30yrs old and occasional bad gout attacks

by Travis
(NC)

I get gout in either foot in the big toe, 3 middle toes, ankle, arch, and sometimes in my elbow, wrist, shoulder, or back. Often times an attack will start mild in my elbow, wrist, shoulder or back and then move to one of my feet somewhere and that's when it starts to really hurt. It usually will be bad for 1 or 2 days where I have to use crutches.

An uncle of mine also gets it, usually in his elbow or foot.

I've found that drinking sweet tea will trigger an attack. I know another guy with the same trigger. For me, it takes several glasses, but for the guy I know, it only takes 1 glass of sweet tea.

It also triggers for me with lots of beer.

It seems that taking a small amount of Apple-Cider-Vinegar both reduces an attack and can help prevent it if taken regularly. It's not too bad tasting in a large glass of water, but I prefer to drink it in a small glass of water and chase it with fairly black coffee.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think taking Omega3 Fish oil pills help keep the attacks at bay.

Lots of Sex definitely does help! I tested that one tonight for about 3hrs ;) All I can say is Ahhhh for more than 1 reason! :p

While I was munching on a bag of dried fruit and nut medley at work for lunch a while back, I didn't get any attacks, but that may have been a coincidence. The bag had peanuts, almonds and walnuts, Dried apples, kiwi, mangoes, papaya, Pineapples, Strawberries, Bananas, Cherries, and Golden Raisins. It's this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001A8H4XW which you can get at Costco much cheaper than Amazon's price. I ate it all in about 2 weeks. I was also drinking 32 to 64oz of water a day.

Tylenol helps with the swelling and pain, aspirin can sometimes help with the pain but will make the attack worse. When it's bad and I have to work, I'll take a large dose of Tylenol in the morning, and that usually works all work day. If it's bad at night, I'll take a small dose.

Hope this helps someone!