Author Topic: Gout, have you had it ? where ?  (Read 16398 times)

gardentg44

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #20 on: March 07, 2009, 17:19:30 »
gout also known as the rich mans decease,

so that's me gout free for life ;D ;D ;D
kes   A man with no money in is pocket at christmas is too idle to borrow.

flossy

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #21 on: March 07, 2009, 17:58:07 »


  Awe no garden44,   that was in those good old Victorian days, when the wealthy

  enjoyed port !    Kidding aside , as in those times it was usual for the poorer folk to eat

  oysters and drink lots of beer rather than the local water, as a normal daily diet  --

  Mind you , would rather have got gout than cholera ,   :P

  That's a very interesting thought !

  floss xxx
Hertfordshire,   south east England

valmarg

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #22 on: March 08, 2009, 22:24:23 »
flossy, if your OH wants to 'play the martyr' well fair enough.  Gout will not go away without treatment.  He has to go to his GP and get treatment.

valmarg

Busby

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #23 on: March 09, 2009, 15:11:16 »
Well, valmarg, if you read my post you'll see that gout will go away without treatment. It's caused by eating too much stuff that the body cannot cope with. 

flossy, there is such a choice of non-factory, not-packeted foods (corn flakes for instance cause an increase in uric acidity, but corn on the cob doesn't)) that having a bit of 'discipline' is no problem. And eating what you enjoy is no problem if you don't mix everything up in not-needed quantities.

During my searches for an answer to my gout problem I saw the following documentary - it was about preparing Christmas Dinner:  Firstly there is the champagne to greet Christmas and friends, to accompany the champies there are crisps, salmon sandwiches and cheese bits. Then the housewife goes into the kitchen and starts the dinner. The others move over to Chardonnay and nibbles. There is a starter - salad maybe, with oil, cream and vinegar, maybe nuts, oranges and egg slices. Then there is a soup, oxtail maybe. (the worst soup for gout). Then there is a  chubby turkey, (raised on factory-produced feed) with roast potatoes (done in fat), brussels, onions and a thick rich gravy. This is accompanied by a few glasses of rich red wine. Then the sweet  follows  - say Black Forest gateau with plenty of cream, jam and cherries. Then comes a fine cognac with coffee, sugar and cream, more nibbles and the finishing off of the wine.

OK?

Now, just imagine this all in one big bowl, the bowl is standing on the table and everyone can tuck in...


That's where gout comes from.

Now, if you only have half of the above for your Christmas dinner the chance is that you won't get an attack of gout - and you won't be missing very much.





valmarg

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #24 on: March 09, 2009, 21:27:57 »
Sorry Busby I didn't mean to doubt you, but if flossy's OH is in so much pain, I was recommending he goes to his GP for treatment to alleviate his agony short term, and then take your advice re dietary/lifestyle changes.

That said, your Christmas dinner :-\.  Don't do champagne, crisps, salmon sandwiches and cheese bits.  No soup, oxtail or otherwise.  Turkey is organic, with giblets to make stock.  Don't do cornflakes, only eat home grown corn cobs (Swift).

valmarg



Carol

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #25 on: March 09, 2009, 21:58:31 »
I do admire your discipline Busby.  Think I will send your list of  the NO NO foods to my Brother in law who is a Gout sufferer.  He says his is triggered off with Pork meat, especially bacon.  However, he loves his booze so doubt he will take any notice.  I hope you stay Gout free from now on.

 :) :)

hopalong

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #26 on: March 09, 2009, 22:37:27 »
I'm sorry, but it is just plain wrong to suggest that gout is "caused by eating too much stuff that the body cannot cope with" and will go away if you change your diet. It is certainly true that there are certain foods - those with high purine content - that should be avoided if you are a gout sufferer, but you won't get rid of the condition just by doing that. Speaking as a fit and active person who watches their diet but has suffered from gout for years, this mythology infuriates me!

There was a good article by Martin Kettle in The Guardian a while ago, on some of the myths about gout.  Here's a link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/dec/22/comment.health
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Old Ned

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #27 on: March 10, 2009, 00:05:18 »
Very good article

hellohelenhere

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #28 on: March 10, 2009, 01:29:35 »
Hopalong, I totally understand your frustration with the 'change your diet and you'll solve the problem' attitude that people can have. (Though evidently, for some lucky people, it can work.)

But I wanted to comment relating to earlier posts about avoiding trigger foods. If you feel a benefit, then it soon becomes much easier than you would have ever have imagined, to avoid the foods concerned, because the last thing you want is to suffer the ill-effects. In my case, I'm very glad to say that I don't have gout - it sounds absolutely dreadful. I am wheat-intolerant, so have been wheat-free for over ten years. In spite of the fact it's such a staple food, and there are whole aisles in the supermarket I have to completely ignore - it's not hard, with practice. An occasional accidental dose reminds me enough, that I don't succumb to pizza pangs... :D

I really feel for people getting the 'gout? how hilarious!' reaction. I get the 'food intolerance? oh yes, that's really fashionable these days/ never existed in the old days...' response, which drives me equally barmy.

I reckon the name 'gout' is part of the problem, as it's such an old-fashioned word. Why doesn't it get renamed as 'hyperuricemia'?  It would save gout-sufferers from having to punch the next person who mentions port... :D

saddad

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #29 on: March 10, 2009, 07:40:32 »
Having become very lactose intolerant, from nowhere, there are whole aisles to ignore as you say Helen... and the comments of others can be more of a pain than the condition some times... hope you are able to manage the gout successfully.....  :-\

flossy

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #30 on: March 10, 2009, 07:52:55 »

   valmarg,

   A small sorry from you - to me and OH too wouldn't come amiss,        :(

   Don't think that I mentioned that  anyone was a  ''martyr ''  !
Hertfordshire,   south east England

flossy

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #31 on: March 10, 2009, 08:07:09 »


     He's not the Messiah either   ---  he's a very naughty boy !     ;D    ;D    ;D

     floss x
Hertfordshire,   south east England

Busby

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #32 on: March 10, 2009, 09:03:06 »
There are those of us in this world who benefit by their experience(s). I am one of them. By recording what I ate and drank, by investigating into the known and sometimes vaguely guessed  causes of gout I changed my intake of food and drink, in sort and quantity, and no longer have to suffer the torments of this painful condition.

Most of the foods we eat today, unless we are lucky enough to have an allotment or garden, are fresh from the factory, and whether containing purines or not causes the body's alkali/acid balance to be disturbed. Stuff with purines simply speeds up the gout-forming process. Too little exercise doesn't help, that's why I walk at least for one hour per day. Diuretics used to control high blood pressure can lead to gout, these medicines cause high levels of water to leave the body thus thickening the uric acid concentration. One specialist that I visited was of the opinion that my gout attacks were due to scarlet fever that I had as a boy. (Before the days of penicillin).
Eating too much high-protein food is a trigger. Too much beer is a guarantee that I'll get an attack - so I limit myself to one beer per day but still drink wine at lunchtime and have an occasional whisky.

According to doctors there is no set pattern for the onset of gout. However due to my recording of food and drink intake I saw that my own gout attacks occured roughly or even nearly 24 hours after I had eaten or drunk something 'silly'. This allowed me to pinpoint dangers and today I simply avoid them, and as I said, with success.

One last thing. In his book 'The Gout Relief Handbook' Chet Cunningham says,' The average man of fifty who gets gout will probably have attacks one evry four or five years for the rest of his life - if he doesn't make some change in his eating and drinking habits.

I was having disabling attacks almost every month, and because I changed my food/drink intake I've been free of gout for ten years, much to the surprise of my doctor. However I do occasionally get an attack when I have a bad cold - which is seldom.


flossy

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #33 on: March 10, 2009, 09:53:33 »


  Thanks Busby,

  A great help.    We are now investigating OH ' s medication that he has after a

  tripple heart bypass, and after Googling  ''  heart medication and gout '' we have many

  instances where blood pressure medicines have been linked with onset of gout.

  After the excellant posts regarding diet, we are of course making  a start on looking

  at what the  food and drink intake is and of course how much and how often.

  We are devout followers of fresh and healthy foods, and on the whole don't often

  have 'red ' meat.

  Many thanks again for everones helpful advice and invaluable information,

  floss and OH,             :-*
Hertfordshire,   south east England

flossy

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #34 on: March 13, 2009, 18:28:11 »


   Brief update,

   Yeah,  docs today and OH  now has a prescription for Allopurinol to be taken daily,

   his blood pressure pills pose no threat, Colchicine   --  an  inflamatory in case it reoccures,

   blood tests for Uric acid  and a check on his kidneys  .....   result !       :D

   Many thanks again,

   floss xxx   
Hertfordshire,   south east England

valmarg

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #35 on: March 15, 2009, 13:07:04 »

   valmarg,

   A small sorry from you - to me and OH too wouldn't come amiss,        :(

   Don't think that I mentioned that  anyone was a  ''martyr ''  !

An enormous sorry flossy if I gave offence.  I used a cliche.  My remark was meant as a joke.  Most men are dreadfully lax at going to the doctors when they NEED treatment.  Your OH seemed to fall into this category.  All I was trying to say was that he needed to see his GP, and if he didn't............well.  Fortunately from what you say he has been to his GP, and is now on treatment.

valmarg



hopalong

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Re: Gout, have you had it ? where ?
« Reply #36 on: March 15, 2009, 13:54:12 »
Glad it worked out well for your OH, flossy.

On the subject of giving offence, I didn't mean one of my earlier postings to imply that controlling diet and avoiding gout-inducing foods is unimportant, only that it is certainly not a "cure" for acute sufferers who have got it for life.

There is a really superb social, cultural and medical history of gout by Roy Porter and G.S. Rousseau - well worth a read if you like history.
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