Hi!
I was recently diagnosed with Gout. Would you mind sharing some of the foods that are triggers for you? Thanks!
Hello!
I think I'll have to make a more thorough post, and not just write about the trigger foods, so you can get a better idea of how I cope with the disease.
I have been feeling better with my gout since the start of this thread. Part of it must be how my medication has changed. I now take 300mg of Allopurinol in the evening, and 150mg in the morning about half the time. I have also managed to improve my physical well-being with heavier training so I can't discount that effect either. Lastly, I have tried to wear more comfortable footwear more often. So it may be good to take these into account.
When it comes to food, I've never experienced that protein would be bad for me. I tried to avoid animal based proteins apart from dairy and eggs. I found no effect. I sometimes got pain after eating wheat, like buns or noodles, or really sugary foods. And alcohol, especially beer, was bad for me. But I have managed to be able to include these things in moderation in my diet lately. This may partly be because of the medication, but I believe the biggest effect to come from elsewhere, which I'll go into now.
I think the biggest thing in major gout attacks in my personal experience are sudden changes in stability. I've had a hearty Christmas time and made great new year resolutions afterwards. The effect of the sudden weight loss and low carb lifestyle was one of the worse attacks I've had. I just got so dry all of a sudden. After my body adjusted to the diet and new lifestyle, when I would have a cheat day or such, I would get attacks because the scale would again turn into the other end. So I've learned that it's best to keep my diet as stable as I can, and try to remember to drink water a lot and to take a good amount of salt in too.
One thing to take into account as well is that the worst gout attacks often come after some physical trauma. My worst one came after a night or two of some alcohol consumption, which ended with me stumbling while walking back home. Not only did I get a sprained ankle, I got a gout attack that wouldn't let me sleep even with my pain medication. Luckily a cortison injection into the joint helped. I won't lie, the shot was pure hell, but it was worth it. So I try to take better care of my feet. This means I use different footwear than before, and also consider my exercise selection more carefully. I won't go running bare foot in the forest any time soon. Probably never.
I think it's worth it to take Allopurinol. At first, I experienced some fatigue after taking it. I also experienced it again after increasing the dose. However, it passed away fairly quickly and I take most of it right before sleep. Otherwise I've noticed no side effects at all. When it comes to pain medication, I have found that over the counter (here) medications like Ibuprofen and Paracetamol are of no use. Indomethacin worked wonders earlier on but didn't later. Etoricoxib has worked well as the latest one. I never got any side effects from any of the pain meds. But I have managed to do well with very little of them for a while now.
I hope I managed to answer the question you asked. It looks like I wrote a short story instead of an answer. If you want to know anything more or anything else or if I can help you in some other way, let me know.