Was it Gout?

Foot care
1

Hello all.. I have a question.

(Background: 27, mixed race male)

So yesterday morning I woke up with intense pain in my big toe after falling asleep on my couch the previous night (I’m a tall guy, so I basically take up the whole length of the couch).

I figured initially somehow while I was sleeping I slept with my toe in a awkward position and chalked it up to a mild sprain. I couldn’t bend the toe at all and it felt pretty stiff and had to walk with a very obvious limp because I didn’t want to put any pressure on it.

Now, my pain wasn’t “extreme” in any way.. I could put socks and sneakers on no problem, just had minor discomfort putting on my shoe. It wasn’t painful to the touch at all, just mild.. more like a “annoyance” than anything.

So I was looking up online on toe sprains and came across gout. The pictures I seen on the affected big toe area for gout and the area my big toe hurt were exactly the same! The base of the joint. So I researched further and seen risk-factors for gout was alcohol consumption (particularly beer). Now I’m a pretty heavy beer drinker, I down on average maybe 6-8 beers a day.. sometimes more. I hate hard liquor, but love light beer! So I immediately thought, this has to be gout! I know my grandmother had gout before, but as far as I know that’s the only family history I have.

Now here’s where things get strange.. over the course of the day yesterday the toe started gradually getting better. Still had discomfort but very mild, then I woke up this morning and the pain is almost completely gone. No limp when I walk and I can now put pressure on my toe. I can bend it and everything, still a little mild discomfort.

So was this gout at all? Can “acute gout pain” only last one day before going away completely? I’ve heard people say gout pain is the worst ever, but my pain was pretty manageable. Did I truly just sleep awkwardly on just my big toe?

2

Sounds like a mild gout attack to me. Wouldn't hurt to get to the Dr and have your uric acid levels checked. Just takes simple blood work. I believe 4.0 -8.0 is normal. That's my recommendation. Good luck!

3

beer - and it's the yeast more than the alcohol, fresh fish, mass amounts of hummus, a lot of red meat, beans, mushrooms, asparagus, ... and a predisposition all contribute.  You could get a blood test to check your uric acid.

But if it's already better odds are it wasn't gout.

Besides pain and stiffness, gout also includes the whole toe/joint area being red, hot, swollen.  And when it get going the pain is super-intense.

Pretty rare to hit so young, too.  Odds are it wasn't gout.

4

When my attack first came on, it came on slowly. An annoyance for a day or two and then it wasn't until day three the pain was more severe. So it can come on slowly. Be ready in case it is

 

5

Any updates on your condition? All better now or slightly irritation still there?

Thanks

6

Hi GoutOrNo,

Have sent you a PM to ask exactly what beer ?

Thanks