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@ Glaus Q: Not had a flare up until I started jogging.
Don't assume it was just the jogging. Lowering urate triggers old attack sites, if not new [to the owner] as well for some months into treatment.
I have a kit for SUA testing from Kernel manfr;. it works fine to 5% [that's good enough] and can monitor progress every few days on [or off] meds and diets. More frequent testing is done by some- and if graphed, can show interesting trends, like VegGuy here.
I personally think normal metabolic daily variations can obscure the meaning somewhat, & also unless your technique is A1 , tbh.
AFAIK- blood sampling is the only ready way to get urate status. Urine and saliva strips test the outcome of over acidity but not the body load held in the blood. If it wasn't so subtle, gout would be better forseen/handled, no doubt!
You really need to get actual figures on SUA- leaving Docs to 'mutter asides' gives too much hostage to fortune. 5mg/dl is thought OK. [~300umol – multiply mg X 60 is close enough]
[Bear in mind 7 is considered within 'normal' range- for a NON gouty!]
They don't all seem to understand the movement of urates [which is complex enough to the layman, true] and also don't like overprescribing AlloP or Colch either, as they are powerful drugs with serious side effects.
I would say, ease off heavy joint (esp. shock) activity and let the meds 'do their stuff ' for a few months and then get back slowly, next time. You were probably a bit over-enthusiastic whilst resetting your gout back to 'controlled' state [not 'cured' , btw] this last time.
All the same you appear well on track -with a positive approach that's very necessary.
gtaus said:
Is there a test kit/tester for taking your SUA at home? I go into the doctor about every 3 months and they take blood. My levels, according to the doctor, have been back to normal with daily AP. But that was before my latest flare up due to jogging. Is there a simple way to check your SUA at home without having to draw blood?
There are UA tests available for home use, that I know of.
They work like blood glucose monitors, if you've ever used one of those. You prick your finger and apply a drop of blood to a test strip.
MyFootHurts said:
Post edited 12:11 pm – August 8, 2010 by MyFootHurts
…They work like bood glucose monitors, if you've ever used one of those. You prick your finger and apply a drop of blood to a test strip.
One more thing, if you want to save money: Make sure that you get a large blob of blood, approx. 1/8 inch (for Americans) and 3mm (for the rest of the world) diameter or readings will come in low, meaning you wasted a test strip. And they are outragely expensive.
Anyway, I went on AP after that bad spell with gout and had not had a flare up until I started jogging.
I would not be quick to dismiss jogging/running as innocuous, especially in the first year of treatment.
Entertain this fact if you will:
We have gout attacks and the body deals with them by walling off the urate with flesh, fat and scar tissue. Some of this urate peeks throrugh to the bloodstream and causes an immune response…pain and inflammation. Some is more successbully walled off and invisible to the immune system for years or decades unless something happens to change the status quo. To me it seems likely that a buried tophus in the ball of the foot, usually the bunion joint is banged pretty furiously with repeated hard footfalls in running. Such battering might readily disturb the covering of the tophus and WHAM the body attacks it again. Ultimately, the resolution might be for the good…but a full blown attack is a high price to pay. So me might ultimately have to choose whether to let sleeping dogs lie or to let them attack with fury. Food for thought?
Thanks for all the advice and links on the home test kits. I'll be checking them out.
I wondered if jogging would cause a gout flare up. I have read that reducing uric acid can cause gout attacks as well as increasing the uric acid level. But I also feel pain in my knees from the jogging, and I don't know if this is just a result of the impact of the jogging and/or a gout related condition. I have never had gout in my knees before, so I was assuming my sore knees were a result of the impact from jogging. At any rate, my gout flare up in my ankle is OK today (4 days later), but my knees are still sore (7 days).
There is no way I want to get myself into a full blown gout attack like I suffered through last winter (2-3 months). I gained almost 30 pounds during that period because I was almost completely bed ridden. The doctor put me on a 2 week regieme of Prednisone, starting off with a very high dose and decreasing every 3 days. The Prednisone took away the pain almost immediately and allowed the Allop to combat the rest of the gout over the course of the two weeks. But the Prednisone made me sick – and hungry – and that also added to my weight problem.
Since then, I've managed to lose 20 pounds through diet and exercise. I still have a long way to go to reach my target weight and that is why I was starting to jog. But this setback with the gout flare up has not helped and I have added a few pounds just this week alone.
I'm still looking at getting an ellipitical trainer and some other exercise gear to help me workout with less impact. I have always felt the best workout was the simple method of pushups, situps, and jogging. But my gout, and age, has complicated my life and maybe it's just time I find a way to exercise without the impact caused by jogging. I don't want to be bedridden again in my pursuit to better health.
I appreciate the help and advice you guys have offered. I have two younger brothers following in my footsteps with gout. So they both look to me for advice, which I really don't have much. So I'm glad I found this forum. Again, thanks.
Just to address one point. Every timeI have tried jogging, all goes well for about 3 weeks and then my knees begin to ache. The pain lasts for several weeks after I stop jogging. I have almost no knee problems with using the elliiptical trainer though. I use the professional style Life-Styler that my gym has (about 30 of them.) I've tried the store-bought consumer models and they seem pretty crappy by comaprison…herky-jerky instead of smooth.
Since I've ripped the cartilege in both knees (first one in high school during the Civil War
) I don't know whether I can attribute any of the pain to gout or just rotten knees, best guess is the latter.zip2play said:…I have almost no knee problems with using the elliiptical trainer though. I use the professional style Life-Styler that my gym has (about 30 of them.) I've tried the store-bought consumer models and they seem pretty crappy by comaprison…herky-jerky instead of smooth….
Thanks for the info. I have not been to a gym and tried the professional elliptical trainers, so I guess I would not know if a store bought trainer was crap or not. I'm just trying to save the old knees.
This jogging with gout topic is now closed.
It covers several variations on gout and jogging, including:
- can i run with gout?
- can jogging reduce uric acid?
- Is jogging bad for gout?
Jogging is one form of exercise. Generally speaking exercise is good for gout, but it must be planned on an individual basis. You should get checked by a doctor before embarking on any exercise program. Jogging is particularly significant for knee and ankle stress. If those joints are already damaged by untreated excess uric acid, then you should substitute exercises that are unlikely to cause impact damage.
I will move the relevant parts of the discussion to a new common questions section, as time allows. In the meantime, you can easily search for current discussions, or start a new discussion.
You can find the search box at the top of every page, or at the foot of the right-hand sidebar. Even easier, please use the gout search page.
We have facts about running with gout at Running On Gouty Feet. But, we are reviewing that page for updates in the latest forum posting at Does Running With Gout page need improving?
Do you have any facts or unanswered questions about running with gout? Then please reply to Does Running With Gout page need improving?
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