I have suffered with gout in right knee for over two years and I am on medication with the occasional flare up. Since yesterday my left knee has become very painful and swollen, and the symptoms appear to be the same, could it be possible to have gout in this joint as well? I have never missed taking my allinpurinol . The pain is excruciating , I have not had any trauma to the knee, Thankyou any advice, help would be gratefully received
If the medication is still giving you occasional flare ups, then chances are that your left knee is suffering from the same type of inflammation. I'm no expert but being a gout victim since I was 14, gout can flare up anywhere even with medication. Talk to your doctor about it, he/she should be able to tell if it's gout. An examine will determine if it's something else. Best of luck.
I certainly is possible that you're experiencing gout in the left knee. I've had it for 20 years and in the beginning, it just hit my large toe in the right foot. It progressively has worked through almost all of my toes and one ankle. Once in a while, I'll get it in the fingers. I'm not on medication as I have other conditions that prevent me from taking them. I can't even take pain medication or steroids...I just suffer for a month.
Allopurinol is a pretty heavy duty drug. Are you being monitored for uric acid levels? Even a spike downward can trigger an attack. Would definitely seek the advice of a physician.
Best wishes, I know how agonizing the pain is.
Thankyou, I have never been monitored since I was diagonised two years ago when I was admitted into hospital and had my knee aspirated, the doctor just double up the dose when I kept getting flare ups, which seems to have worked with my right knee. I will go to doctors on Monday all being well I can walk, and ask for a blood test.
thankyou, I will be going first thing Monday,
1. How long have you been taking Allopurinol? (In theory, a preventative drug)
2. Are you taking any drugs for symptoms - colchicine or anti-inflams?
Whatever you do DO NOT TAKE ALLOPURINOL WHILST SUFFERING GOUT PAIN IT INCREASES THE PAIN. I have had gout on and off for over 40 years so Iknow what I am talking about.
Over two years now without a break , take anti inflammatory as soon as I feel a flare up starting, dose was increased 18 months ago to 600mg.
i have been told by my doctor not to stop taking it, and if I do and re start to expect a flare up 10 days later. To be honest I would be scared to stop and re start, the pain at the moment is just bearable the thought of having a big flare up scares me to death as I'm sure I now have it in other joint of the knee
These flares can effect any joint I've had it in knee /ankle /toes even my wrist, I'm on 400mg of allopurinol but I go once every month for blood test to find my level of Uric acid to know what level I'm at which should be around 300-350 to be safe, colchicine you need to take when you have a flare. Keep I eye on purine foods and drink plenty of water I have managed to not have a flare in 3 years and believe me I know what your feeling.
I've suffered from gout on and off since 1976 and it is getting progressivly more frequent. I've never gone down the allipuurinol road. However regarding this latst posting, I can say that I get acute pain in my right patella almost as though I've been "kneecapped", especially after eating homemade muesli or a high bran cereal like Allbran. These types of cereals seem to be the only ones that trigger knee gout, and it is excruciating. I've been taking so much Ibuprofen over the last few months that my haemoblobin levels are now so low I was turned away from the the blood donor session t'other day. Ibuprofen is dangerous stuff with a host of serious side effects. Am now trying large doses (1.200mg) of Bromelain which alleviates the pain quicker than Ibuprofen but doesn't last so long. Good luck fellow sufferers.
I take bromelain & curcumin. Seems to work in keeping me away from inflammation or bouts of attacks.
Wonderful, but what doses and how frequently?
Hi David, I have been fortunate in having attacks only a few times in my life and I take the pills only when I feel a bit of a tinge coming on. I take Bromelain 1000mg, and 1000mg of curcumin. I take it for about a week or until I feel the pain is gone. However, I have noticed that when I exercise my gout doesn't flare up. Do you exercise? My doctor told me to exercise and it has helped in keeping me free of horrible flare ups for about 15 years. Nowadays, I get warning signs before a big one is about to come on so I attack it before I let it get to that painful point.
Like you I cannot eat wheat cereals, in fact I try to stay away from wheat as much as I can due to gout flare ups. We can only hope that we don't form crsytals in our bodies if we eat the right foods but exercise I believe helps stave off gout attacks when we eat the right foods. Have a nice day.
Morning Patrathegreat,
Yes, that's interesting. I do feel that excercise and weight control do have an effect. I don't actually exercise as such, apart from brisk walking about town whilst shoppin or actually walking into town now and then. As a 76 year old, I'm pretty active and usually run up stairs two at a time. Like you I do feel that we are our own first defences against the condition and that we all have different ways of achieving this as the disease seems to be so variable. There are sites that state that you cannot get gout from a fruit and vegetables; only meat products, when many many of us know that this is a load of tosh; ergo our wheat and or high bran problems. Talking to doctors about it is like conversing with aliens as they seem to have little understanding, and as our younger daughter said, who worked in doctors' surgery, "Dad, they are only taught, lotions and potions, constructive real life solutions are beyond them." Anyway thanks for the information, I'll try more exercise; cut a bit off the waistline; although I'm not really overweight, and try some of your curcumin.
Lets al ltry and get our lives back; we can onlty do it ourselves cos we're the only ones who know what it's like!!!! Sufferers of the world unite! We only have our painful toes and joints to lose!
David
I'm shocked reading this that I have never had a blood test, and jhad the allinpurinol increased to 600mg. Like most gout suffers I can tell when I'm about to have attacked, but was surprised to be getting the symptoms in my other knee with being on the medication. I have put myself on a strict diet to try to protect my knees, I feel the doctors just fob me off but this time I am demanding a blood test. Can you tell me what are acceptable levels. It scares me that 800mg is max dose and I nearly there.
Can you tell me what dose of allinpurinol you are on please? And if you have had this stopped and been given something else. Life is so miserable at the moment, I keep going to work even when I have a fare up as I'm sure my bosses would try to get rid of me if I h a lot of sickness due to the gout. I would willing have knee replace to to get rid of the pain but I no this isn't a option for us gout sufferers, nor is knee washouts.
Avoid wheat, of any type,esepcially rye, mostly found in cereals, bread and pasta. Avoid salmon, herring, spinach and organ meats.
Ask for the test, maybe you need to be a little more assertive. Even I had the test done, and I had it mild. I always seem to get checked because my uric acid is always a notch above normal, so keeping it low is important. Hope you get it done. Best of luck.
Sorry ros, I've never tried allinpurinol. I know somebody who swears by it, but what put me off were the incidents in the States where people have died of anaphylactic shock even after taking it for six years or more. However, I've not seen any cases reported here in UK. I mentioned this to a local pharmacist and she said that that might be why GPs here in UK now are advised to take their patients off of it periodically.,
David