I am a sufferer on gout when I get dehydrated. Unfortunately due to the weather the last week in the uk this has kicked off a session. I think yesterdays ride was the final straw although I felt I had drunk enough.
Anyone suffer from it? It seems like such a random thing for a 33 year old to get. But I’ve been getting it for about 6 years now.
My go tos are uriprinol tablets, cherry tart juice and wait it out.
In the past 2 months I’ve had covid, neck injury and now this. It’s pretty much killed my entire summer of training.
Should also add, I’ve had tests done for liver function etc to see why I get it. All results came back fine, and it only ever seems to relate to when I’ve been sweating a lot in previous days so I reckon it’s hydration.
started getting attacks back in my thirties, foot and ankle. back in 2008 my knee blew up from a gout attack, after several courses of colchicine, steroid shots and a good three months, finally started to gain the ability to bend my knee again. from that point started taking allopurinol daily. aside from a couple of minor incidents early on, I have been attack free since. apparently this is a hereditary thing, just got lucky I guess.
as you probably know, build up of uric acid in the blood which then crystalizes causes the attacks. I can see how being dehydrated can spur this on.
My entire (E Asian) family has gout: dad, mom, uncle, cousin. I’ve been lucky up to now. Diet can play an important role (beer, seafood, sugary drinks is a trigger for many people).
As for blood work, check your uric acid (urate) concentration. Mine is in the high normal range.
Gout is sort of what got me into cycling. I had already done some cycling but with my job I stopped and ended up gaining a lot of weight. I woke up one morning and thought my wife must have smacked my foot with a sledge hammer during the night. It felt like it was broken. It was not diagnosed correctly, but I had the same exact thing happen almost a year later to the other foot which was diagnosed as gout.
Unfortunately it runs in my family, but most of my family are not active or healthy. I decided to lose some weight and start cycling. I ended up dropping almost 40-pounds (200lbs down to 160lbs). I mainly did this with cycling and diet. I still try to control my diet and ride almost every day. So I have managed to keep my weight around 165lbs.
I have had 3 gout episodes in the past 5-years. All of them usually can be traced back to a night hanging out with friends drinking too many beers and eating a lot of junk food. So I try to avoid these trigger foods or consume them in moderation.
Yes, Gout is the worst. In addition to what you are trying, at the first sign of an on-coming attack I double the medicine and drink as much water as possible.
My first gout attack was 14 years ago and it was a 3-4x annual event for me to get an attack. I couldn’t take allopurinol my general doctor prescribed due to side effects, so continued to suffer for many years. Then finally went to a rheumatologist (joint doctor) and he prescribed probenecid, which is kind of like allopurinol’s competitor. Been on probenecid for about 5 years now lowered my blood uric acid levels from the 12s and now in the 5-6s. I’ve had maybe 2 flare ups since starting this medication mostly due to eating certain trigger foods and drinking alcohol together. I’ve since gone vegetarian and drastically reduced the booze intake and I’ve been gout-free for at least the last 3 years.
I got my first attack in my early twenties. Arrived at the emergencies completely immobile and in pain. Took a while to diagnose, doctor said it’s very rare for people to get it so young.
As it only happened like less than once a year I’d mostly ignored it - didn’t want to already start taking daily pills in my twenties - until I got a bad attack while traveling for work. Annoying to have to explain to everyone that you’re limping in great pain but really it’s OK.
I talked to my GP and they were quite clear that either I start living like a saint or I take a pill each day. Got a second opinion from a specialized doctor, which confirmed that advice and pointed out that letting the accumulation on bones and the body get so bad that you get attacks isn’t actually healthy.
So I’ve taken my daily allopurinol since and have been trouble free and feel fine to binge on nice red meat, cheese and alcohol as much as I want.
I suspect I’ve had a mild version of it in my right toe/foot for a couple of years. Drs so far have not delved into blood work as I’m “healthy and young” and the attacks have been mild, (but still annoying).
The feeling is a radiating heat/pain. Similar to a bad sprain. I have it in my big toe mostly, but it is like my whole foot is on fire and I can’t pin point where it is coming from. Only when it starts to wear off do you know the source. I take medication and flair ups are less than once a year. It can get worse as you get older. Take the medication, drink lots of water, identify your trigger foods and avoid them.
Thanks for the replies. Definitely interesting that SIS energy is mentioned. I use SIS Go at the moment whilst I’m finishing it off. I would of drunk this Friday and Saturday during rides (where I didn’t replenish drink properly after hence thinking dehydration)
I have always had high uric acid in blood tests so I think it’s time I get the doctor to investigate it. No family history of it
You described my approach almost exactly. Have gone largely vegetarian (very occasionally chicken or fish; no red meat). Cut out alcohol but started drinking a little and I can feel it when I have the occasional margarita. Been pretty symptom free since taking those steps about 3 years ago. Also cut out high fructose corn syrup.
Anybody tried an acido-basis diet? Isn’t gout an excess of acid?
I suffered of eczema/psoriasis for the first 25 years of my life. I tried all possible cream/ointment/medecine with nothing working. At 25 years old i realized it was caused by an excess of acidity (it was triggered by all acidifying food) and changed my diet. It went away in a few weeks. 20 years later, now that I’m upping my sugar and protein intake for cycling, it’s coming back. I have to be extra carefull to add more basic vegetables or i get relapses.
The body is a chemistry factory. It comes from sugary stuff (alcohol) and purines, neither of which are acids, but they’re turned into it by your own body. Similarly, it’s hard to ensure that any basic stuff you eat won’t be an acid by the time it comes out of the digestive system.
AFAIK there is zero scientific evidence those diets work, largely because even if you identify foods that are digested to bases, they still run into your bodies own acidity buffering systems.
(Unfortunately the other way around, i.e. turning nice foods into acid and causing gout, does have scientific support , though it’s largely hereditary)
, though it’s largely hereditary)