Gout - anybody else afflicted and what are you doing about it?

[llanwydd]

I was talking to someone yesterday who has gout. He says he eats cherries before bed and it works wonders. He has been told that it's an old wives' cure but he swears by it and says many other people do as well.

[Lopez]

I was talking to someone yesterday who has gout. He says he eats cherries before bed and it works wonders. He has been told that it's an old wives' cure but he swears by it and says many other people do as well.

I've heard that black cherry juice alleviates an attack, but it so hard to find (at least in the Boston area). Now that cherries are available in the markets, I'll have to give them a try.

[progholio]

Damn, I thought this was going to be an appreciation thread for the Swedish band GOAT, my bad.

[Lopez]

I was talking to someone yesterday who has gout. He says he eats cherries before bed and it works wonders. He has been told that it's an old wives' cure but he swears by it and says many other people do as well.

I recently have tried this and it works, or it's at least a coincidence. Five or six is all it takes.

[jlneudorf]

My dad had gout and took prescription medication for it. It breaks down the uric acid crystals. Unfortunately, I forget the name of it. It worked well.
I have heard that cherries work as well. It is always best to go the natural route if at all possible.

Regards,
Jon

[Lopez]

My dad had gout and took prescription medication for it. It breaks down the uric acid crystals. Unfortunately, I forget the name of it. It worked well.
I have heard that cherries work as well. It is always best to go the natural route if at all possible.

Regards,
Jon

I've had very good luck with the cherries. Even it if it's mind over matter, they work for me.

I believe allopurinol is the gout medication. My father was on it, too.

[UnderAGlassMoon]

I had my first attack of gout a little over a year ago and have had two other attacks since. The last one, which I am still getting over, really opened my eyes to doing something about it. I have done a ton of research and discovered a lot of myths and truths about what to do to prevent an attack and what to do when you are having one.

First of all, gout is hereditary. That is not the only cause, but it is not just diet that causes it. While diet is a big contributing factor, it is not the only risk factor. There is also a lot of contradictory advice on the internet. An example being that one webisite said to completely cut out caffeine, while another said that coffee is not a risk factor. So be careful what you read.

Second, be wary of prescription meds. I do not trust a lot of western medicine practices, the big one being that there is a pill for everything. Every medicine that can be prescribed for gout has serious side effects, one being that it thins out your bone marrow. I have read many, many testimonials from sufferers who describe horrible side effects from the prescription meds. So I decided to go the natural route.

I first tried tart cherry juice and it should be the unpasteurized variety and not from concentrate, you don't want any extra sugar. It worked pretty well for my first couple of attacks at relieving the pain, but for my latest attack it did not help much. So again, after much research, I found that apple cider vinegar was the most recommended natural remedy. I tried it a couple of days ago and within an hour it started to ease my symptoms. It can't just be regular apple cider vinegar, it needs to be organic unfiltered, with "the mother", which only means that it will have bits floating around in it.

Everyone is different and reacts differently to different things. Below is a list of natural remedies that I have read about. I also tried baking soda with the apple cider vinegar, but it upset my stomach so I cut it out.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Baking Soda
Cherries and Cherry Juice
Strawberry Juice
Celery Seed
Alfalfa Tablets
Bromelain (an enzyme from pineapple stems and can be found in supplement form)
Water
Vitamin C

Those are just a few of the most popular ones, the entire list can be found here http://www.earthclinic.com/cures/gout.html

Just a bit more about diet. A lot of people think alcohol can cause an attack, but it is not the alcohol itself, but the dehydration that it causes. Sugary drinks and sugar in general are a much more contributing factor to raising the uric acid levels in your blood.

Water is a big key. Staying hydrated helps rid the blood of uric acid. Raising the pH level of the blood is also important.

I hope this can help any of you afflicted with this extremely painful condition. I wouldn't wish it on my own worst enemy.

[Lopez]

Just a bit more about diet. A lot of people think alcohol can cause an attack, but it is not the alcohol itself, but the dehydration that it causes. Sugary drinks and sugar in general are a much more contributing factor to raising the uric acid levels in your blood.

Water is a big key. Staying hydrated helps rid the blood of uric acid. Raising the pH level of the blood is also important.

That's what I found works best for me. If I have a beer at night I try to drink at least the same amount of water afterwards. If I wake up with a twinge of gout pain, I drink as much water as I can and then I walk a lot. Trying to get the blood and water circulating as quickly as possible and dilute the uric acid.

I feel your pain. Believe me, I do.

[spellbound]

I also tried baking soda with the apple cider vinegar, but it upset my stomach so I cut it out.

Not surprised this upset your stomach. It is the same acid-base reaction that fuels foaming grade school "volcanoes" built as a science project.

I'm not making fun of you; I just happen to know a little chemistry. I, too, have suffered from gout and wouldn't wish that intense pain on my worst enemy. Glad you have been able to find something natural that works for you.

Some of the things you list may or may not help with gout, but they are good. Cherries, strawberries and pineapple are tasty. Bromelain is found in the pineapple fruit and juice, so you don't need to take a supplement unless you want to. The reason they extract the supplement from the stems is because the stems are left after the fruit is harvested.

[Mr. Toad]

When I start to feel it creeping up, I start pounding down the water. Somewhere in the area of a half a gallon a day and it goes away. It works for me

[UnderAGlassMoon]

Not surprised this upset your stomach. It is the same acid-base reaction that fuels foaming grade school "volcanoes" built as a science project.

I'm not making fun of you; I just happen to know a little chemistry.

Guess I should have clarified that I didn't not take them together or within a few minutes of each other.

[spellbound]

^No problem. I once saw a cookbook recipe for a cake that had a lot of those two ingredients in it. It was meant as a prank and got past the editors. When the unsuspecting cook is preparing the cake batter, it makes a mess of the kitchen.