Gout showed up about 6 years ago (44 yrs old) - very minor - one small flare up. I get kidney stones, too & all and that stuff runs in my family. Eat pretty well and stay healthy… The last 18 months, I’ve had 3 really bad flare ups (about 3 days from start to finish) - it’s all relegated to my rt great toe. Take Allopurinal and generally watch what I eat. I’m resigned to this being “normal” for me (though I’d love to hear any advice on how to reduce/mitigate the attacks). Here’s my Q - this is really discouraging from a training/racing standpoint & I’m wondering how gout sufferers handle training (stop completely, train through, swim only, etc…). If you train, does that precipitate more attacks?
Any advice appreciated. I hate this stuff… Thanks - Tom
Can’t really speak to your questions about training.
My brother has gout. He doesn’t do tris but he’s a golf professional. He basically doesn’t play golf when he has flair ups. The thing that helped him the most (THE MOST!) was that he stopped drinking alcohol. If you drink, my brother would tell you to stop.
My last flare up I turned into a swim focus, highest mileage in the pool ever that week. Make the best of it, you aint running or riding during a flare. My foot was swolen for a while after- I put in a bunch of miles on the trainer with one shoe open until the swelling was down.
If you are still getting flare-ups, your dose of allopurinol might be too low as mentioned. Goal for allopurinol tx is to get serum uric acid below 6 mg/dL and if on just 100mg/day, might need to increase (next bump is usually 300mg/day).
Also, dehydration (common in endurance training) can precipitate an attack since this will make the serum uric acid seem higher. Other “tricks” are black cherry/cranberry juice to help bind up uric acid. Sounds like you understand what foods to take in moderation/avoid. Also, couple of newer uricosuric/xanthine oxidase meds out as well that may work better for you vs. the old stby allopurinol.
Thanks for the comments/ideas. Already at 300mg on the Allipurinal dosage, but will tighten the diet (had 2 pieces of shrimp and some bacon this week and I’m thinking that’s what kicked it off) a bit. Had my last beer 18 months ago, God, I hope I can hang on to red wine…
I had a recommendation from a friend on a book called, “Beating Gout”. Supposedly, some good info in there based on some current research.