Gout Advice Needed For 25 Year Old

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

Dear Sirs

I am 25 years old male, never had gout attack or anything, i am not a regular drinker, i smoke a little less than a pack a day, and i do eat in restaurants a lot, but 45 days ago I started having pain in my left foot heel, i thought it might be from the flat shoes i wear, and same time i was also suffering from numbness in my left hand fingers, only the last 2 fingers, so i went to doctor to check it, he gave me an EMG and nerve conduction test, results stated that my nerves are ok, same time i did a blood test and boom there it was my Uric acid level was 433, i had a little blood in my urine too, this being said, doctor told me it is okay, i dont have to worry about it, he didnt even warn me or anything 433!!!!and he said it’s fine!!! on this same webpage it is stated that above 400 is BAD and UA is already crystalizing in my joints when i have UA level above 400, i can feel some pain in my knees and ancles and fingers and heels already and worst was i didnt know anything about UA at all or what it does or what food i can eat and what i should not, so after the test the very next day i was eating chicken livers and drinking beer!!! I totaly blame the doctor for this, lately after researching online and knowing how serious a gout attack could be, i have been on diet for the last one week, and i did a test yesterday and my UA level was down to 366, i would like to ask if you can help me out with some answers, should i take medicine for this? will it be temporary medicine or permenant? i hate medicine but i will take it if i have to, my second option is do diet? if not taking medecine what is the best natural way to melt the UA which already been crystallized, and what is the best way to bring the level of UA in my blood down, i know diet will help but does it mean i dont have to eat beef or chicken or all the high UA food at all, or should i still eat once a week or every other week maybe, please advise what is the best diet, and once the UA level is down and the Shwarovskis are gone, can i go back to my normal life? can i safely have a steak once a week or a grilled chicken once a week or twice, can i have a beer or 2 on my weekends? can i smoke like 4-5 cigarettes a day? in case i cant quit, right now i already brought it down to 3 cigs a day.

thanks alot for reading my long message , i would really appriciate if you can help with your opinions or experience, if there are any doctors reading this, i will appriciate if you can give me a solution please or give me a good doctors contacts in Kuwait, because i couldn’t get any professional answers from any of the 3 doctors i’ve seen so far.

not to forget i did a sonar yesterday, and it came out my liver has some fat layers, could that be contributing somehow, because i believe now that US level could be high from 2 reasons or actualy 3 , could be a person is meat or chicken eater alot, meaning eats alot of purine rich food, or it could be the persons metabolism system is has something wrong either kidneys or livers where it cannot clear out the UA effectively from the body, or 3rd reason is that it might be Genetic.

Help me out as i am seriously freaking out from this thing…i am only 25 and i cant smoke or drink or eat what i want!

I appriciate any help.

thanks alot

Leon

[trev]

Hi Leon.

You have my sympathy- I always feel bad to see someone relatively young getting a  whacking from Bro G. It's not unknown , though- even in young, female non- drinkers!

Firstly, you will get good specific advice here ,over time, but these a early anwsers to some of your ??…

Stop the smokes as planned- it will otherwise give you Hi BP/ artery disease and other problems that will make gout worse over time and affect your health badly.

If you worry now- don't wait for an attack. You're right to get in early.

You have found medics lacking on the subject of gout- that is common.

You have done good testing already and will need to get the measure of those results as to liver/ kidney function etc. This could effect your medication in the future.

Don't despair- if you read the posts here there is good advice on diet, meds and drinking but the most important thing at present is get a grip on your serum UA and tread extremely carefully till then.

If you are permanently in Kuwait, hydration will be, even more, top of your list for coping right now.

Drink plenty of good clean water with a break 1/2 hour before and 2 hours after meals.

Gout tendency is Genetic- you probably have an older relative or two with arthritis.

If you don't want long term gout meds- then it is a much harder path to control gout- but some are trying still, after many painful 'full attacks'  & I'm one of 'em!

[zip2play]

Leon,

Firstly, heel pain is not typically gout but rather plantar fasciitis and the pain can go from the heel all the way under the arch of the foot. It usually passes all by itself, but sometime takes a LONG time and if heel spurs are involved, then surgery is often prescribed.

Your uric acid numbers, a little over 6 mg/dL are not inordinately high just highISH…and probably quite common for those WITHOUT gout. This is not to say you don't have gout nor to say you do.

But don't mangle your life and your nerves over probabilities. If you have gout you will eventually have an attack that is unmistakeable by even a nearly blind doctor. 

 When that happens you can make a proper decision of what to do about it. There's nothing to fear from one completely definitive attack and nothing to be gained by turning your life upside down beforehand.

So, like trev said, stop smoking, keep hydrated, keep booze to a reasonable amount, expecially beer, and then enjoy all the chicken you want. And did I say, stop smoking becasue if not then I want to say stop smoking.

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

Hi Leon,

Your symptoms started alot like mine did. Pain in the heel, it would go away and then the exact same pain in the other heal.  I heard from more then one doctor that it is not Gout and I continued to suffer for a few more years.  I get attacks in my heel, ankles, mid outside of foot and the classic big toe.   Odd how all the doctors dismissed it so fast til I saw a doctor that listened to what I had been going through and took the time to understand my families history with Gout.  Once I started making adjustments for Gout all of those pains went away but do come back if I mis behave.  I exercise alot and drink plenty of water.  My diet is more balanced but alcohol is pretty much out of my diet all together.   I also have issues with specific foods that I would typically eat.  For instance I cannot have chicken products from Jack in the Box or Burger King, if I do I will have an attack everytime.  My mom has the same issue but with different food chains so if you are eating out a lot be careful of what you have because a typical food that is not known to affect Gout suffers could very well trigger one in you. 

Good Luck

Ron

[Author]

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