Report On My Progress
I have had four gout attacks and not too long ago a fluid sample was taken
from the affected big toe joint. It disclosed crystals, so my doc confirmed
my gout diagnosis and put me on allopurinol (100 mg daily for first 30 days
and then 200 mg daily). I am in my third week, so have not advanced to the
200 mg level yet. I had had two tight-skinned lumps on my big toe - one over
the main joint, the other over the next joint toward the toe tip. In today's
visit to the doctor (for my 4-monthly diabetes follow-up exam) those lumps
seem to have disappeared. The doc attributed that to the allopurinol's
effect on the kidney's function. As my blood pressure was still too high (in
the 130s) to suit my doc, he upped my lisinopril dosage. He said that that
should also help the kidneys. That may be important in the gout department,
too. My new lisinopril level will be 20 mg daily. But all during the time of
my gout attacks, I was at 10 mg lisinopril daily so lisinopril by itself
must not benefit the kidney function enough to help reduce the urea
stripping from the blood all that much. I'll report back in about a few
months.
I have a progress report as well to make;
This is the 12th day of my first ever gout attack, although I am not
so sure it is still gout. I haven't had the nerve to let a doctor
diagnose it yet. My presumed gout seems to be something different
now. The reason I believed it was gout was due to all the textbook
symptoms, and the reason I haven't gone to a doc is because the
symtpoms were improving on their own, not to mention the whole
sampling method sounds unbearable. Like I mentioned in a previous
post, I changed my diet radically and started eating a lot of foods
and vitamins considered to lower or help gout. It seemed to be
working as the pain and inflammation were subsiding until about day
7 or 8. Things changed at that point. The pain went from having
the joint roasting in a fire to an aching throbbing sort of pain.
On day 11 I decided to go seek help, but I happened to also take
some naproxen (500mg delayed by TEVA) and some Ibuprofen(400mg).
While I was waiting in the emergency room (It was a saturday after
all) I noticed this new pain subsiding. The change was quite
noticeable. I decided to head home and come back monday(tomorrow)
since I had been there 5 hrs and had no illusions that I would see a
doc anytime soon. Once home I continued to take the NSAIDS, as well
as icing down the foot. It continues to improve, THANK GOD!
The body is a complicated machine. Everything you eat gets broken
down and manufactured into a host of enzymes and "stuff". All this
stuff works together to regulate and maintain your body, assuming it
is working correctly. I am reaching the conclusion that my body is
not working correctly, probably due to gunk in the machine. All
those empty calories, refined foods, preservatives, and junk are
coming home to roost. Who knows, maybe the messenger that tells my
body to regulate uric acid doesn't get produced anymore for lack of
a properly working GI tract to absorb the nutrients. Or maybe the
ole kidneys are too dirty to filter out the uric acid? I plan to
work on my diet and cleaning my body in order to control this
disease in the future. I am going to see a naturopath and get some
advice in this direction. I am going to use drugs like allopurinol
(which suppress a normal liver function in order to control gout)
only as a last resort.
Best regards,
Erick A.
For God's sake--and your own, don't put off seeing a doctor. The test I had for gout was simply a physical examination of the affected area--my big toe--and the taking of a small blood sample from my arm to measure the uric acid levels. This was hardly something out of the Spanish Inquisition. You may have dodged a bullet this time with over the counter meds but gout is a crippling disease if not diagnosed and treated properly. Also, the root cause of gout, too much uric acid, can destroy your kidneys and other organs. Rgards, Bob
Erick Alberto <woadly@...
I have a progress report as well to make;
This is the 12th day of my first ever gout attack, although I am not
so sure it is still gout. I haven't had the nerve to let a doctor
diagnose it yet. My presumed gout seems to be something different
now. The reason I believed it was gout was due to all the textbook
symptoms, and the reason I haven't gone to a doc is because the
symtpoms were improving on their own, not to mention the whole
sampling method sounds unbearable. Like I mentioned in a previous
post, I changed my diet radically and started eating a lot of foods
and vitamins considered to lower or help gout. It seemed to be
working as the pain and inflammation were subsiding until about day
7 or 8. Things changed at that point. The pain went from having
the joint roasting in a fire to an aching throbbing sort of pain.
On day 11 I decided to go seek help, but I happened to also take
some naproxen (500mg delayed by TEVA) and some Ibuprofen(400mg).
While I was waiting in the emergency room (It was a saturday after
all) I noticed this new pain subsiding. The change was quite
noticeable. I decided to head home and come back monday(tomorrow)
since I had been there 5 hrs and had no illusions that I would see a
doc anytime soon. Once home I continued to take the NSAIDS, as well
as icing down the foot. It continues to improve, THANK GOD!
The body is a complicated machine. Everything you eat gets broken
down and manufactured into a host of enzymes and "stuff". All this
stuff works together to regulate and maintain your body, assuming it
is working correctly. I am reaching the conclusion that my body is
not working correctly, probably due to gunk in the machine. All
those empty calories, refined foods, preservatives, and junk are
coming home to roost. Who knows, maybe the messenger that tells my
body to regulate uric acid doesn't get produced anymore for lack of
a properly working GI tract to absorb the nutrients. Or maybe the
ole kidneys are too dirty to filter out the uric acid? I plan to
work on my diet and cleaning my body in order to control this
disease in the future. I am going to see a naturopath and get some
advice in this direction. I am going to use drugs like allopurinol
(which suppress a normal liver function in order to control gout)
only as a last resort.
Best regards,
Erick A.
Content shared by each poster to the group is his/her own resposibility and does not reflect any endorsement from the list owner.
You can still get gout even if your diet is pristine.
Thank you for your concern, I sincerely appreciate it...
But I am taking a different route. Instead of an M.D. I am going to
a naturopathic doctor. She believes that I may be suffering from
candiasis, an overgrowth of yeast/fungus in the GI tract due to use
of anti-biotics combined with the average american diet. I have
replaced refined sugar with stevia and splenda, I no longer eat
bread made with yeast, nor drink alcohol. I still eat some meats,
but not pork, not fried, and not more than 8 ozs. She has me taking
some anti-yeast supplement (caprylic acid, oleic acid, and other
stuff included) as well as pro-biotics in order to repopulate my gut
with "good" bacteria. Presumably candiasis can cause all kinds of
havoc with the human body, so I am gonna clean up my act.
I have read that diet only contributes 20-30% of the gout problem,
but you are what you eat, so ultimately diet is 100% of the problem
in my opinion. At least for most people. I am sure that there are
some who are just genetically disposed to have medical troubles, and
a pristine diet may not help them. But I think the average person
can benefit tons from a better diet. Just look at the figures.
More people are sicker now, at earlier ages, with an ever growing
range of bizarre diseases than ever before. In the past Americans
had a lot more organically grown vegetables on the dinner table.
Now we eat garbage, and are addicted to it.
On a side note I would like to mention that the holistic or
naturopathic option may not be around much longer. There is some
news that England will soon be adopting the codex alimetarus in
order to harmonize with the EU. This codex will regulate the
dosages of such dangerous supplements as vitamin C or E down to a
whopping 50mg, WITH a prescription. Needless to say this spells the
end for health food stores in England. Furthermore, CAFTA, the
NAFTA extension, also has the "harmonize" verbage in it. Not to
mention that there is supposedly legislation to just out and out
regulate supplements due to the ephedra deaths. For more details
check out the 13 July radio broadcast of Coast to Coast at;
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2004/03/11.html
Best Regards,
Erick A.
P.S. I will post back in a few months and let you all know how it is
going. Currently I can walk again, but not yet run, and the swelling
in the big toe joint is almost gone. There is no pain as long as I
don't run or jump.
One month update,
Gout Free!!!
Had some faint twinges occasionally, but those are gone now also.
Dietary changes still in place: No fried foods, lots more veggies,
low carb, very little sugar (almost none at all), health food
supplements (vision improved with these as well), exercise, lots of
filtered water (2 quarts min per day).
I couldn't avoid the meats. I eat protein from animal meat every day
now. However, most is now fish or poultry. And I always eat
broiled, stewed, or baked. No organ meats, and more of it is
organic free ranging meats.
I couldn't avoid the alcohol either. But I really drink very little,
before and after. 3-5 glasses of wine per week.
One month is not a long period of time, but I am encouraged by the
results so far.
Good Health to you,
Erick Alberto