Issues with Gout

[loggerchas]

Anybody here suffer from gout? Specifically, if you suffer from this horrible affliction, what foods are you taking into the woods on a backpack trip to make sure you don't get a flare-up when hunting deep? What "common" backpacking foods do you avoid at all costs when going deep?

Any issues with any of the protein powders or protein bars? Working out a lot more this winter and have been thinking about starting some of these but am now super cautious.

Have a regular doctor visit next week and will ask about preventative meds with her. Anybody had any success with these? Colchicine and indomethacin seem to significantly help shorten the duration of a flare, but not stop a flare when first noticed.

I am just getting over a flare now and have nightmares of being crippled in my feet when going deep this year. I usually go in several miles per day from a base camp but this year am packing in and staying 6 nights. Obviously a different diet between the two. Never have worried about having a flare when hunting from a camp, has never happened, but this is a new scenario.

I will be trying various meals on shorter trips this summer just to make sure I don't have any issues gastro-wise but this recent bout with gout has opened my eyes to a new concern I have never considered. There's a big difference between eating a couple of meals when out scouting for a weekend here and there versus a steady diet of a week straight to trigger something.

After hobbling around the office and church this weekend I can't even imagine how horrid it would be having a flare when back in the woods and trying to come down 2000' in elevation heavy with a camp/meat, and having my left foot unable to be put in a shoe or touch the ground. YIKES!

I have at most one random flare-up per year. My regular diet is not heavy in trigger foods for gout and Doc in the past has suggested no changes there.

 

[mtswampfox]

you could take prescription meds for it before going on a trip just to be safe. not sure on the timing as far as how far in advance to start the meds, but sure a doc or pharmacist could help..am like you about once the year it raises its ugly head. silly thing is it can be in left foot one day and right knee the next. doc told me unless gets worse , live with it....

 

[beachbunny]

how much water do you drink? then drink more
and look into vitamin c vs, uric acid .
black cherry concentrate

 

[Crusty]

I had a few flare ups a few years back before I even learnt that I liked hunting. Would happen every few months.
The last straw was when I did a half ironman event and day after that was the worst flare up I had. Assume it was dehydration and all that exercise in one day that caused a lot of muscle/protein breakdown. Next day after that I flew to NZ for 3 days trout fishing - didn't stop me but slowed me down a heap. Made accessing some of the water very difficult and I didn't get all the fishing I wanted in or get to some of the places I wanted to.

I have taken a prescription medication since then - Zyloprim - Don't know what the equivalent is in the US. Haven't had a flare up since. Have felt what maybe the beginning of flare up a couple of times - But drink some extra water and the issue has gone away.

Doesn't seem to have had any adverse side effects - except making me fatter I'm sure its not my sometimes crappy diet and too much beer that are causing me to gain weight - must be the pills.

I wouldn't want to have it flare up somewhere out in the sticks with a big walk to home. I'm sure I could still do it - it would just be miserable.

 

[wesfromky]

I haven't had an flare up in a few years, but, If I take some indomethacin as soon as I feel it coming on, it usually doesn't progress to anything more than some inflammation and a bit of swelling. Last time I looked into it, the idea of trigger foods was not really well supported by current research, but beer seems to be the exception to that. At least for me it seems to be the only consistent trigger. So, avoid beer, pack in plenty of meds, and don't hesitate to pop a couple indomethacin at the first signs.

There are daily meds you can take to prevent an outbreak, but I would avoid those unless you start getting flares more often.

 

[Jason t]

allopurinol. is a daily med I should be taking. but I usually forget. are you overweight? I lost about 30pounds and I haven't had one since

 

[beachbunny]

also,you may want to buy some ph paper to check acidity of your saliva/piss. acid= no good, so you have to alter your diet big time. ph paper bought on ebay,
drink a lot of water. the damage is from the uric acid crystals

 

[loggerchas]

Appreciate everyone's input!

I am 15# heavy, but reasonably fit if that makes any sense (6', 200#).

I'll talk to the Dr. next week. I want to avoid any daily meds but may be willing to take them for a short period to make sure issues don't occur on the mountain. Never worried about it before, just lived and managed to deal with it once a year and move on but I sure don't want to be "that guy" on the mountain back in the deep who's crippled up. The change in diet worries me as much as anything going from regular foods to backpack meals. I know some like MH have quite a bit of salt, others a lot of preservatives, and the "science" is pretty mixed about trigger foods and chemicals to avoid. Looking at alternatives like HC and maybe even dehydrating my own meals.

I drink a lot of water - at least 12 cups per day usually. Some good suggestions here to research. I 'd rather manage it through diet and avoid meds but it's so hard to track if anything is working because I only have that occasional flare once per year or 18 months.

Thanks everybody! If anybody needs help on prostate cancer, urethroplasty, or rotator cuffs hit me up - know lots about all those (unfortunately) but have not learned the details of gout because it hits so infrequently and have only faced it 4 times in the last 6 years or so.

 

[boom]

i have gout. disclaimer..i have not talked to my doc in about 8 years..since my last attack. my memory might be messing up the details.

the best thing i ever did was to tell my general physician to refer me to a good rheumatologist. she agreed when she put my liver in a tailspin from over prescribing the two meds noted above and a huge dose of allupurinol.

enter Dr Jameson. he plumbed me up and taught me about my disease.

first; GOUT is not that pain in your foot. that pain in your foot is a symptom of gout. he said i had gout 8-10 years before my first attack. and i will have gout forever. and when i am pain-free, the dangers of gout are still there..beating up my joints. i think he said most men have our first attacks around the same age. cant remember.

second; he said forget the cherry juice. he went on to tell me that in order to beat gout back (not away) with a diet change; i would need to try to go full vegan..raw. it said studies show it will take the most drastic diet rehab to get it to work. he said there are veggies that have high purines that cause gout attacks, but in his experience veggies purines dont hit us like meat purines. i dont like green veggie water for life, so that aint gonna happen.

he put me on allupurinal. i have not had an attack since. he said a person without gout can tolerate uric levels up to 9 mg/dl. normal range is 2-8.5 mg/dl. a person with gout will have an attack if our levels get above 5 mg/dl. i take 300 mg allupurinal daily. one pill in the morning. i get my blood checked all the time. i am pretty consistent at 4.5mg/dl..like i said, i am painfree.

it sucked being relatively young and having to be prescribed a medication. i still grimace when a doctor asks me if i'm on any meds. but whatever. my last attack was in my left knee, and my right toe simultaneously. the pain was crushing and it put me in a depression i didnt think i would come out of alive. it was bad.

 

[loggerchas]

Extended conversation with the doc and a game plan is underway. Lose a few pounds (got that handled), regular blood tests this year for monitoring, and a two-month prescription for allopurinol for Aug-Sept this year (when I will be going deep for elk/deer). After we track blood panels this year we will see where everything sits. Just wanted to update here and thank everyone for their input and let folks know the final outcome in case somebody else can benefit.

Blessings - Chas.

 

[ChrisS]

Good to hear, gout sucks. I've had attacks off and on for 15 years. The first five years were very rare and I figured I must have stubbed my toe or something and not noticed. I was on allopurinol for a few years, but I haven't taken that in 3-4 years. The supposed trigger foods are like all of my favorites: venison, mushrooms, spinach, beer, etc. I eat heart, but I mostly stay away from liver these days. Homebrew beers seem to get me the worst (but not all of the time) I think that is because of the yeast in suspension which isn't filtered out like most commercial beers.

Tart cherry concentrate is my go to. It works wonders for me. If I feel an attack coming on, I'll drink 3-4 ounces mixed with a liter of water twice a day and the attack usually doesn't progress more than 10-18 hours. I've only had one fishing trip ruined by gout. I woke up and couldn't put my wading boots on let alone walk up and down rocky river.

 

[boom]

Good to hear, gout sucks. I've had attacks off and on for 15 years. The first five years were very rare and I figured I must have stubbed my toe or something and not noticed. I was on allopurinol for a few years, but I haven't taken that in 3-4 years. The supposed trigger foods are like all of my favorites: venison, mushrooms, spinach, beer, etc. I eat heart, but I mostly stay away from liver these days. Homebrew beers seem to get me the worst (but not all of the time) I think that is because of the yeast in suspension which isn't filtered out like most commercial beers.

Tart cherry concentrate is my go to. It works wonders for me. If I feel an attack coming on, I'll drink 3-4 ounces mixed with a liter of water twice a day and the attack usually doesn't progress more than 10-18 hours. I've only had one fishing trip ruined by gout. I woke up and couldn't put my wading boots on let alone walk up and down rocky river.

yea..like Dr Jamison told me. the attacks are only one part of the issue..granted the one that affects us the most; the acute attack.
but it's when you are happily motoring along painfree..you still have gout!! there is joint damage happening silently. i dont want to limp around with frozen blown up joints as a old dude.

he also told me if you quit allupurinol..you have to do it slowly..taper off. just stopping; POW! flareup city.

 

[charliebravo77]

Oh man, gout sucks hard. Up until about 6 months ago I had been getting a flare up every few months for a couple years but hadn't really identified it as gout until somewhat recently. I had been on and off trying to run and assumed I was injuring myself. Turns out eating shrimp makes my foot feel like it's been run over by a steam roller. I haven't had shrimp in about 6 months and no issues since. The cherry juice thing seems to help during an attack too, with the last couple I had been drinking a bottle of cherry juice and taking folic acid and vitamin C supplements and it seemed to drastically cut down on the severity and length of the attack.

 

[hodgeman]

I never imagined anything could hurt so bad in my life until I had a flare in my knee...I'd rather take my chances with a grizzly or a mama moose.

I found that I have to stay well hydrated and avoid dark beer like it's poison.

 

[VernAK]

I've avoided the meds but if I feel the slightest toe pain, I drink tart cherry juice and take ibuprofen.
Drink more water!

Beer and shellfish will cripple me within hours.

 

[wytx]

Water, water ,water!! 12 cups is not near enough in a day. Spouse has it and blood testing revealed on the cusp of needing meds but chose not to.
Doc said drink water and pee all day and it works . Bottles of water not cups. Tart cherries also work well, some good juice out there but expensive.

One side affect, kidney stone. Learn about those symptoms as they can come with gout and water.
Good luck and don't give up. No diet change here just water, a glass of water after every beer when at the bar.