I not only suffer gout.I endure gout misinformation.I’m desperate to present clear, concise, informed gout news and views, so you do not have to be misled.Now aspirin has driven me insane.First, let me refer you to my article about aspirin and gout. I thought this was a great piece of news for gout sufferers who have been worried about low-dose aspirin, commonly taken to reduce the risks of stroke and heart disease.I always intended to research this further, and add it to the gout research section at GoutPal.com. Today I learned that my link to the original presentation abstract was faulty. I decided to complete my review of aspirin and gout and improve my report.That’s when aspirin started driving me mad.I looked on PubMed for the original research, and found that the presentation I reported was part of a wider ranging study of prevalence and risk factors for hyperuricemia. The research was filed as a translation from Chinese. It concluded:
Male gender, non-Han Chinese ethnicity (Muslim), renal dysfunction, diuretics, overweight/obesity, hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia are associated with increased risk of hyperuricemia. Retirement is associated with reduced risk of hyperuricemia.
Hardly inspiring, and hardly anything to do with the aspirin presentation that caught my interest.Not quite bad enough to test my sanity, but annoying enough to leave me frustrated, and a little confused.
Madness Begins
I decided to report on the presentation I had used originally, but find a more reliable version or link to it. My starting point was the American College of Rheumatology who organize the meeting at which the presentation was made. Searches revealed not one, but two presentations about low-dosage aspirin relevant to gout sufferers.
Madness Prevails
Sure enough, my star presentation was still there with its favorable conclusion that
Low-dose aspirin use was not associated with increase of serum urate levels.
So aspirin is OK?The other presentation, complete with lots of data and a chart of results, concludes that:
Low-dose [aspirin] users, versus non-users, appear to have higher levels of [Serum Uric Acid] and increased prevalence of hyperuricemia
No, it’s not!Aaaagh.I’ve gone mad.
I take asprin for my heart which retains uric acid, how can I counteract this?
You really need to consult a doctor about this – I’m not qualified to give medical advice.
There may be alternatives to aspirin, but the best thing is to track your uric acid levels regularly.
The aspirin and uric acid studies that drove me mad, are statistical research projects. You are not a statistic.
Aspirin may not affect your levels in the same way it might affect some other people.
Find out your own uric acid level today, then check it regularly to see if it changes with different treatments. This only makes sense under medical supervision, especially as you appear to have other risks that may make treatment more complicated.
If you really want to go mad, research what aspirin does to the intestinal lining. It causes bleeding into the intestines. Prolonged use of aspirin leads to a reduction of iron in the body. Elevated iron levels in middle aged men and postmenopausal women are associated with the ailments of middle-age such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Some researchers believe that iron reduction is the mechanism by which aspirin is helpful against such ailments.
True insanity will come quickly when you try to ascertain at what level aspirin stops retaining uric acid and starts expelling it. Everyone agrees there is a 180 degree change as aspirin dosage increases but just try toi find out how much is enough to have aspirin start HELPING gout instead of hurting it.
The search has been making me crazy for months and months…worse than MONTY PYTHON searching for THE HOLY GRAIL.