Leonard Blaisdell said...

> In article >, Andy <q> wrote:
>
>> The gout diet, low sat. fat, high complex carbs, no booze and lots of
>> water.
>
> What I'm about to spout is crap. I know it's crap. But it's a notion
> that has served me for nearly a year. And it may appear to work for me
> only until it happens again.
> Back in 1990, I ate a lot of Nevada crawdads once. Within a week I had
> horrible pain in my right foot. A doctor I saw told me to stay off the
> foot. Brilliant!
> Last year, shrimp were cheap from spring to fall and I bought lots for
> my wife and me. I experienced the same pain that I had felt in 1990.
> Only I experienced it five times for four days to two weeks at each
> episode from late summer till New Year.
> After New Year, shrimp became marginally more expensive, and I became a
> bit bored with them. I didn't eat them for six months. I realized I
> didn't have 'gout foot' either. I haven't eaten shrimp, crab or crawfish
> since. I haven't had a problem since.
> It breaks my heart to discontinue eating food I truly love, but I won't
> eat shellfish again until I get 'gout foot' from something else that
> proves my notion wrong. What I have, never diagnosed, is painful enough
> to make me pass on shellfish until something else triggers it again.
>
> leo


That's how it goes!

I'm missing a lot of my favorite foods but at the same time some of them
weren't good for me anyway. It's still trial and error with new foods.

Doc gave me a list of foods and their various levels of purenes and amounts
of them I "could" eat during the day or week. I almost cried.

My first attack lasted for two weeks and was crippling and painful. I
finally "crawled" to my podiatrist and as soon as he saw my foot he asked
"You ever have gout?" No. "You do NOW!"

On the bright side, as my weight has come down the bouts of gout are mainly
a minor aggravation.

I do keep a prescription of indocin (anti-inflamatory) when I know I'm
going to
eat something I shouldn't.

And I drink about 3/4 gallon of water a day as a gout general rule.

If you see your doc about it he'll probably also prescribe Allopurinol so
you "can" eat more of your favorite foods.

Good luck,

Andy