Chinese Gout
I am a foreigner who’s lived in southern China for over two years. During this time, I developed gout. I don’t know if the Chinese diet, environment, or lifestyle has anything to do with it. I am keeping a record here of all of my gout-related experiences and thoughts. Please comment if you have had similar experience or can offer advice.
June 2006 – At the end of a strenuous Hash House Harrier’s run, I severely sprained my ankle. The night of the injury I had my first gout attack. It was a night of intense pain that had me on the kitchen floor with my foot in the air above my head with packs of frozen meat and vegetables on my ankle. At the time, I didn’t know it was gout
June 2006 – I visited the local CanAm clinic and the US doctor there said he could not confirm the gout due to my injury. He prescribed Diclofenac NSAIDs and said they would treat both the swelling in my ankle and the gout (if that’s what it was).
Apr 2007 – I notice soreness in my thumb and try to remember how I may have sprained it. Soreness persists for two weeks.
May 2007 – Following a late night of moderate drinking (2 beers and 2 martinis) and a small plate of chorizo sausages, I had my second gout attack. I self-medicated with the Chinese version of diclofenac. I visited the doctor again – this time same clinic but doctor is from Jordan. He has me do a blood test. Discovered I had high LDH, Bilirubin (30), and uric acid (600). He prescribed 1 Allopurinol tablet per day to reduce the uric acid.
May 2007 – I remember something that I’ve always wondered about. I experience a strange sensation after drinking the first glass of alcohol – my lymph nodes under my neck are painful for 10-20 minutes. I look this up on the internet and discover a connection with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – my grandmother currently has this disease. I start to look for connections between gout and Hodkin’s – there are.
June 2007 – I am lifting weights on a regular basis. I assume my high LDH (and maybe Bilirubin) levels are due to this. I completed two more blood tests over the span of three weeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the allopurinol. My uric acid decreased to 430 (still not within acceptable range) but bulirubin levels remained high.
4 July 2007 – Doctor calls to tell me to increase allopurinol to 1.5 tablets per day. Bilirubin still high. LDH now in acceptable range. Also following dinner last night at a Hunan restaurant (after which my wife and I complain of being “very thirsty”), I have significant soreness in my right shoulder the next morning (no weightlifting in the past two days and no previous problems with shoulders). I start to think there may be a connection between my gout and Chinese food. Could it be MSG? Could it be all the spicy food I eat in China? Admittedly, the usual food suspects that increase purine levels in the blood (shellfish, mushrooms, asparagus, etc.) are not common in my Chinese diet.
5 July 2007 – The doctor at CanAm tells me I should “go to another clinic” for another blood test. He says he doesn’t want to waste my time with other liver tests to investigate the high bilirubin. I tell him, the money or time isn’t a worry. He still suggests that the blood test should be confirmed a FOURTH time by a separate clinic. I’m giving up on this guy. Must be some ulterior motive going on. Resolve to review this all with a stateside doctor soon.
7 July 2007 – Shoulder still sore but better. Notice that my thumbs are “stiff”. No other way to describe it – they don’t hurt, just stiff and I feel like I keep wanting to stretch them. Weird. Connection? Bloody stool – this must be from the NSAIDs?
Gouty arthritis really must be seen as a horrible disease, my partner is having difficulties with it for ages now. It puts a lot of stress on me, watching an important family member suffer from pain attacks all too often. Using a correct diet regime made for prevention and making use of effective medications and treatments is something I consider imperative. Personally, I urge anyone who now notices early indications of joint pain to by any means take this serious. You should speak with a health care professional as soon as possible and adjust your diet program to prevent the outbreak of the condition. It is definitely no fun, thats for sure! Look for working options for treatment and steer clear of food with a high amount of purine in it, alcoholic beverages etc to take prophylactic measure.
Gouty arthritis really is a horrifying problem, my own daughter has been fighting with the problem for many months already. It puts a lot of stress on me, finding an important family member and friend suffer from severe joint pain repeatedly. Following a suitable diet routine for prophylaxis and making use of proper medication and therapy is something I consider imperative. Personally, I highly recommend any one who is now noticing the first symptoms of inflammatory arthritis to by any means be concerned. You should seek advice from a health care professional as soon as you can and fine-tune your diet regime to prevent the outbreak of the illness. It is definitely no fun, really! Try to find healthy options for therapy and stay clear of foods with high amounts of purine, alcoholic beverages and the like to take prophylactic measure!
My dad said that you will not know how it hurts until you suffer from gout. Thank you for sharing your gout experience. Hope that you are better now. Thanks!
Interesting blog, not like the others!
this subject is a very interesting subject to learn about!
Gout has various trggering mechanisms that bring on a full blown attack. Once you have been diagnosed with gout, you will find various tools to help control it.
I thought for years that I had a recurring fracture line in my foot. X-rays were negative. During one painful episode, my orthopedic specialist gave me some Indocin (Indomethicin) to try. He said if the symptoms start to ease up in 5 hours; you have gout.
5 hours later the swelling in my knee and foot went away. I have gout.
It’s difficult trying to determine what triggers gout as it’s almost like developing an allergy or a resistance to an antibiotic. Alcohol (especially beer) is a top 5 culprit for most people. The yeast increases your uric acid level and the alcohol dehydrates you creating the most optimum environment for an inflamitory response.
One problem with the treatments for gout is that they have really ugly side effects. I know a lot of patients in the gout brotherhood rely on Ibuprofen to control the inflammitory effects that cause the pain. This works best when you take the Ibuprofen at the first suspicion of gout. Sometimes I take one a day if I know I’ve been eating a diet high in purines. I also keep a new prescription of Indocin on hand should the pain elevate to the “Limping” phase of the disease. Unfortunately, Indocin is really bad for your stomach. Ibuprofen is not that good for your stomach, but not near as caustic as Indocin. Both are non-steroidal Anti-inflammitory agents. (NSAIDS)
I’ve also started drinking lots of KNUDSEN BLACK CHERRY juice. This has been proven to lower your uric acid level. I drink at least 8 OZ. a day. The other issue that can trigger gout is trauma. If you are suseptable to gout and you miss a step or twist your ankle, start taking an NSAID as soon as possible.
My last full blown gout episode was in June of 2010. Just recently, I had an episode that got to the “Limping” phase and I took Indocin to control it. A day later I was walking on my foot but the pain persisted. If I could give you any advise it would be this.
1. Try to Identify the foods that trigger gout in YOU. It’s not the same for everybody. AND cut down on alcohol consumption.
2. Once you feel that familiar tweak in your foot or knee; start taking Advil or Aleve. (Aleve is Naprosen) I take 2 liqui-gel caps every 4 hours to 6 hours during the day.
3. If you need crutches; go see your doctor and ask them for some Indomethecin or Indocin.
4. Rest your extremity as much as possible (elevated is best)
5. Try to drink Black Cherry Juice daily. Also try to drink as much water as you can.
I’ve been able to avoid the allopurinol and Colchizine approach. Both are hell on your liver.
Good Luck
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