Neuropathy and Gout

Posted by michael308 @michael308, Feb 18 8:43am

Is it possible to confuse a diagnosis of neuropathy with Gout since they have similar symptoms.

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I had gout in my right foot many years ago before I was diagnosed with neuropathy but still had some neuropathy numbness symptoms in my toes at the time. I don't have pain with my neuropathy only numbness but the pain I had with the gout was unbearable (for walking it was a no go). Saw this video that explains the difference.

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Gout is diagnosed by blood test and on some people you can palpate the mineral crystals in the affected foot. PN can be diagnosed with EMG or with physical exam. Sounds like a patient trying to figure it out vs. a medical professional? It was thought I had gout at one point due to pain and swollen toe joint. Blood tests were negative and it’s just arthritis. Interesting though gout hurts and neuropathy isn’t supposed to?

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As @jenatsky mentioned, I think the diagnosis should be done by a doctor. I’ve never had pain with my neuropathy but when I had gout it was unbearable pain when I tried to stand or walk.

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Yes. For over 15 years my doctors insisted I had gout. It started with a huge red big toe which was very painful. I never had an abnormal uric acid amount. Eventually the pain was so bad (both feet) that my doctor sent me to a rheumatologist who first said yes it's gout but put me through a whole regiment of tests. When the results came back, he said I didn't have gout and never have had gout and I should see a neurologist immediately.

The tests from the neurologists indicated gout and he put me on Alpha Lipoid Acid which helped the pain tremendously. I bow take 300 mg of R-Lipoic acid 2ce a day.

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@deluga

Yes. For over 15 years my doctors insisted I had gout. It started with a huge red big toe which was very painful. I never had an abnormal uric acid amount. Eventually the pain was so bad (both feet) that my doctor sent me to a rheumatologist who first said yes it's gout but put me through a whole regiment of tests. When the results came back, he said I didn't have gout and never have had gout and I should see a neurologist immediately.

The tests from the neurologists indicated gout and he put me on Alpha Lipoid Acid which helped the pain tremendously. I bow take 300 mg of R-Lipoic acid 2ce a day.

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Sounds like you were in a Catch-22 situation. The left hand dodn't know what the right hand was doing. That's the thing with medical diagnoses. Three docs may give you three different interpretations.

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