a relatively new...
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Lowering Uric Acid

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Lowering uric acid is useless. "Has GoutPal gone mad?" I hear you ask. "Why is he always telling us that uric acid management is much more important than gout pain management?" OK, I have not gone mad. First, let me remind you why managing uric acid levels is much more important than managing gout pain, then I will explain why I say "lowering uric acid is useless." Gout Pain And Tooth Decay There is no link between gout and tooth decay, but regular readers will recognize my oft-vaunted (overused?) analogy. When you visit a dentist to treat toothache, you expect an examination for decay, treatment of that decay, and pain relief to help you endure the treatment and associated soreness and gum inflammation. Treatment for gout, ignoring complications such as allergies, and other health conditions, should be just as simple. Take allopurinol (or some other uric acid lowering therapy) and support this with pain relief, such as colchicine, until the allopurinol has removed the excess uric acid...
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Gout: Much More Than Big Toe Pain

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
What's Worse Than Big Toe Pain ? For most people, gout starts with big toe pain. For many, it starts with a different joint, but your first concern is always the same - get rid of the pain. From that moment, different obsessions kick in. Food obsessions, gout cure obsessions, and always, always keep the pain at bay. Quite rightly, your doctor's priority when you get an attack of gout pain, is to deal with the pain. Left untended, most pain will go away in a few days. Bad attacks may linger for over a week. But normally, the pain is so severe that you want to treat it straight away. Particularly if your mobility is reduced. If it's your first attack, once the pain has subsided, you need to discuss long term treatment with your doctor. If you have already arranged such treatment, e.g. allopurinol or other uric acid reducing drugs, it is vital that you continue to take them as well as...
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Natural Remedy for Gout

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Yesterday, I was so busy I forgot that most natural remedy for gout - water. I think I've averted a disaster, but only just. I was preparing next week's newsletter and completely lost track of time. Delaying lunch for two hours probably didn't do me too much good (check out the free gout diet launch in my newsletter), but I think the worst thing I did was forgetting to drink water. I couldn't believe my luck when I first discovered this natural remedy for gout. When I got used to drinking the relatively large amounts involved, I found I could eat just about anything, in moderation, and have no ill effects. The secret is to always have a glass or bottle of water at hand, and drink fairly constantly throughout the day. Treat the extra trips to the bathroom as a free exercise bonus. I don't like to be too specific about the volume you should drink. Much will depend on your size, the...
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Swollen Toes Diagnosis

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
This article answers the short gout question "swollen toes diagnosis". For the more information on Swollen Joints, please see my latest addition to the I Have Gout program. That program is about getting a good diagnosis. It is a step-by-step program that covers all aspects of gout diagnosis, allowing you to assess your symptoms, work with doctors to get a diagnosis, and learn what to do once your swollen joints are diagnosed. If you want to know more about your gout symptoms, please see Is It Swollen Joints Or Tophaceous Gout? Swollen toes are a common sign of gout, but there could be other reasons. If you go to the doctors with swollen toes, they will usually start by asking about any possible recent (more…)...
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