Gout - Can it be beaten?

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Hi all, I'm Terry and I'm 47 years old. I first suffered with gout at the age of 33 and following my doctor's recommendation to take allopurinol for the rest of my life, I decided I didn't want to be reliant on drugs to get over this. To start with, the attacks became frequent - every few weeks I'd wake up in the middle of the night with one of my toes, feet or ankles feeling like it was on fire. The areas affected in those days were both big toes, both ankles, the third knuckle-joints of my other toes (both feet) and occasionally, my knees. Usually the attacks would affect only one joint at a time, but once I got it in both the right ankle and the left big toe, which effectively crippled me - that one lasted over three weeks! I also got it once in my middle finger of my left hand. That was the limit - I am a musician and guitarist and I was no way giving up the hobby I loved. I searched the internet and found a wealth of information on the subject. There are lots of things you can do to reduce the frequency of the attacks in the short term - and there is a way of almost getting rid of it for good. I say almost, as I have been "almost" gout free for the last 7 years or so, with only the occasional mild attack every 18 months or so. As I sit here typing this, my last attack was at the beginning of October 2006 - I remember it well, because it coincided with me starting a new job! So how did I arrive at this stage? Initially, I binned the allopurinol after I suffered two more attacks whilst taking it. It seemed pointless to be suffering the side effects of the drug (increased stomache acid leading to constant indigestion, heartburn and in time, stomach ulcers) if it wasn't doing what it was supposed to. What exactly is gout, then? --------------------------- I found out that gout is caused by too much uric acid in the bloodstream, the body isn't able to flush it all out. So the excess (being acid) migrates to the joints - or more specifically the sinovial membrane that protects the joints (which are alkalai). The uric acid then attacks the membrane and crystalises in the joints, forming a hard acidic shell. The pain and subsequent swelling associated with gout is caused by the movement of the joint rubbing against the acid crystalline shell. It is then compounded by the body's own defense mechanism (the immune system) which senses that the area is being attacked by a foreign body so it floods the area with hystamines, causing the painful swelling. Gout! How do you beat it? ------------------- I personally decided the best was to beat it was to educate myself. I changed my diet - I avoided foods that were high in purines (which cause the body to produce excess uric acid). I tried asprin, as I'd heard it was an anti-inflammatory and, to me, the least damaging of any drug I could take. WRONG! That lead to an attack I was already suffering in my right ankle being joined with the attack in my left big toe and crippling me for three weeks. I later found out that asprin reduces kidney function - exactly the opposite of what I needed as the kidneys flush uric acid out of the bloodstream. The best way to get the kidneys doing their job is to drink lots of plain water. If your house supply is clean enough, drink it from the tap. Where I live, here in southern Spain, the tap water is very hard and high in chlorine, so I filter it first. Don't drink fizzy (carbonated) water, or fizzy drinks (soda) as they are acidic and will add to your body's overall acidity, which is what you need to bring down. If you already drink a lot of fizzy, carbonated drinks (sodas), tt will save you a nice bit of money and also help you to get your weight down if you're overweight. There, I'm giving you free diet tips too!!! Other drugs are a no-no too. Ibuprofen is the most popular NSAID (Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) on the market, but id doesn't work very well with gout and has side-effects that go with it. Allopurinol will not prevent further attacks of gout if you just rely on it and not do anything else for yourself, like changing to a healthy diet and drinking lots of water. Another thing about drinking lots of water - I found that whenever I get dehydrated, another attack of gout is not far behind. The two seem to have some link. I'm no doctor, so I don't know how true that is, but from my own experience, drinking plenty of water every day has helped reduced the frequency of attacks over the years. This discussion is getting a bit long. If anyone has any questions on what other things I've tried over the years, or you have comments on the info I've already provided, please feel free.