Fortunately, I never got tophi. I've always been very active going to the gym, running and exercising, staying below my bmi, keeping my weight down on top of eating healthy and drinking lots of water.
I had read reports from medical journals that tophi form in many individuals who have very little activity, and have circulation problems. This is why I was asking. My whole exercise routine is to keep my circulation going, and not let more crystals form which seems to have helped since I haven't gotten any attacks in the past 8 yrs. or so.
I follow a similar regime - and followed it even when the tophus gout started! I would suggest that what stops crystals forming isn't moving the blood - it's keeping the blood urate levels low. The reason I suspect that there's an association with poor circulation and gout is the association of metabolic syndrome and gout.
We are doing the right thing in that a reasonable amount of exercise and a BMI < 25 is good for everything!
Then I'm suspecting that I might have what they call psuedo-gout because my urate levels have never been an issue. Maybe this is why I've only gotten 3 attacks my whole life. At least no one has ever said, your urate levels are high that I can remember. But then I'm not getting tested when I have the attacks. wondering now if my levels are high when I get an attack.
There is not much point in getting tested during an attack. The reason is the attacks are caused by precipitation (basically "condemnation"
of the urate from solution into crystals. The white blood cells attack the crystals (thinking they are foreign tissue), and that creates swelling and pain. So during an attack, rather counter-intuitively, levels of blood urate fall. You need to get your urate levels tested when you are symptom free.
I don't have a lot of knowledge about pseudogout, but I believe that it tends to come on more slowly (days rather than hours) and tends to get the knee and not the big toe as "joint of preference". The crystals in the two diseases are different and can be seen under a microscope of they extract liquid from the joint during an attack (ouch).
It seems to me though if you have had three attacks only and none in years, well get back on your bike and keep peddling; whatever you're doing, be it the exercise or diet or genes, is doing you well!
I meant condensation not condemnation (spell checker).
Thanks will keep doing it then! However, if you say it comes on more slowly then this is what I have, because I will occasionally feel little tinges of pain, and I immediately start drinking cherry juice or nowadays I drink bromelain. Except that I only get the pain at the ball of my foot, or over my toes never on my knees.
Some herbal treatments are better than others. I use res veratrol and Quercetin and it works.