If you are currently struggling with gout, I can certainly feel your pain. I dealt with this debilitating condition for two months straight and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. Everyday, I was searching online how to cure gout? What foods could I eat and what to avoid? It hurt so bad that there were even times that I was forced to crawl to get around my house. I was on crutches for weeks and waking up every morning wondering if the pain would ever go away and was I ever going to feel normal again? If you are dealing with this, don’t give up hope! There is a light at the end of the tunnel and you will get better.

What is Gout?

Gout is a painful form of inflammatory arthritis triggered when excess uric acid builds up in the blood and crystallizes in the joints. These sharp, needle-like crystals settle into your joints – most notoriously in the big toe. A certain food or beverage can trigger these crystals (known as a flare) and cause sudden, severe attacks of intense pain, swelling, and redness. The pain can be excruciating and sometimes even the weight of a bed sheet can have you ready to jump out of your skin.

Gout has historically been called the “disease of kings” because it was often associated with wealth and royalty. This is because the condition was mistakenly thought to be caused purely by overindulgence in rich foods enjoyed by kings and those who could afford them. While diet does play a huge role, we now know that gout is a complex metabolic disease. It occurs when the body either produces too much uric acid or the kidneys don’t excrete enough of it. Most foods that we consume consist of purines. As our bodies break down these purines, they are turned into uric acid. When your uric acid reaches a high enough level, crystals will start to form in the joints. Foods with the highest purine count include organ and game meats, certain seafoods, and alcohol (especially beer) I myself was always a big meat eater and loved beer, both of which contain very high amounts of purines.

My Story

A few years back, I woke up with a sudden, sharp pain in my right big toe. I had no idea what it was, but after some research determined that it was gout. I was prescribed colchicine to manage the flare and It worked. The next day, the pain was totally gone. About eight months later, I had the pain once again. I took the 3-pill dosage of colchicine for the flare and again felt better the next day. This happened about four other times over the course of two years. I never changed my diet or lifestyle because I knew that if it happened, while annoying, I had the magic pills to manage it.

Then one day, I went to an all you can eat sushi buffet. I had so much seafood which included sashimi, tuna tartare and countless sushi rolls. The next day I could not walk. I took the colchicine and it did nothing! The next day, I could not walk again. This continued for weeks. Why was it not getting better? I finally realized that the joint of my right big toe must have so much crystallization due to years of high uric acid accumulation that colchicine alone was no longer going to fix my problem.

What is the Cure?

Brace yourself! There is no permanent, one time cure for gout. However, it is highly treatable and can be effectively “cured” in terms of eliminating all symptoms through lifelong management. The key is to lower your uric acid levels through lifestyle changes (such as weight loss and dietary adjustments) and prescribed medications (like allopurinol). These two things will help your body lower uric acid levels to point that the crystals accumulated in your joints will break up, be flushed through your kidneys, and excreted through your urine.

It is often recommended that your uric acid levels be below 6.0 mg/dL to prevent painful crystal buildup in your joints. When my levels were first checked, I was at a 6.9 mg/dL, but because I had an active flare at the time, the level was most likely much higher than that. The doctor started me on a daily 100 mg dose of allopurinol which I took for a month, but still had the pain in my big toe. I then switched to a 200 mg dose and after a month of that, I could feel the pain moving from my big toe to other parts of my foot. This is common because as the crystals break up and become dislodged in your joint, they continue to cause pain. However, this is good and also a sign that the medication is working. After another week or so the pain was finally gone! I could walk normal again. No more crawling! No more crutches! It was such a relief.

I have since returned to eating a lot of the foods that I had previously eaten, but I did make a conscious decision to cut back on my intake of red meat and beer. I also cut out high fructose corn syrup, which is one of the worst things for gout.

Two things that I recommend are joining a Facebook group for those who struggle with gout. It definitely helps knowing that you’re not the only one dealing with this and you can also find tips to help manage it. I also ordered a uric acid monitoring system which I found very helpful in tracking my levels.

4/1: 6.9mg/dL

5/1: 4.8 mg/dL

6/1: 3.9 mg/dL

7/1: 3.8 mg/dL

Final Thoughts

Gout can be something you deal with for the rest of your life, but there are ways to manage it. Lowering your uric acid levels are key and this can be done through medication, diet, and lifestyle changes. We often take for granted the blessings of things like just able to walk and it’s not until we can’t that we realize how fortunate we are to be able to do so. Take care of yourself and I wish you the very best.