Lowering Uric Acid

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Lowering uric acid is useless. "Has GoutPal gone mad?" I hear you ask. "Why is he always telling us that uric acid management is much more important than gout pain management?" OK, I have not gone mad. First, let me remind you why managing uric acid levels is much more important than managing gout pain, then I will explain why I say "lowering uric acid is useless." Gout Pain And Tooth Decay There is no link between gout and tooth decay, but regular readers will recognize my oft-vaunted (overused?) analogy. When you visit a dentist to treat toothache, you expect an examination for decay, treatment of that decay, and pain relief to help you endure the treatment and associated soreness and gum inflammation. Treatment for gout, ignoring complications such as allergies, and other health conditions, should be just as simple. Take allopurinol (or some other uric acid lowering therapy) and support this with pain relief, such as colchicine, until the allopurinol has removed the excess uric acid...
Read More

Gout: Much More Than Big Toe Pain

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
What's Worse Than Big Toe Pain ? For most people, gout starts with big toe pain. For many, it starts with a different joint, but your first concern is always the same - get rid of the pain. From that moment, different obsessions kick in. Food obsessions, gout cure obsessions, and always, always keep the pain at bay. Quite rightly, your doctor's priority when you get an attack of gout pain, is to deal with the pain. Left untended, most pain will go away in a few days. Bad attacks may linger for over a week. But normally, the pain is so severe that you want to treat it straight away. Particularly if your mobility is reduced. If it's your first attack, once the pain has subsided, you need to discuss long term treatment with your doctor. If you have already arranged such treatment, e.g. allopurinol or other uric acid reducing drugs, it is vital that you continue to take them as well as...
Read More

Natural Remedy for Gout

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Yesterday, I was so busy I forgot that most natural remedy for gout - water. I think I've averted a disaster, but only just. I was preparing next week's newsletter and completely lost track of time. Delaying lunch for two hours probably didn't do me too much good (check out the free gout diet launch in my newsletter), but I think the worst thing I did was forgetting to drink water. I couldn't believe my luck when I first discovered this natural remedy for gout. When I got used to drinking the relatively large amounts involved, I found I could eat just about anything, in moderation, and have no ill effects. The secret is to always have a glass or bottle of water at hand, and drink fairly constantly throughout the day. Treat the extra trips to the bathroom as a free exercise bonus. I don't like to be too specific about the volume you should drink. Much will depend on your size, the...
Read More

Swollen Toes Diagnosis

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
This article answers the short gout question "swollen toes diagnosis". For the more information on Swollen Joints, please see my latest addition to the I Have Gout program. That program is about getting a good diagnosis. It is a step-by-step program that covers all aspects of gout diagnosis, allowing you to assess your symptoms, work with doctors to get a diagnosis, and learn what to do once your swollen joints are diagnosed. If you want to know more about your gout symptoms, please see Is It Swollen Joints Or Tophaceous Gout? Swollen toes are a common sign of gout, but there could be other reasons. If you go to the doctors with swollen toes, they will usually start by asking about any possible recent (more…)...
Read More

Essential Gout Pain Relief

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Gout pain relief works best when you understand why it hurts. My articles describing how uric acid causes gout pain brings into focus the four essential elements. Uric Acid Quite simply, if you have too much uric acid you increase your risk of gout pain. The reasons for excess uric acid are many, but one essential point is that uric acid is our own natural anti-oxidant. It is very easy to stress your body to need anti-oxidants, and I discuss some of these causes elsewhere. It is also easy to supply anti-oxidants from foods, supplements and other treatments. Essentially, if you boost your anti-oxidant supply from external sources, your body is under less pressure to produce its own anti-oxidant - uric acid. Urate Crystal Deposits There is very little you can do directly to affect uric acid crystal deposits. You do however need to be aware of their existence, as they will often cause gout pain both when they form (bad), and when they dissolve (good). Essentially,...
Read More

Is Krystexxa Ready To Make Its (Uri)Case

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Krystexxa comes before the FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee Meeting on Tuesday 16th June. This is the latest stage to try and get approval for the second new gout drug this year. Hot on the heals of Uloric, the US brandname for febuxostat, pegloticase (formerly known as PEG-uricase) seeks release under Savient's brand new name of Krystexxa. FDA review has been postponed from February to give time for additional analysis of cardiovascular risks. So what does this mean for gout sufferers? Assuming approval is given, do not be thinking that you have a newer, easier option for controlling your uric acid. Krystexxa cannot be taken orally. You get dosed up every two weeks with 8mg delivered by intravenous injection. As well as being inconvenient, there are fairly high documented reaction rates. On a positive side, it is good that severe gout sufferers have an alternative if they cannot tolerate allopurinol. So expect plenty drug company stimulated hype over the next few weeks. It is such a pity that similar...
Read More

Potential Renal Acid Load

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Yesterday, I was asked for information about Potential Renal Acid Load. This is usually abbreviated to PRAL. Though PRAL is a precise calculation based on certain nutrient values in foods, it is not an exact measure. It is a shortcut measure to assess the affect of foods on the pH of the body. Experiments have shown that it is a reliable approximation of the acidifying or alkalizing effect of foods. PRAL=0.49 Protein + 0.037 Phosphorous - 0.021 Potassium - 0.026 Magnesium - 0.013 Calcium. This gives a positive value for acid forming foods and a negative value for alkaline forming foods. To ensure adequate nutrition it is important to chose a combination of foods with positive and negative PRAL values. Many nutritionists and health-workers believe that a diet that has an overall negative PRAL total is healthiest. For gout, an alkalizing diet reduces the chances of kidney stones forming, and helps to dissolve them if they form. It is important to also drink...
Read More