Originally Posted by RandyRandy

My first gout attack was in my ankle. I woke up with it and thought it was a bad sprain or even fracture - but I didn't remember hurting it. That was 1992. Went to the doctor, told me to elevate, ice, rest - totally misdiagnosed. It happened again six months later, but in my knee - woke up with it. Too painful to walk. I had someone help me go the few blocks to St. Vincent's Hospital in the Village. An intern asked me a lot of questions and said "when in doubt, it's probably gout". He prescribed a combination therapy of Colchicine (5mg) and Indomethacin (50mg). I took two of each and ten minutes later I was high as a kite. I barely made it to bed. I was also drowsy. Another ten minutes later and my knee was almost 100% normal. It was like magic.

I get a bad case every three or four months. I've tried everything - the only thing that really works is the COMBINATION of Colchicine and Indomethacin. I must take both for it to be completely effective. The Indomethacin definitely helps loosen the inflammation, but it's the Colchicine that is the real workhorse. It dissolves the crystals that have formed in the inflamed joints and gets them out through diarrhea. IF YOU DON'T TAKE THE COLCHICINE, THE GOUT WILL DISSAPATE, BUT NOT COMPLETELY AND YOU WILL GET MORE FREQUENT ATTACKS. And don't try to negate the effects by using Pepto-Bismal. You need to shit it out liquidly. That's the best way to prevent another attack from occurring quickly. I learned this the hard way.




It's not a side effect. It's what gets rid of the gout.



But it works. I take 2 colchicine and 2 indomethacine when I feel it coming on. Then I take 1 and 1 eight hours later and then a third set of one and one another 8 hours later. This almost always knocks it out.



Yes it is. And for me Vodka as well. And shrimp and lobster. Not so much red meat, but stay away from sausages or cold cuts with nitrates - for me, that's the worst.

Also, one of my physicians had me do a 24 hour urine collection to determine whether I produced excess Uric Acid or if my body didn't get rid of it enough. I really don't remember which one it is, but based on that he prescribed Allopurinal, but it didn't reduce the flare-ups.



It's one of two things - you are either producing too much Uric Acid or your body isn't vacating it enough. Sitting down for long periods certainly isn't good, but I don't think that's the cause of it - but I really only know my case, which has been going on for almost 25 years.



Naproxen and other NSAIDS have absolutely no effect on my gout. A total waste.

I find that doing sports ABSOLUTELY makes you more prone to a flare-up. If I twist an ankle, I can almost guarantee that I will get a flare-up there. Same in the knee and the past few years my wrists. I'be been driving a small motorbike the last year and I've gotten a couple of flare-ups in my right wrist - and I'm sure it's from over-throttling (Yeah, I set myself up with that one).

As far as Black Cherry and all those other remedies - I've tried them all - NOT A SINGLE ONE WORKED. Only the combo of Colchicine and Indomethacin.

I'm also overweight. Twice I've lost about 100 lbs only to put it back on again. MY GOUT FLARE-UPS WERE JUST AS CONSISTENT AS WHEN I WAS 270lbs or 170lbs. In fact, I got gout MORE when I weighed less, because I was playing a lot of basketball and one wrong move guaranteed me a flareup 2-3 days later (that's how you know it's not a sprain. That and the fact that the gout medication clears it up).

If there's any questions you have, I'm happy to help. Unfortunately I have a lot of experience with the subject.