First Gout at age 37, and an Indomethacin tip

by Steve
(New York, NY)

I originally saw a Podiatrist for minor foot pain, which he diagnosed as minor plantar fascitis and prescribed insoles. I tried the insoles in a pair of shoes that had previously caused me a lot of pain, had lunch with Sake at a Japanese restaurant, and that evening began the most painful week of my life.

It sounds like I probably would have eventually gotten gout eventually because of some genetic predisposition, but I feel like I could have avoided it for two decades or so. He's a terrific guy but I kind of blame my podiatrist for giving me those insoles, and myself for trying them with shoes that I knew hurt my feet already. But here I am, with full awareness of the incredible pain that the unfortunate handful of us go through. Most people have no idea.

Anyway, here's my tip that I learned with my second attack, just a few weeks after my first one. If you have Indomethacin, take the highest safe dosage you can the very second you feel even a slight twinge. My second attack is going so much better than the first, and my doctor says it's because I caught it early and took the medicine.

Last time the indomethacin did virtually nothing for the pain - only lying down in a hot bath could bring any relief - and the attack went on very painfully for almost two weeks. But last time I only got the medicine after it already started getting pretty painful. It really does work as long as you get out in front of the attack and take a high dosage up front.

Good luck to all of you. I wouldn't wish a full-blown attack on anyone.