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Hi,
??I'm hoping to start allopurinol soon and am dreading the resultant attacks. I know this may seem small fry but if you don't go back to your doctor, just remember that every time you even think an attack might be on it's way, start taking your full daily quota of anti-inflamatories and make sure you're getting enough water. Fill a two litre bottle or flask each day and make sure you drink it. It's not so hard if you make it into a habit, like a smoker goes reaches for a smoke at every little twist and turn of the day, you reach for a slug of water.
??Please keep us posted because, after this attack, I (and I suspect a fair few others here) will be right on your heels (if they're not too sore! – sorry).
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Good Luck
Simon
Perhaps I didn't make it clear, the GP is going to put me on allopurinol but is just trying to get me through this attack before doing so. Well I sincerely hope that's the plan.
??We, in the UK, like to think our GPs are driven entirely by altruism. I think to a very large extent, this is true and is quite well respected the world over. Like all doctors, however, they do have pressures which are contrary to this goal. As in many countries, they simply don't have time to get to know a patient's particular requirements and thus tend to give very scant advice. That's why forums such as this are so useful in formulating considered questions to take back to them, during the all too short consultations. I think. it's probably as much my fault as the doctor's that I may not have the best painkillers for my situation. Maybe if I'd read a bit more on this forum, I could have persuaded him to give me the best stuff.
PS I'm not blowing smoke up anyone's arse!
Let's hope my attack subsides tonight and I can get something more appropriate when the early allopurinol attacks begin!
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Simon?
Hansinn,
??During attacks, my GP used to have me on Ibuprofen (1200mg per day) but I went back to him in the early stages of this attack because I thought it was not really helping much. So he put me on what he described as maximum dosage Naproxen (1000mg per day). This too didn't seem to be doing much and I concluded that I had become NSAID tolerant. I have since read that NSAIDs do not deteriorate in efficacy with extended use, so I must have been be wrong. Given that I was no further forward, I asked if there was anything else I could take to complement the Naproxen, giving me more cover throughout the day and hopefully more powerfully at night. He reeled off a list of possibilities (paracetamol among them) but they all seemed too weak. As I said in an earlier post, he didn't want to give me Colchicine (I think it may have been to do with stomach/bowel upsets). We settled on Codeine (which I've since found, also gives digestive problems). It beats the hell out of me!
??Surely though, this must be a common problem; no matter what NSAID you take during an attack, you can only cover 12-16 hours of the day? Most likely this leaves you overnight, without any relief. How do people deal with this? I'm hoping that I can use the Codeine just before I go to bed and then once more during the night, should I need to get up for a pee (which is very likely, as I'm drinking water and tea like a mad thing)
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Simon
I have certainly gone to ground a few times in my drinking past. But I can honestly say, I've never fallen asleep in the gutter (in a garden, perhaps).
Thanks guys. My GP was reluctant to give me colchicine (but I can't remember why). He seemed happier to give me the opiate (it baffles me too)! I am only going to use it to get me through the worst (when the NSAIDs fade during the night) and hopefully it will enable me to put my socks and shoes on after a welcome shower.
??As I am a regular drinker, the GP also told me that it can be dangerous to completely stop drinking very suddenly. So I've cut down to 'healthy' levels during this attack. Last night I had a couple of G&Ts which gave me less of a 'payback' than the three cans of lager the previous evening. (I needed some kind of painkiller after the NSAIDs wore off).
??I had intended to cut back on weekday drinking in the new year anyway. Perhaps this is the kick up the backside I needed! I am hoping though, that when the allopurinol takes hold, I can return to the odd weekend binge (and I don't mean rolling around in the gutter type binges!)
??Up to now, I estimate I was a 100 units a week person. I know the gout is almost certainly of my own making but please don't knock me for it. I never harmed anyone else in the making of this disease.
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Simon
