Men Living with Gout?

I would like to ask the guys out there that have gout, how did you manage your diet?

My husband is 40 and is about 10 lbs above ideal weight. He had 2 severe gout attacks in the last 4 months. He took medication, he does not eat red meat, eats chicken 1x a week and fish 2x a week. I am not sure this is right for him, but he insists he is doing it properly.

The docs are making us confused, one said avoid red meat only?! To me his best shot is basically becoming vegetarian.
What are your thoughts and experiences?

Thanks

Hiya ana -

Here's an excellent overview by the Mayo Clinic about GOUT. It's possible there's a family history of gout in his family.

Some at home lifestyle recommendations they list are:

* Drink 8 to 16 cups (about 2 to 4 liters) of fluid each day, including at least half water.

* Avoid alcohol.

* Eat a moderate amount of protein, preferably from healthy sources, such as low-fat or fat-free dairy, tofu, eggs, and nut butters.

* Limit your daily intake of meat, fish and poultry to 4 to 6 ounces (114 to 170 grams).

They also list medication options, some further tests that may pinpoint a specific cause/issue - as well as risk factors.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, Obakemono

He is suffering terribly (the pain is awful). The funny part is that he doesnt drink (neither do I), he is not too overweight (10 lbs max), he loves meat though. He has increased his veggies and fruit and is on meds but it came back so fast. His family apparently does not have gout cases. Weird...

ana - that IS really weird. From what I've heard about gout, it's one of the worst pains ever - when even a bed sheet touching the affected toe can be absolutely catastrophic! I hope he gets some relief real soon.

My dad has gout and its incredibly painful! cabbage and cherries seems to help him!

My mother had gout at one time. She eliminated all meat entirely and took medication until the gout cleared up. Once it was gone she resumed her normal way of eating and never was troubled by it again. I will say she developed gout after deciding to eat meat only to lose weight. Her diet was way to extreme.

I get gout in my left ankle (same as my Dad), and I too have found that eating cherries does the trick. I have not heard about cabbage...time to break out the saurkraut!

I have to rely on cherries - I'm too fond of beef.

Runesinger

Cherries are kinda hard to find in Middle East. Not everywhere, not all the time. But We will try
He has been taking care, lets see if he gets some relief soon

Thank you all

Even canned cherries will work. In fact, the best canned (bottled) cherries I have seen come from Bulgaria, and are usually available in the Middle East.

Ok, I will try that!
Thanks

AVOID all MSG. Stay away from McDonald and ALL fast food. Fast Food has a lot of MSG. Stay away from Soups, unless you know it does not have MSG in it. Soup bases are loaded with MSG. Stay away from Seasonings that have MSG. You can still go to a Chinese restaurant, but make sure you ask for NO MSG. No Sausage ever, unless it says NO MSG. No sausage on your Pizza EVER because 95% of all Sausage has MSG. NO RED WINE, white's ok, but not RED. Eat more Vegetables and berries on a daily basis.

I have been battling with Gout since I was 27, now 40. My family has a history of Arthritis. The Dr's wouldn't admit that it was GOUT until I was 34 because no one would give me a Uric Acid test because they thought I was to young and not over weight. It seemed like every time I tried to get back on a strict diet and exercise routine (I am athletic and have run 2 marathons, exercise 5 days a week) I would have a severe Gout attack that laid me up for a couple of days. The body chemistry would change quickly which stressed the body and caused a Gout attack. Even a bad wipe out skiing will trigger a Gout attach because the adrenaline will change your body chemistry quickly, putting stress on the body, thus triggering a Gout attack.

In 2008 and 2009 I was having severe Gout attacks monthly. In the month of December 2009 I was in bed for half the month. Enough was enough. I knew there was a link between MSG and my gout attacks, but not until I get passionately strict and removed ALL MSG did I get my Gout under control. I can still drink beer and eat steak now and then. Just as long as I eat a lot of vegetables, berries, drink lots of water, and exercise.

I hope this helps. Not every one has the same Gout triggers, but these are mine. It takes along time to figure what works and what doesn't.

God Bless,

Jeff

Fortunately, here in the Pacific Northwest, the cherry season is about to start, so I won't have to rely on canned cherries. It's also the berry capital of the world, as well as the Apple region.

Ana, does your husband drink tea? The tannic acids in a good, strong black tea tend to counteract the Uric acids of gout. In fact, tannic acid is one of the compounds often found in gout medicine.

Thanks Jeff!

My husband seems to be like you. He started when he was 35, now he is 40. He doesnt drink at all, has always been active and otherwise healthy. He has already lost 10 lbs, so now he may lose only 5 lbs more to be at his ideal weight. It is hard to understand why so young and so frequent!

I will make sure he pays attention to MSG!

Runesinger

Spot on! My husband is an avid tea fan! Not much coffee for him, but tea is his thing

I will tell him that!

Thanks

I joined fatsecret to keep an online diary specifically to help my gout. I don't need to lose weight (so I think anyway) but it's important to me to record what I eat quite carefully for the next wee while so I can then discuss with my doctor - who is also a nutritionist. I've agreed with him to try to control my gout with diet rather than reaching for the allopurinol. I don't know if this is possible but I'll give it a go. Would it be worth setting up a gout group to share ideas and pain stories?

Also - can recommend cherries. I try to eat as many as I can (afford). Have been taking a daily dose of montmorency cherry juice (concentrate from cherryactive mixed with mineral water). It's expensive but anything that relieves the pain of gout is a bargain.

I'm only bringing this up because you mentioned that the diagnosis was weird because it doesn't run in his family. My brother was misdiagnosed as having gout when he actually had an autoimmune disease called Ritters Syndrome (hope I'm spelling that right) If the gout meds aren't working, maybe you should seek out a second opinion.

Masterplumber, if you have your own place, have you ever thought of growing cherries? When I had my own place, I planted a beautiful Montmorency cherry tree in my yard. They have beautiful burgundy-colored bark and a nice shape. There are also a bush cherry variety that grows in the upper Midwest - Northstar variety I think. Cherries are a little expensive, so that was my alternative. Now I rent, but in the Northwest, cherries are not that expensive, because we grow them here commercially.

You said your husband is taking medication but don't say which one. There is a huge difference between meds. Allopurinol is intended to reduce the uric acid in the body and thereby decrease the likelihood of future attacks. It does NOT do anything to alleviate the pain of an ongoing attack. In fact, a gout sufferer should not begin an allopurinol regimen until his current flairup has completely subsided. The allopurinol can actually trigger or worsen a gout attack. The pain can be treated with steroids or colchezine. Prednisone is like a miracle cure. I went from one of the worst cases that my rheumatoligist had ever seen to virtually pain free overnight. Colchzine also works well, but it is usually not tolerated well and can cause gastric symptoms. NEVER treat gout with aspirin.

According to the most recent studies I've read (and my own experience), there are certainly some foods that can trigger an attack, and these foods vary from one person to the next. (For example, while I can drink wine or spirits, BEER will almost certainly trigger an attack. That is peculiar to ME and may be totally different for anyone else). If you discover a trigger, avoid it. Aside from those specific triggers, diet has much less to do with gout attacks than was once thought.

Drink lots of water, get exercise. Take your pills. Ask your doctor about stopping allopurinol until the attack subsides.

My husband had terrible problems with gout & was even on Colchicine daily for a while. When he quit drinking the attacks lessened greatly, but not altogether. Alcohol was definitely the main culprit, just not the only one. He does take Allopurinol daily now & that seems to keep it in check, & has not been bothered with it for over a year. He was advised to limit red meat & stuff but he really didn't & it still improved.

anapdc, Others have posted cherry's as an option to help speed along the recovery and prevention of your husband's gout symptoms, may I suggest Black Cherry juice you can usually purchase this at a whole foods store. I will also suggest celery and like others have said a lot of water. he should also avoid caffeine as much as possible because it dehydrates your body. I found that when my gout flares up ( or it starts to) I immediately drink the cherry juice and start the celery increase my water intake and it usually clears up n anywhere from 2-4 days. A word of caution though the cherry juice has lots of sugars if your husband is diabetic it may play havoc with blood sugar. Also, has your husbands kidney function been checked? Any blood test came back with high uric acid levels? Just curious.
I really feel for him gout is some bad mojo and hope he recovers quickly.
Ps. Someone may have mentioned it but seafood bothers some gout sufferers also.