Anyone with a genetic pre-disposition for gout have luck in managing it w.out drugs?

[Eibhinn]

Hi there

My partner has just been diagnosed with gout. It took us awhile to get this diagnosis because it just didn't make any sense at all. My partner is an active, (otherwise) healthy long-time vegetarian in his mid-thirties, who does not drink soda and consumes a moderate amount of alcohol (generally a drink or two a couple of times per week).

All of the advice doctors and reputable mainstream sources provide give a list of suggested dietary and lifestyle changes for preventing gout flare-ups, but they're no help because every single one of them are things he already does.

A couple of his immediate family members have had kidney stones (also related to poor uric acid excretion), but no gout that I'm aware of, but it seems he has a strong genetic pre-disposition to this condition. Based on the timing of his attacks, it looks like stress has been a big trigger.

I don't want Mr. Eibhinn to suffer from gout attacks, but I also don't want him needing to be on medication for the rest of his life. But the doctor and pharmacist both seem to be at a loss as to what else to suggest, since they usually just need to tell people to stop eating fast food and to get more exercise.

But beyond working at stress reduction, which we will try, does anyone have any suggestions or personal experience or advice they could share?

[Jane P.]

I would look for support groups online. Maybe someone there will have suggestions. Also, could he take the medication on a temporary basis until the stress subsides (easier said then done, I know)? Is it something he has to take forever once he starts?

[iheartsts]

My DH had it a couple years ago. The one medication they gave him for it didn't agree with him at all and gave him major digestive issues.

I read online to drink tart cherry juice for gout, so ever since then he has been drinking a shot glass of tart cherry juice every day with his breakfast. Don't know how much it actually helps, but he hasnt had a flare up since. It certainly couldnt hurt.

Good luck to your DH.

[wishiwasinhawaii]

A friend of mine has it and can't take the medications. Her mother also has it and so do her two brothers. She has been able to manage it by avoiding certain foods, especially shellfish and a long list of others--basically anything high in purines. It's a very long list and I can't list it all here, but you can look up foods high in purines online. It's a process of trial and error and it took her about a year to figure out what caused flareups for her, but she's doing better now.

[Eibhinn]

Thanks for the messages and PMs! So much info out there about gout - luckily I am in school, so I have access to academic databases to try to separate fact from all of the internet gibberish out there. That I can see so far, there is actually valid scientific evidence that something about sour cherries helps stave off gout flare ups, so he's been drinking cherry juice every day.

The high purine food lists aren't terribly helpful because, almost all high purine foods are animal based. And according to all of the scientific research I've read, those plant sources with high purine levels apparently don't have any effect on gout and, as I said, my partner is a vegetarian. But we'll still definitely see if there seems to be any link between, say, lentils and mushrooms and his flare ups, because he's clearly more sensitive to these things than the average patient. It will be sad if he needs to stop eating lentils since he loves them so much.

Our doctor decided we should take three months to see if we can get the uric acid levels down before considering the medication. My main concern is that his family have all sorts of, often serious, digestive issues. He is the only member of his immediate family who hasn't needed treatment/medication for GI issues, I've assumed because of his healthy, vegetarian diet. I'm very worried the gout meds will undo all of the good his diet does in helping him avoid those issues.

[wishiwasinhawaii]

I eat a lot of meals with my friend (we work together) so I've seen what she can and can't eat and mushrooms and lentils are two things that she has severe reactions to, which is too bad because she used to love eating both. But it seems that everyone is different, so like I said, it's trial and error. She is not a vegetarian and the only vegetables that don't seem to bother her are salads. She can't eat beans anymore either and this was all something that was upsetting to her at first, but she had to learn to adapt in order to not live a life in pain. I would think it would be tough to maintain a vegetarian diet with gout due to the fact that most vegetables, grains and legumes cause issues, but maybe that won't be the case for your partner.

[BigBadBetty]

Mr. Betty has gout. Eating and exercise don't have much effect for him. His doctor wasn't surprised because it doesn't always work with those with a genetic disposition for gout. He keeps medicine on hand. He takes it on vacation just in case. This summer was really bad. The regular medicine wasn't working and he had to something stronger. Untreated gout can cause permanent damage to the tissues so it shouldn't be ignored.

[Eibhinn]

Generally doctors recommend a vegetarian diet to people with severe gout, but it looks like food reactions must be pretty individual. From what I can tell having gout flare-ups from vegetables is extremely uncommon. Bad luck for your friend. I don't expect anyone will be recommending Mr. Eibhinn start eating meat. I hope not, anyway, because I don't think he'd be willing to.

[Jennifer R]

Mr. Seafan also has gout and only slightly elevated uric acid levels, go figure. He is also slim and active, though not vegetarian. The allopurinol (first line medication) even in high doses doesn't seem to lower the levels. We've cut out shellfish and mushrooms; we already don't eat a ton of meat.

One thing he's found that's a trigger is beer! He's not much of a drinker but did love a beer now and then; now he gets twinges in his toes if he has even one. He did have a flare about six months ago and had to take colchicine for a few days to get over it. He's planning on talking to his doc about going off or lowering the dose of allopurinol since it's not doing the job of lowering his levels. He hasn't had a flare since that last one.

It's very puzzling, nobody else in his family has it and he's certainly not a person you'd look at and expect to have gout.

[cdayley]

My dad has gout, and can manage his flares by drinking cherry juice every day and avoiding certain foods - red meat is his biggest trigger.

Chrys Dayley