My Gout Symptoms
and Other Personal Views

Gout symptoms vary.
I'll tell you about mine in this section.
I'll also share some personal opinions and some background information about this website

Obviously, my symptoms are not much help to you, but for those who are interested - read on.

Background

Since my first attack, about 6 years ago, I've had acute gout attacks in just about every joint. I found that a few hours driving would often bring on an attack in my knees or ankles. Sitting at a desk all day often brought on an attack in either knee.

I noticed, after 2 or 3 years, that the attacks seemed to be more frequent. I also suffered attacks in my elbows and hands, and occasionally my shoulder. That's when I started researching more about gout symptoms, and came up with the idea of my GoutPal site.

Pulling information together for GoutPal has been a voyage of discovery for me. I've learned a lot, but I know there is still a lot to learn. I know that gradual weight loss and plenty of water helps. I went about six months without an attack after losing 20 pounds. Unfortunately, my bad habits re-emerged and I've put about half that back on.

Recently I've been suffering in both feet and my left hand. Mainly, my gout symptoms have been slight swelling and discomfort, rather than a full blown disabling attack. I'm trying to get the weight off again, but slowly - a pound a week is my target.

I've learned that the amount of food I eat has more bearing on my gout than the type of food. A high concentration of meat does seem to make things worse. I'm still not certain if this is due to meat's oxidant and acidification properties, rather than it's purine content. I'm going to keep researching this.

My personal view on medications is that I'd rather avoid them if I can. I'm aiming for a healthy weight first and, if I still have problems, I'll consider uric acid reducing medication. As for pain relief, I use Ibuprofen when I can't stand the pain, but I try to limit this to as little as possible.

I do believe that there are benefits to some herbal preparations, but I think a healthy diet with a high proportion of colourful vegetables and a lot of variety is more important. Some herbs are natural anti-inflammatories, and so will help with gout. Others are natural uricosurics, but I don't know if they are powerful enough to be effective. I'm always cautious about spending money on expensive preparations, but if they work for you, please tell me about your changes in gout symptoms .

Acknowledgments

I'm very grateful for the number of pictures available on the Internet. I appreciate the many freely available pictures of gout symptoms, or ones that I can adapt to emphasize a point.I know many people have to make a living from these, and I respect their copyright. I haven't knowingly used any copyright pictures without permission, but if this is wrong, please let me know. I'm proud to acknowledge the following:

Uric Acid Crystal Meets White Blood Cell - And The Winner Is ....

Fascinating photos of a uric acid crystal meeting a white blood cell. Looks like WBC might have won this round, but UAC's not dead. Just asleep. Still causing trouble and waiting for another fight.

Privacy and Spam Blocker Policies

Reduce Swelling - Your Joints and Your Inbox

I've helped you reduce swelling from gout. Now a little extra help with the irritation of a swollen inbox. My privacy and spam blocker policies help you and I reduce inbox swelling by reducing spam.

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