Allopurinol for Gout
Discussion
Belle427 said:
Tony Angelino said:
Thanks all, I'll continue being sensible for the next couple of months before 'testing' it out with some beef that I now firmly believe is my trigger.
Blood tests will tell you all you need to know really, my levels dropped a fair bit on 100mg but not enough so regular checks advised until your at a safe level.As a (very) short summary from the Drop Acid book above by Dr Pearlmutter.
The 3 main things that increase uric acid production are alcohol, purines and fructose. With fructose being the worst culprit.
Reduce consumption of all these and it should improve.
Purines il explain because its not obvious like the other two. Its the by product of eating DNA and RNA from animals. So ideally no meat, but the smaller the animal the more densely packed the purines. So a fish is most packed, i.e sardine. Then bigger to a chicken, bigger to a turkey etc.
Yes, the apoptosis of our own cells in our does produce a small amount of purines but a lot more are produced from consumption of the above 3 things. Uric acid here is used for the body to get rid of waste cells for the production of new.
Eat tart cherries. A cherry based drink will help too. Not flavoured, but made with actual cherries.
The 3 main things that increase uric acid production are alcohol, purines and fructose. With fructose being the worst culprit.
Reduce consumption of all these and it should improve.
Purines il explain because its not obvious like the other two. Its the by product of eating DNA and RNA from animals. So ideally no meat, but the smaller the animal the more densely packed the purines. So a fish is most packed, i.e sardine. Then bigger to a chicken, bigger to a turkey etc.
Yes, the apoptosis of our own cells in our does produce a small amount of purines but a lot more are produced from consumption of the above 3 things. Uric acid here is used for the body to get rid of waste cells for the production of new.
Eat tart cherries. A cherry based drink will help too. Not flavoured, but made with actual cherries.
CinnamonFan said:
As a (very) short summary from the Drop Acid book above by Dr Pearlmutter.
The 3 main things that increase uric acid production are alcohol, purines and fructose. With fructose being the worst culprit.
Reduce consumption of all these and it should improve.
Purines il explain because its not obvious like the other two. Its the by product of eating DNA and RNA from animals. So ideally no meat, but the smaller the animal the more densely packed the purines. So a fish is most packed, i.e sardine. Then bigger to a chicken, bigger to a turkey etc.
Yes, the apoptosis of our own cells in our does produce a small amount of purines but a lot more are produced from consumption of the above 3 things. Uric acid here is used for the body to get rid of waste cells for the production of new.
Eat tart cherries. A cherry based drink will help too. Not flavoured, but made with actual cherries.
Been there, done that. Have the T-shirt. I went plant-based for a year. Still suffered the affliction. The 3 main things that increase uric acid production are alcohol, purines and fructose. With fructose being the worst culprit.
Reduce consumption of all these and it should improve.
Purines il explain because its not obvious like the other two. Its the by product of eating DNA and RNA from animals. So ideally no meat, but the smaller the animal the more densely packed the purines. So a fish is most packed, i.e sardine. Then bigger to a chicken, bigger to a turkey etc.
Yes, the apoptosis of our own cells in our does produce a small amount of purines but a lot more are produced from consumption of the above 3 things. Uric acid here is used for the body to get rid of waste cells for the production of new.
Eat tart cherries. A cherry based drink will help too. Not flavoured, but made with actual cherries.
I posted a few weeks ago about an Elbow that had got inflamed and diagnosed as Bursitis.
This week I've had fever, chills, temps at 39....horrendous night sweats, aching body Monday to Friday but no cold symptoms, no chest issues, throat a bit scratchy, and before the elbow issue I had similar high temps, shivers, horrendous night sweats.
Spinning between the elbow, and high temps etc and how I've been this week, Doc suggested it might be.....Gout.
My right elbow is actually aching as I type in certain positions when holding things (but not bending).
I've got a blood test next week but are the symptoms I've had what happens or could this be a lurgey ive caught elsewhere?
I'm 40.
This week I've had fever, chills, temps at 39....horrendous night sweats, aching body Monday to Friday but no cold symptoms, no chest issues, throat a bit scratchy, and before the elbow issue I had similar high temps, shivers, horrendous night sweats.
Spinning between the elbow, and high temps etc and how I've been this week, Doc suggested it might be.....Gout.
My right elbow is actually aching as I type in certain positions when holding things (but not bending).
I've got a blood test next week but are the symptoms I've had what happens or could this be a lurgey ive caught elsewhere?
I'm 40.
CinnamonFan said:
The 3 main things that increase uric acid production are alcohol, purines and fructose.
Alcohol? No connection whatsoever. Back in the day people with gout and no effective medication simply used to drink too much in an attempt to staunch the appalling pain. So observers thought the drink had caused the gout. No way. At least, no way unless the drink is full of yeast (e.g. cloudy ale) which is high in purines.Purines? Yes. They certainly can trigger an acute attack.
Fructose? No connection. The idea that eating fruit might cause gout appears to be nonsense.
Control gout by adopting a special diet? Only a tiny chance. You'll find just as many people claiming a vegetarian diet is the cure as you'll find people claiming a vegetarian diet is a cause. Mushrooms can be a particular problem - high in purines. Beans are avoided by some and praised by others.
My suggestion is just keep taking Allopurinol in the lowest dose that works and control (no need to stop) your intake of high purine foods.
Panamax said:
CinnamonFan said:
The 3 main things that increase uric acid production are alcohol, purines and fructose.
Alcohol? No connection whatsoever. Back in the day people with gout and no effective medication simply used to drink too much in an attempt to staunch the appalling pain. So observers thought the drink had caused the gout. No way. At least, no way unless the drink is full of yeast (e.g. cloudy ale) which is high in purines.Purines? Yes. They certainly can trigger an acute attack.
Fructose? No connection. The idea that eating fruit might cause gout appears to be nonsense.
Control gout by adopting a special diet? Only a tiny chance. You'll find just as many people claiming a vegetarian diet is the cure as you'll find people claiming a vegetarian diet is a cause. Mushrooms can be a particular problem - high in purines. Beans are avoided by some and praised by others.
My suggestion is just keep taking Allopurinol in the lowest dose that works and control (no need to stop) your intake of high purine foods.
Short summary below:
https://youtu.be/Qp2erf1IICs
Is it mainly the high purine foods that contribute to gout? Any articles or links you can provide would be appreciated.
I'm 2.5 weeks in and I have not experienced any sort of flare up so far. I am on 100mg per day and I also took a colchacine daily for the first week along with the allopurinol, still early days but so far, so good on the face of things but the blood test will show for sure I suppose.
Allopurinol is for long term control of gout. It shouldn't be started, stopped or even dose varied during an acute attack. There's a risk that would make gout worse and/or take longer to subside.
Colchicine is one form of anti-inflammatory drug which can be used to deal with the symptoms of an acute attack. See also Indomethacin, a more common form of anti-inflammatory known as NSAID. They can both be taken together. However, Colchicine requires care because it is extremely toxic in overdose.
The purine connection:
"Gout is a type of arthritis which results from deposits of uric acid in the joints. These deposits cause swelling, redness, heat, pain and stiffness in the joints.
For many people, gout affects the big toe but it can also affect other joints.
"Uric acid is produced by the breakdown of purines in the body. It is normally removed in the urine by the kidneys. If levels of uric acid become too concentrated, it forms solid crystals causing pain in the affected joints."
High purine foods include brown fish, liver & kidneys etc, shellfish, mushrooms, yeast.
Colchicine is one form of anti-inflammatory drug which can be used to deal with the symptoms of an acute attack. See also Indomethacin, a more common form of anti-inflammatory known as NSAID. They can both be taken together. However, Colchicine requires care because it is extremely toxic in overdose.
The purine connection:
"Gout is a type of arthritis which results from deposits of uric acid in the joints. These deposits cause swelling, redness, heat, pain and stiffness in the joints.
For many people, gout affects the big toe but it can also affect other joints.
"Uric acid is produced by the breakdown of purines in the body. It is normally removed in the urine by the kidneys. If levels of uric acid become too concentrated, it forms solid crystals causing pain in the affected joints."
High purine foods include brown fish, liver & kidneys etc, shellfish, mushrooms, yeast.
Gout suffer here for over 10 years and seem to have it under control by:
1. Reducing alcohol intake (particularly spirits)
2. Limiting red meats
3. Increasing water intake
4. Take vitamin C capsules (500mg) and also Cherry capsules (eating cherries also decreases your chances of a gout attack)
5. Exercising
Trying to avoid going onto Allopurinol.
1. Reducing alcohol intake (particularly spirits)
2. Limiting red meats
3. Increasing water intake
4. Take vitamin C capsules (500mg) and also Cherry capsules (eating cherries also decreases your chances of a gout attack)
5. Exercising
Trying to avoid going onto Allopurinol.
Edited by DiscoSINGH on Monday 20th February 16:15
DiscoSINGH said:
Gout suffer here for over 10 years and seem to have it under control by:
1. Reducing alcohol intake (particularly spirits)
2. Limiting red meats
3. Increasing water intake
4. Take vitamin C capsules (500mg) and also Cherry capsules (eating cherries also decreases your chances of a gout attack)
5. Exercising
Trying to avoid going onto Allopurinol.
I tried these for the last 12 months or so with little or no success. 1. Reducing alcohol intake (particularly spirits)
2. Limiting red meats
3. Increasing water intake
4. Take vitamin C capsules (500mg) and also Cherry capsules (eating cherries also decreases your chances of a gout attack)
5. Exercising
Trying to avoid going onto Allopurinol.
Edited by DiscoSINGH on Monday 20th February 16:15
Alcohol - average less than 1 unit per week, only really drink at social occasions very occasionally.
Red Meat - gave up beef almost completely, eat very little lamb.
Water - drink 3L per day most days.
Vitamin C - didn't try this but cherry and tumeric supplements didn't work.
Exercising - BJJ twice a week, walking every day and weights twice a week.
I wanted to avoid it as well but have given up.
Has anyone else put on weight after starting allopurinol? I’ve been eating roughly 1800 calories a day, exercising 3 times a week and since I started taking it (4th November) I’ve put on half a stone. Before this I had a steady weight loss every week so something’s changed and this is the only thing that’s different. My gout has completely gone since I started so I think I’m going to stop taking it for a couple of weeks, see what happens and see the doctor.
A quick search came up with this… https://www.medschat.com/Discuss/Rapid-weight-gain...
A quick search came up with this… https://www.medschat.com/Discuss/Rapid-weight-gain...
Twiglets said:
Has anyone else put on weight after starting allopurinol?
I've never heard of that before and given the way Allopurinol works I can't see any obvious connection.Twiglets said:
My gout has completely gone since I started so I think I’m going to stop taking it for a couple of weeks
The reason your gout has gone is because you're "taking" Allopurinol, not because you've "taken" Allopurinol. There is no cure so I wouldn't stop unless you want gout back again. The attacks simply become increasingly frequent until you eventually give up, and the catch is you can't start back on Allopurinol unless and until you've been clear of gout for several weeks.What dose have they got you on? IMO the secret of all these these things is to take the lowest dose you can get away with while remaining gout free. Keep the anti-inflammatories at hand and you can hit them as soon as you get a twinge. The sooner you start the better they work. Once gout gets a grip it's no fun at all.
Panamax said:
Twiglets said:
Has anyone else put on weight after starting allopurinol?
I've never heard of that before and given the way Allopurinol works I can't see any obvious connection.Twiglets said:
My gout has completely gone since I started so I think I’m going to stop taking it for a couple of weeks
The reason your gout has gone is because you're "taking" Allopurinol, not because you've "taken" Allopurinol. There is no cure so I wouldn't stop unless you want gout back again. The attacks simply become increasingly frequent until you eventually give up, and the catch is you can't start back on Allopurinol unless and until you've been clear of gout for several weeks.What dose have they got you on? IMO the secret of all these these things is to take the lowest dose you can get away with while remaining gout free. Keep the anti-inflammatories at hand and you can hit them as soon as you get a twinge. The sooner you start the better they work. Once gout gets a grip it's no fun at all.
I’m on 100mg once a day so the lowest dose which has completed cleared all my symptoms, the temporary suspension of the meds is purely to make sure it’s not that, I handled the flare ups for awhile before the medication so I’m willing to try. My doctor isn’t the best to be honest, I had to go private for the arthritis as my GP just kept telling me the swelling will probably go on its own and prescribed opioids which worked but are obviously not a good long term solution. Private was so different with loads of tests to find out what it was. My GP also took 3 months to do an urgent ECG, even then I didn’t get the results for three weeks.
Twiglets said:
I’m on 100mg once a day so the lowest dose which has completed cleared all my symptoms, the temporary suspension of the meds is purely to make sure it’s not that, I handled the flare ups for awhile before the medication so I’m willing to try.
Yup, sounds fair enough. Keep the Indomethacin and Colchicine at hand. My understanding is they can be taken together if you so choose. Just remember the darned thing tends to get worse with age.Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff