Christmas Gout Shopping

There’s no excuse for this really, so I will not offer one.

I always leave my Christmas Shopping to the last minute, and I seem to have more gouty friends these days. This year, being even tighter than usual, I decided to buy stuff that I get some commission on – someone has to keep the servers running.

I’ll try to be more organised next year. For now, hear are some Christmas ideas for your gouty friends.

"Got Gout?" Tee Shirt PictureColchicine Used To Treat Gout Tshirt Picture

The irony of selling a colchicine T shirt cheaper than the cost of the drug now it is branded Colcrys is not lost on me.

Ho, ho, ho. I’ve just spotted “Used to treat gout” – is that the first gouty double entendre?

Posted on December 10, 2011 by GoutPal
Posted in Gout Related | Leave a comment

Lowering Uric Acid Gout Forum

This discussion concerns gout attacks during treatment for lowering uric acid. It is a place to share relevant experiences or ask relevant questions. More importantly, it is the place to help me improve Lowering Uric Acid: What Are The Pitfalls? so that I can publish a permanent guide to managing uric acid lowering treatment.

Andrew asked:

… this is the first time I have seen the distinction made about isolated vs. widespread locations in the two immune reaction phases. When I was in the bad phase, I only had gout attacks in my left big toe. Since March I have been in the good phase (as documented by my uric acid number), and I have had attacks in almost all the toes on my left foot, in my right big toe, multiple attacks in both heels, and most recently, I’ve had attacks in both knees (one earlier this summer, the other going on currently). I rarely go more than a couple of weeks without an attack. At least my feet have been feeling much better.

Are these new gout attack locations due to “stealth” deposits of uric acid crystals that would have eventually caused a “bad” gout attack? What’s next after my knees? My hips? And then? My UA number is well into the therapeutic levels (has been checked monthly). Is this discussed someplace else in the forum? I’d like to know more.

It has been touched upon many times in discussions, so a permanent guide is long overdue. Lowering Uric Acid: What Are The Pitfalls? should answer these questions, but if it does not, let us discuss the management of uric acid lowering treatment here. Please read the Lowering Uric Acid: What Are The Pitfalls? before you add comments or ask questions.

If you are concerned about your treatment for gout, but your concerns are not directly related to gout attacks when lowering uric acid, please see the Gout Treatment Forum Index for live discussions, or the Gout Treatment information guide.

Posted on November 7, 2011 by GoutPal
Posted in Gout Cures | Tagged | 10 Comments

Gout Support Service Improvements Debate

Prompted by a recent nonsensical request to improve my gout support services I have improved my gout discussion guidelines, and added extra information to make it clearer how you should complain, request extra services, or suggest service improvements. All these aspects of discussing how to use my websites are covered here, so whenever I use the term improvements, I include complaints and suggestions.

Please note that this is about the content of the site and how to find it, or how to contribute to discussions in the best way. It is not about specific gout diet, treatment, or diagnosis/symptoms. However, if you see information on the site which you think is wrong, or can be improved, then you can discuss those issues here.

To emphasize how important it is to me when you help me improve my gout support services, I shall soon introduce a competition for the best suggestion.

If you cannot wait for that announcement, or you do not want to compete for prizes, then simply add your comments below, or use the Gout Question Service.

If you use the Gout Question Service, please select the Gout Related category, then select the Using GoutPal sub-category. Don’t forget to search for your question in the Search Box at the top of the screen before you ask it.

Please read the Gout Support Service Improvements guidelines before you ask your question or add your comments.

Posted on November 4, 2011 by GoutPal
Posted in Website Rather Than Gout | 1 Comment

Mens Health In Movember

Mens Health PosterGout is the biggest health issue for men who visit GoutPal, but your general health is equally important.

I know there are specific women’s health issues, and I try to support these whenever I can, but this month, my focus is on men’s health. Women need not feel left out – you can really help me by spreading the word.

The following text is a general introduction to Movember – the month we grow a mustache to raise awareness of men’s health issues. You will note that my Team is UK based, as that is where I live. But I work internationally, and Movember is an international health group. You can join my team from anywhere in the world, but if you prefer to set up a team in your own country, please let me know your team name, and I will try to give you some publicity.

Moustache Season is upon us, so I’ve decided to register for Movember and embrace the hair of the wild. I’ve pledged to cultivate a genuine 100% face grown moustache for 30 days to raise awareness and funds for men’s health, specifically prostate and testicular cancer.

Now, I’m on the hunt for fellow trusty and fearless pioneers to join me by signing up to my team. Together we can change the face of men’s health.

To join my Movember team go to https://www.movember.com/uk/register/details/team_id/351582

Movember is about raising funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and testicular cancer. Did you know one man dies every hour from prostate cancer in the UK each year and more than 2,000 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer this year.
The more people we can get to become Citizens of Movember, the more lives we can impact. You can either grow a moustache as a Mo Bro, or join as a Mo Sista to show your support and help recruit other Mo growers to the team.

Once registered, Movember will send you all the information you need to raise funds and start raising awareness for men’s health as part of my Movember team.

If you’d like to find out more about the type of work you’d be helping to fund by supporting Movember, take a look at the Programmes We Fund section on the Movember website: http://uk.movember.com/about

Please join me at https://www.movember.com/uk/register/details/team_id/351582

Keith Taylor

Posted on November 2, 2011 by GoutPal
Posted in Gout Related | 2 Comments

Black Bean Broth Debate

I am moving debates about black bean broth (a Natural Remedy For Gout) to the new forum format. I will add some specific questions that appear to be unresolved, so you can now discuss black bean broth here or in the Gout Treatment Question And Answer pages.

Black Bean Broth as a natural remedy for gout has many fans.

First introduced to GoutPal contributors by metamorph some years ago, it has prompted many lively debates.

It is now time to address issues that have arisen, and look for further improvements and explanations.

Though far from a scientific study, there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that black bean broth can help to relieve (or prevent) gout pain. The accepted wisdom in the GoutPal community is that the high level of anthocyanins help reduce inflammation. Anthocyanins are the natural compounds that give the dark color to cherries and other fruits.
Continue reading the Black Bean Broth Debate

Posted on October 20, 2011 by GoutPal
Posted in Gout Cures | Tagged | 5 Comments

Gout Home Remedies Debate

This Gout Home Remedies discussion marks progress on reorganizing the Gout Diet Section and Improving The Gout Forum. There is an overlap between food and drink topics, and aspects of diet that can form part of your Gout Treatment.

Gout Home Remedies are food or drink products that can help relieve gout pain.

If our gout treatment plan is at a stage where pain relief is still important, natural products can often help.

Which home remedies give you some gout pain relief?

Although we must control uric acid to control gout, it can take several weeks to get uric acid down to a safe level, and several months to dissolve sufficient old uric acid crystals to remove the risk of an acute gout flare. In the meantime, we need a reliable gout treatment, or selection of treatments, to help minimize and cope with gout pain.

To distinguish the different types of treatment, my gout home remedies pages explain natural pain relief products. Medical treatments, and natural treatments to manage other aspects of gout are discussed elsewhere in the Gout Treatment section.
Please continue reading about the Gout Home Remedies Debate

Posted on October 20, 2011 by GoutPal
Posted in Gout Cures | Tagged | Leave a comment

Gout and Gouty Arthritis Definition Debate

Following a question from a visitor, I have written my explanation of “What Is Gouty Arthritis?”

I believe this is a reasonable explanation in the context of the question. However, if it only leads to the question “What is gout?” then I am not convinced that my response gives a good enough answer.

My biggest problem is one of context.

If I know why someone is asking a question, and have an idea about their subject knowledge, I can give a pretty good response. That is why I like questions that include a little background information.

Faced with the question “what is gout?” I have a dilemma. There is no simple answer without knowing a little more. A scientific or medical explanation can easily mean absolutely nothing without pages of explanation about the properties and characteristics of uric acid, the physiology of the immune system, and the psychology of pain.

A simple definition is: “Painful inflammation of joints caused by an immune system response to uric acid crystals.” However, that fails to cover tophaceous gout.

I could add: “Uric acid crystals form in joints and other tissues when there is excess uric acid in the blood. The deposits cause permanent damage to cartilage, ligaments and bones in joints. Outside the joints they cause lumps, known as tophi (the plural of tophus) which are usually painless and harmless unless they restrict movement or grow through the skin.”

If those four sentences form the definition of gout and of gouty arthritis, is anything missing? Can you do better?

Please read the gouty arthritis article linked above, and the gout debating guidelines before adding your comments below.

Posted on August 24, 2011 by GoutPal
Posted in Gout | 1 Comment

Splitting GoutPal In Two

GoutPal Interactive is a terrific resource for gout sufferers.

  • You can ask about your gout.
  • You can get help from fellow gout sufferers who understand what you are going through.
  • You can discuss gouty arthritis and all matters that relate to it.
  • You can help me improve the main gout website.

Almost all this is provided in the gout forum, with some extras in this gout blog. Unfortunately, the software that runs the gout forum is complicated – hard to manage and resource hungry.

There have been some terrific discussions in the forum, and thousands of people have got good answers to their gouty questions. Unfortunately, some questions never get answered properly because the discussions grow through many topics. Some questions never get asked because the complexity drives prospective contributors away.

My answer to these problems is to split the site between questions and discussions.

You can ask your questions, and contribute to the answers in the Gout Question and Answer Section. You can discuss any and all aspects of gout in this blog area, using the comment boxes.

My plan is:

  1. Establish the Question and Answer Section with appropriate User Guides, indexing and archiving features.
  2. Improve the discussion features in this blog area, including better management features for starting new discussions, contributing to and tracking existing ones, and improving indexing and archiving to find relevant discussions easily.
  3. Phase out the old gout forum.

I have no timescale at present. I will be driven by your discussions in the comment box below, and by your Gouty Questions and Answers.

Posted on August 23, 2011 by GoutPal
Posted in Gout Questions, Website Rather Than Gout | 1 Comment

Gout And Alcohol Debate

Arguments about gout and alcohol continue, and I have summarized my thoughts on the main gout information site. I am sure I need to add more detail in some areas when I have a clearer idea about the real issues that affect gout sufferers. I have recently introduced a debate about uric acid lowering treatment and alcohol, and this debate runs alongside it, as I do not want to dilute the treatment debate with remarks about alcohol consumption and gout in general.

I have been particularly scathing in the past about remarks stating that gout will stop if you stop drinking alcohol. This annoys me on many levels, but the most significant is that there is never a single simple answer to stopping gout, or at least controlling it to the point where it does not impede your quality of life.

Every gout sufferer needs to understand their own personal circumstances with respect to gout, and develop their own personal plan to deal with it.

From that base, your starting point is clear, and the first consideration is if you are taking uric acid lowering medicine or not. So if you are taking allopurinol, febuxostat (sold under the Uloric brand in the States, and Adenuric elsewhere), probenecid or any other treatment designed to lower uric acid, please leave this debate now. You belong in the debate about uric acid lowering treatment and alcohol.
See more about Alcohol and Untreated Gout

Posted on August 15, 2011 by GoutPal
Posted in Gout Diet | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Allopurinol And Alcohol Debate

Our most frequently viewed discussion is about allopurinol and alcohol.

Many gout sufferers worry that alcohol might reduce the effectiveness of allopurinol. However, my recent review suggests that the biggest problem facing gout patients on uric acid lowering treatment is ineffective dosing.

It is ridiculous to suggest that alcohol is affecting allopurinol treatment if that treatment is not set at the right level in the first place.

I do not feel I have covered all the aspects of the allopurinol and alcohol debate, but I suggest that a sensible approach is to arrange a proper uric acid lowering management plan, and then only consider alcohol intake if that plan is not working.

Now is the time to collect more views on this, so please add yours below. I would also appreciate any relevant research, if you know of any.

Please keep your comments related to alcohol and allopurinol, or alcohol and other uric acid lowering treatments. You can join other discussions by searching for them in the search box above, or start a new discussion in the gout forum.

Posted on August 13, 2011 by GoutPal
Posted in Gout Cures | Tagged , | 11 Comments