Anyone know anything about /gout?

[Anne_in_VA]

DH was just diagnosed with gout. Anyone know anything about it? We eat mostly chicken and fish, very little red meat which he's been told to avoid. He does drink a beer or two every night and recently switched to oatmeal for breskfast recently to try and reduce his cholesterol, It seems that beer, oatmeal and beer are high in purine which can trigger an attack.

[thyme4change]

I'm sorry to heat that Anee. I don't know anything about gout, except that it appears to be a comedic dream - if someone's illness and pain can be amusing to you. I hope you can learn what will make your husband feel as well as possible.

[KaraBoo]

Iggy's husband has it too and swears by black cherry juice being a wonderful pain reliever to this diagnosis.

[bean29]

I have a few co-workers that suffer from it. They seem to indicate the best control is diet.

I wish your DH good luck.

[Anne_in_VA]

Thanks Kara - I'll mention the black cherry juice to him. When he gets home, I'll let him know to stop eating oatmeal - good luck with cutting out the beer though!

[kittensaver]

www.naturalnews.com/026091_cherries_gout.html

[mmhmm]

Gout is a form of arthritis. There are medications that can help prevent attacks, as well as dietary rules to follow. The dietary rules are:

No alcohol. That includes beer.
Limit proteins. That includes fish, red meat, pork and fowl. Try to get more proteins from dairy foods, eggs, tofu, and nut butters (like peanut butter). You don't have to quit eating meat, but keep your proteins to the moderate side, not the high side, and stick with low-fat as much as possible. Don't eat more than 6 oz meat (includes all the above)/day.
Increase fluid intake to about 2-4 liters/day. Make most of it water.

Once you've got your diet under control, the doctor will be better able to evaluate whether you need medication to control the symptoms. Black cherry juice is fine, but it's not a cure-all, unfortunately.

Good luck to hubby, Anne. That's a painful condition and I'm sorry he has to suffer it.

[Anne_in_VA]

Thanks Kitten - I love cherries and will try and get /dh to try them although he doesn't eat a lot of fruit but it's worth a try.

[kittensaver]

www.lifeextensionvitamins.com/cherfruitexg.html

Good luck to you :-)

[zibazinski]

DF has gout but he is also lactose intolerant so it's an a issue.

[kittensaver]

Jul 27, 2012 16:52:15 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Once you've got your diet under control, the doctor will be better able to evaluate whether you need medication to control the symptoms. Black cherry juice is fine, but it's not a cure-all, unfortunately.

Good luck to hubby, Anne. That's a painful condition and I'm sorry he has to suffer it.

Well at the risk of ticking folks off, the best cure is not drugs, but to work on reversing the condition before it becomes permanent and/or does damage that cannot be reversed. Unfortunately (and I'm guilty of this too!!!) most of us don't want to make the lifestyle changes we need to make that got us where we are in the first place. So we resort to drugs. Neither drugs OR cherry juice will "cure" his condition if he doesn't make the changes he needs to make. They will only mask the problem - for a while; the underlying condition will remain. He alone has to do "the work" and Anne can only stand by and be supportive.

[Deleted]

So far, DH has been fine eating dried cherries occasionally- especially when he feels a flare-up coming on. Before that he had a prescription that gave him bad side effects. We eat a pretty low-fat diet but he probably doesn't drink enough water.

Definitely try cherries in some form, though. For DH they were a miracle.

[zibazinski]

I remembered there was a poster whose husband had gout. I'm going to try that. He has issues with his stomach anyway so eating dried cherries can't make it any worse.

[zibazinski]

How much? How many?

[mmhmm]

Jul 27, 2012 17:11:58 GMT -5 kittensaver said:

Jul 27, 2012 16:52:15 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Once you've got your diet under control, the doctor will be better able to evaluate whether you need medication to control the symptoms. Black cherry juice is fine, but it's not a cure-all, unfortunately.

Good luck to hubby, Anne. That's a painful condition and I'm sorry he has to suffer it.

Well at the risk of ticking folks off, the best cure is not drugs, but to work on reversing the condition before it becomes permanent and/or does damage that cannot be reversed. Unfortunately (and I'm guilty of this too!!!) most of us don't want to make the lifestyle changes we need to make that got us where we are in the first place. So we resort to drugs. Neither drugs OR cherry juice will "cure" his condition if he doesn't make the changes he needs to make. They will only mask the problem - for a while; the underlying condition will remain. He alone has to do "the work" and Anne can only stand by and be supportive.

Absolutely correct, kitten. If he's not willing to make the changes he needs to make, there's little that is going to help and medications may be required. If he can gather the gumption to actually do what he needs to do diet-wise and lifestyle-wise (more exercise as well as attention to diet), he may be able to control it that way. The important thing is ... how much does it mean to him? If it's important enough to do what he needs to do, he's a winner, most likely.

[Golden Cavalier]

My father suffered with gout in one or both feet for a good part of his adult life. One of my aunts used to get it in her elbow. It's my understanding that gout is caused by crystallized uric acid deposits forming in the joints. It's an incredibly painful condition that is exacerbated by alcohol (yes, beer included), red meat, seafood and sugary drinks. I know my father used to take a prescribed diuretic pill every day to try to reduce the amount of uric acid in his system.

I'm sorry your husband has been diagnosed with this horrible ailment. My father used to suffer terribly from it when he had flare ups. I truly hope watching his diet alone is enough to control your DH's gout.

[mmhmm]

I will throw in there's no reason for him to stop eating oatmeal. Just don't eat instant oatmeal. Eat the real, old-fashioned oatmeal. It's actually good for gout.

[Golden Cavalier]

If I recall, my father also used to avoid tomatoes or tomato sauce, as well. Or anything that was very acidic.

[Anne_in_VA]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Dh just got home and seems to be willing to make dietary changes. He already exercises every day so that's not an issue. I've been bugging him about drinking more fluids because I don't think he drinks enough water. Hopefully he'll start doing that too,.

[nalto]

Hmm...a buddy of mine got the gout (he's 25) and he didn't need to change his diet much. Cut back a little on alcohol, but no need to remove it completely. Maybe the age is a factor?

This post was of little or no help, but I just like saying "the gout" in as many conversations as possible.

[moxie]

"DH was just diagnosed with gout."

I do!! I think the men fake the limping to get out of chores!! Don't believe a bit of their whining!!

[moxie]

There is a daily medication they can take to ward it off. Hubby hasn't inquired about that yet...prefers to suffer on his own several times a year...and I let him! I DON'T DO CODDLING!

[moxie]

Funny how it gets better when he gets called to golf 18 holes.

[Golden Cavalier]

This is what is causing the pain: crystallized "shards" of uric acid in the joints. YIKES! No wonder gout is so painful!!

[kittensaver]

Jul 27, 2012 17:27:58 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

How much? How many?

There are no magic pills. Supplements and Rx's will only mask the pain/ support the body while the body's user puts in the effort to figure out what caused the condition and then reverse it (before it's too late to reverse). Lifestyle diseases are always imbalances in the body. They are a response to something in the body chemistry being out of line and the body attempting to restore homeostasis. Too much uric acid in the body? It will try to stash the excess away from the bloodstream to protect the body's vital organs - and so it collects in the joints. No magic pill will fix that. But with motivation and attention it CAN slowly be reversed (if not too much damage has already been done). The question for the individual becomes: how much do I want this and how hard am I willing to work? The alternative is a drug, but drugs only mask the problem, not solve it (unfortunately).

[moxie]

"This is what is causing the pain: crystallized "shards" of uric acid in the joints."


^Yep...the toes for my hubby,


"how much do I want this and how hard am I willing to work?"

^For my hubby: Not much. He takes Aleve and it does help somewhat. It lasts for about 5-7 days.


How am I doing, SL? Karma??? lol

[weltschmerz]

You have to stress the importance of avoiding not just purines, but nitrates. Things like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts are a no-no.

Also, beer is MUCH worse for him than wine.

[moxie]

You have to stress the importance of avoiding not just purines, but nitrates. Things like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts are a no-no.

Also, beer is MUCH worse for him than wine.



^NOT going to happen...he can suffer...I DON'T CODDLE!!

"Things like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts are a no-no."

Favorites of his...

"beer is MUCH worse"

Hello...we live in WI!! Not going to happen...

[moxie]

I bet a few Canadians have gout...only the watered down type...like THEIR BEER!! ;D


What about rum and coke???

[Malarky]

Jul 27, 2012 18:13:25 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

You have to stress the importance of avoiding not just purines, but nitrates. Things like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts are a no-no.

Also, beer is MUCH worse for him than wine.

And sometimes, I think, no matter what you do, it's genetic, like so many things.

DH is a sufferer. No matter what his diet, he has flareups. It just is.

Sometimes, like last week, it was deserved because we were on vacation and he ate all the "wrong" things. Sometimes he eats all the "right things" for months on end and ends up in pain and agony anyway.

I've yet to find the "right" answer to the problem.