"The insanity of a simple blood test for your uric acid to show that my uric acid level was high, which meant I had gout."
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Having high uric acid levels, also known as hyperuricemia, can lead to gout, but it doesn't automatically mean you have the condition. Gout develops when uric acid crystals accumulate in the joints, causing inflammation and pain.
I can sympathize with you. I was recently diagnosed with gout in 2024.
About 5 years ago, I passed a kidney stone composed mostly of uric acid. That was when my uric acid level was checked and it was high. My rheumatologist speculated that I might have gout but didn't test me for gout. A urologist treated multiple kidney stones in both kidneys. My urologist treated my uric acid level with allopurinol but it was stopped when my kidney stones shrunk.
A couple of years later my uric acid level was high again. My urologist wasn't too concerned because my kidney stones were not getting any larger.
At my next rheumatology visit, I mentioned that my uric acid level was high again and my feet hurt. My rheumatologist looked at my feet and said my feet looked like I had gout. That was when gout was diagnosed by a simple ultrasound of my big toes.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17808-hyperuricemia-high-uric-acid-level
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Prednisone is used for gout flares which might explain why I needed Prednisone for such a long time (12 years). However, if it isn't one thing it is another... or... as I like to say it is always a combination of many things.
https://creakyjoints.org/about-arthritis/gout/gout-treatment/gout-allopurinol-inconsistent-higher-steroid-use/
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Vitamin C is good for lowering uric acid levels.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7926958/
Thanks for the tips! I have gout I had four gout flares, which sent me to the hospital in 2002. But nobody seemed to care. They called it pseudo gout, and they were supposed to go back and inject a needle in my joint and they never did. So I went on a low purine diet back then where I’ve stayed for 20 some odd years. But it wasn’t enough at 68 as I aged, I was getting more inflammatory reactions and more joint pains. It’s like my whole body felt like I had the flu. They never test my uric acid level and they should have because my dad had gout and my dad was on allopurinol for as long as I can remember, but I never knew that it was hereditary. I inherited the disease and it’s not gonna go away. It’s a disease And there’s no cure as far as I know there’s just avoiding the gout, flares by taking the medicine regularly and eating a low purine diet. I’m still very angry that I suffered and suffered and suffered for years and decades on end with inflammatory joint pain and the doctors didn’t do shit. I was going to renown doctors and seeing all the doctors they had for arthritis and no one ever mentioned gout. They’re just lazy. One of the problems is that they want your uric acid level to be out of range. So at some point one of the lazy doctors might’ve tested my uric acid level and because I was on a low purine diet. It wasn’t out of range. After I went on the tart cherry capsules and I felt 100% better. I demanded my doctor do the test and I was out of range so then after a couple months of being on the tart cherry capsules, I asked for the test again. This time I was within range, but I wasn’t at the middle so I demanded to go on the medicine. When I went on the medicine, my uric acid level got to exactly where it’s supposed to be and I felt a hell of a lot better. I’m just so angry about this whole thing to have suffered for so many years. I can’t tell you. Thanks for the tip about the vitamin C! When the crystals accumulate in your joints, I think it’s called toffi.