GoutPal Interactive

I have a couple of questions for you fellow sufferers..

i've been describing some of my recent symptoms here and my rheumatologist is sending me for an mri.

to recap i'm a 8 or 9 year sufferer.. never confimed gout.. my earlier attacks were more painful and confined pretty much to that spot on my big toe joint(both feet) and once in my elbow… very painful early on but never the big bulbous kind of swelling.. recently it just keeps moving from foot to foot. never going away… thought i was just about done a couple of days ago.. then boom rt toe joint.. mild though two days later big joint doesnt hurt but moves to the underside between my big toe and the 2nd toe… since the summer i've been having these kinds of movements on both feet.. never really had it outside of my big toe joint .. other than elbow once.. anyone else have this sort of movement to different parts of the foot..

 the other question i have is has anyone ever had a weird taste in their mouth and kind of a sore mouth , where your tastebuds  seem muted and food doesnt have the same flavor? kind of numb sensation.. i mentioned it to two doctors and they feel it could be acid reflux from so much diclofinac… just wondering if anyone else has experienced this…

cant wait to start either uloric or allopurinol soon… waiting for this mri first… but i'm not sure i can wait..

john

John,

I've never tried diclofenac. It's not very popular in the United States and seems to be a UK and European thing. It is known to be VERY hard on the stomach, tends to retain uric acid and may be implicated in increased heart disease risk.

Why not switch to a different analgesic especially if you are getting reflux? Colchicine comes to mind, or naproxyn if you can get it.

Don't start allopurinol or uloric until you and/or your doctor are convinced of the gout diagnosis. What kind of uric acid levels do you run?

Post edited 3:19 pm – November 17, 2009 by rucyrius

hadnt heard about diclofinac retaining  uric acid.. wow i've been using alot of it too as it seems to work for my pain.. but if it retains uric acid .. i'm in trouble..

seems odd that doctors would prescribe diclofinac for gout pain if it retains uric acid..

john,

With those uric acid numbers between 8 and 10.3 the presence of big toe pain in MY mind confirms gout to a 90% certainty. (That MRI sounds like just running up the bill…you probably have good insurance so your doctor wants an extra grand to diagnose your gout.)

On the diclofenac: if the drug is sufficiently urate retaining to almost wipe out a species of vultures, caution is advised. After all, there are hundreds of other NSAIDS to choose from, it's not like it is the ONLY analgesic. Several available are available without Rx. Naproxyn immediately springs to mind.