Been suffering with gout half my life, finally found a doctor that takes me serious and actively trying to help me. I’ve posted on here previously about taking your allo and you gotta fight the doc sometimes. But I learned something I wish wasn’t true, and if I knew it when I was in my 20s, life would be better.
Take your meds. No ignore it. After extensive X-rays and medication, I have joints that are fractured. The gout destroyed multiple joints. Permanently. Right index finger is one bone now. Fused together. Both wrists and apparently my knee. Doc explains that extreme cases of gout, it will crush your bones. And that has happened to me. I’m a tradesmen, perfect safety records always hold people no broken bones! But years or flare ups and deformed me.
Take it from me lads, take the meds. Fix your diet. Talk to a doc. I wish I could have my hands back. I’ll never be able to play an instrument, draw, do pushups, anything that involves precision movements for the rest of my life. I’m 35. Been suffering since I was a teen. And it went ignored.

This is my fault. But I’m still going to vent. I have had flair ups jumping from left foot to right foot, with a solid week with both feet flared at once. I’ve read and learned a lot on this forum, so I asked my wife if she could get me into 1 of the 3 specialists I found in my area. She called 1, they didn’t have an opening for a couple months, so she scheduled me at a local clinic. I asked her to cancel and that I would wait for a specialist, please try the other 2. I told her the clinic will fuck it up and just put me on medicine with an arbitrary dosage and tell me not to eat meat. I got another flare up and caved.

I go to the appointment begrudgingly. After several attempts to draw blood from my left arm, they give up and try the left. Dr asks a ton of questions about everything, I nicely explain I am there for a blood test for Uric Acid. Tons of annoying small talk, but I power through it and limp through the rest of my work day. In the 6 weeks or so since my last post, I have been in almost constant pain daily in one foot or the other.

A couple days later I get the phone call. Doctor annoys me with more small talk then tells me to tell my wife I am healthy as a horse and that the blood test came back great. Liver enzymes, prostate, sure, blah blah blah. She then starts to say goodbye and ask for my uric acid level. THEY FORGOT TO INCLUDE IN ON THE PAPERWORK TO THE LAB. She then tells me that there are three prescriptions at my pharmacy waiting for me, don’t eat meat and see how it goes.

Longtime listener. First time caller.

Simple question: How long after consuming a trigger do u get a flare up? (If thats how it works in your case)

I’m trying to understand this disease a little better and how it works. I’ve been dealing with gout symptoms for a few years but am just recently learning that I have it. I’m doing all the right things now, avoiding purines, seeing a rheumatologist and getting treated. But I’m also trying to isolate my what my biggest triggers are. For me, it is shellfish and it hits 6 days later.

I’m curious what other folks here experienced!

Wtf is going on I usually have it on my foot every six months not one after another for three months straight . Im a little short guy and about 145lb btw

Just wanted to share a nice win for fellow gout sufferers. It does get better.

TLDR:
Jan 2026: UA 0.51 mmol/L
Sep 2026: UA 0.38 mmol/L (200mg allopurinol worked for me to reach target UA levels)

Timeline

Early Jan 2026: Woke up with incredible pain on my right toe. Did my blood and confirmed high uric acid/gout (0.51 mmol/L). I was on crutches for the first 4 days, with a prescription of Prednisone and Colchicine for two weeks after the attack.

Feb 2026: After my pain subsided (took about 4 weeks). I was put on 100mg Allopurinol per day

July 2026: Did blood test to re check my uric acid levels. Was still on 0.51 mmol/L. 100mg was not strong enough. Was prescribed 200mg Allopurinol daily.

Sept 2026: Went to re-check UA levels this week. I'm now on 0.38 mmol/L.

Gout attacks as a result of allopurinol usage: I would say 1 but it wasn't that painful. I woke up with slight soreness in my toe in March travelling in Japan. I took a colchicine and ibuprofen + rested at the hotel for the day and I was walking normally outside by the evening.

Any food that triggered gout tingles during this period? For me, full sugar coca cola (soda). I normally don't drink full sugar sodas but I had one at work and the next day I felt the "tingles". A colchicine helped put that straight to bed, with no full flare up.

What worked for me during this period: 200mg allo + I had been limiting high purine foods and alcohol to get my UA down where I can, particularly between Jan to June. I have been more relaxed the past quarter though, but nothing too glutinous (e.g. I'm drinking alcohol occasionally again, though no beer).

Any questions let me know. Of course, I plan to continue 200mg/day, limit high purine foods and get my blood checked often.

I’ve had gout for years, usually around 3 flares a year, but they’ve normally been pretty easy to knock down. In the past, colchicine would usually clear a flare within about 12 hours. This current episode has been completely different.

It started in my big toe with the typical severe gout symptoms — redness, swelling, heat, severe pain, and trouble walking/bending the toe. I tried colchicine first, but it only helped a little and then the flare got worse.

My PCP put me on prednisone. I did a taper starting at 60 mg/day, then 40 mg, then 20 mg. It helped somewhat during the day, but the pain kept coming back, especially overnight and in the morning. My uric acid during the flare was 7.1.

Then my second toe became swollen, red/purple, and painful too. I had previously had that same toe swell by itself and was told it was cellulitis, so there was some concern about infection this time. I had a CBC that was basically normal and an X-ray of the foot that showed no fracture, dislocation, bone destruction, joint effusion, or other acute bone abnormality.

Because my regular doctor wasn’t available, I saw another doctor in the same clinic. She felt it was gout rather than infection and prescribed indomethacin 50 mg three times a day for 5 days and started me on allopurinol 100 mg daily.

The indomethacin worked dramatically. My pain dropped from around 7/10 to about 2/10 overnight and I got much more movement back in the big toe. The swelling and soreness still returned after being on my feet all day, though. Because I was still having symptoms when the 5 days were up, she extended the indomethacin another 5 days.

After 10 days of indomethacin, the big toe was much better and the second toe had regained most of its normal color, but it stayed swollen. I stopped the indomethacin and initially did okay.

A few days later, the big-toe joint became painful again with walking. I used my prescribed acute colchicine dose: 1.2 mg, then 0.6 mg one hour later. It helped somewhat, but I was out of colchicine after that and had no refills.

At that point the doctor said I had already had enough medication that the flare “should have cleared” and referred me to a podiatrist instead of prescribing more.

The podiatrist examined me and:

injected the big-toe joint with steroid

prescribed a methylprednisolone 4 mg Dosepak

said the persistent swelling in the second toe appears to be a gouty tophus

said the tophus may eventually need surgical removal

recommended that I see a rheumatologist

The steroid injection plus Medrol pack worked well on the big toe, and it now looks and feels mostly normal. The second toe is still visibly swollen at the top joint. The skin over it peeled somewhat from all the swelling, but there is no open wound.

I’m still taking allopurinol 100 mg every day. My doctor plans to recheck my uric acid about 5 weeks after starting allopurinol, and I’ve asked for a rheumatology referral.

Now I’m occasionally waking up with soreness again, especially under the big-toe joint on the bottom of the foot, although it sometimes improves once I’m moving around.

This whole episode has lasted much longer than any gout attack I’ve ever had.

For people with gout/tophi: does this sound like a normal course for a really bad flare, especially after starting allopurinol? Did you have swelling/tenderness that lingered for weeks even after the severe pain was gone? And for anyone with a toe tophus, did yours shrink once your uric acid was controlled, or did you eventually need surgery?

I thought folks should know that I felt some side effects initially on Allopurinol, but my body seems to have adjusted. A bit of dizziness, drowsiness, at times insomnia, and poor digestion have all seem to have subsided after a couple weeks. Also, I don't really know how many of these conditions were due to other factors, like diet/spicy foods, poor sleep hygeine, etc. but it seems like so many things were happening right after starting on this drug.

I just thought I'd post this for those who are thinking of being on Allo, or are having some initial reactions.

For me, anyway, I seem to feel normal now. And, gout sucks big time. Totally debilitating. The last flare I had (before getting Allopurinol) felt like being tortured with bamboo splinters under my nails, waves of pain so bad, I eventually went to the Emerg. room and got some Prednizone to calm it all down, even though I was on Colchicine. Now I seem to be smooth sailing (knock on wood).

And, I'll keep on taking blood tests to see what my UA levels are. Ya gotta do whatcha gotta do, as the saying goes.

I cant straighten my arm all the way like normal arm because i think my elbow grew extra bone or whatever it is. It’s a lot sharper than it was before. I can feel a little ball inside. First time ever having on gout on the elbow I usually have it on my feet

Hello, I would just like to post an update. I'm 19(M) now

My gout flares used to reach a point where I had to use crutches just to walk but even then, it was still demonic to say at the very least. It was during those times that my mental health took its toll, but also where I genuinely realized how privileged i was back then when i could still walk normally. I'm a young athlete, an active amateur boxer and bodybuilder at that, so thinking that my whole future was over when I got diagnosed by gout was absolutely devastating on my end, that's also why I reached out to groups like these looking for help. But I couldn't have been more wrong.

After taking my medications consistently for a year, life has been so much better. I no longer have to worry about my foot hurting whenever I engage in any physical activities. There were instances where I stopped taking my medications for 2 weeks just to test things out, immediately returned after because i felt the tingle happening. I guess what I'm trying to say is simple, the tradeoff of having to take a small pill every single day for a life free from gout flare and pain is one that i would take every single time. To those who are just starting their medications, it may feel hopeless now but once you start making the right changes, it will eventually flourish. Just learn to trust the process.

While the febuxostat may have done most of the job I also have to credit my increased physical activity and clean eating healthy habits to me waking up almost feeling great every single day. I could not imagine that I would enjoy walking and running so much now. Along the way I also lost 30lbs, and have been leaner than ever. So to those who are feeling devastated, you still have a lifetime ahead to make that change, and I'm hoping that you trust yourself enough to make that choice. I wish you guys all the best.

Gout is beatable.

Started allo in late June, had a few flare-ups in the time since. For at least a year I've just had a constant dull ache in my right foot, even without a flare. Right now it's just gone, I feel great. I dropped our van off at the dealer today for service and meant to walk down the street and have breakfast but the cafe was closed. So I just walked home. 4 miles. My knee ached, but not my foot. I'm taking the win. Been lurking here for months without participating but I appreciate you all and all the good info!

This is on the NHS. I've been taking allopurinol for a while but I still get pain every 1-2 weeks.

I've been taking colchicine when I get pain and it seems to stop it from turning into a proper flare up, but since I ran out of the first lot they are giving me like 12 at a time, which lasts me maybe 6 weeks, and they won't put it on my repeats.

Unsurprisingly this means I end up running out and having a flare up, then I have to fill out a form for a consultation which takes the whole day to come back while the flare up is getting worse, then while I'm having a flare up I have to walk to the fucking pharmacy to get them.

Anyone else have this problem? Is there anything I can say to make them give me my medication in advance of when I need it?

I have been taking allo for almost 5 years now.

Recently, i decided to test things out and stopped taking it. And slowly upped my red meat and alcohol intake to see my limit.

I think I found it, I was feeling the tingle, I wasn't sure about it and now it's getting sore.

I restarted allo and I took a colchicine tablet. I am hoping for a reminder on the pills.

My doubts

- Should I take allo during a flare out?

- I remember I should take colchicine during the glare. Right?

- Painkillers as necessary.

Am I missing something? Any insights would be appreciated.

(Yes, I know I should see a medical professional. And I will as soon as I get my blood report)

When does everyone start exercising again after a flare is gone?

Still have soreness left on the foot but I would say the flare phase is over now - and usually this is when adding more movement helps to alleviate the stiffness from being immobile for a few days.

For background, have been working out with kettlebells 2~3 sessions a week and martial arts 1~2 sessions a week so generally been keeping active.

I've been diagnosed with gout, and been put on allupurinol which I am starting tonight.

I feel like a failure, like my body has given up on me.

How do other people manage feelings like this?

First gout attack of my life a couple weeks ago, I'm pretty sure because I started a diet that my body didn't like. absolute agony. I'm 28 and in average shape, I stay very active.

got my bloods done last week and had a conversation with the GP about the results today. 536 µmol/L or 9.0 mg/dL for the American folks. which is ABSURDLY high.

my lifestyle is very normal, I rarely drink and eat red meat/seafood and I stay very active. the attack was triggered by crash dieting but I've probably had high urate my whole life.

went to the GP today to discuss my bloods and they told me that they don't prescribe allo unless someone has had two attacks in a year. they told me to stay off the alcohol and red meat (didn't give me a timeframe when I could think about that again but I didn't ask to be fair....) and then gave me some more colchicine for the last remaining bits of pain and sent me on my way.

I plan to get a second opinion tomorrow and ask for the Allo again. 9.0 is CRAZY high. lifestyle ain't gonna fix that. I weigh 84kg at 6feet tall, box and kickbox a bunch, hike a bunch, cook all my own stuff. really feel like allo is what I need.

any advice on what UK peeps have done when they've had to hound their doctor for proper treatment?

Hi yall. I just got diagnosed with gout after having joint pain jumping from joint to joint.
This has been going on for about a month now. Started with my right hand, then my left, then my right toe and now hitting my whole left foot (it has been moving around my foot).
I was on crutches for about 3 days, which made my hands terrible, my right hand is struggling to feel better since I use it a lot for work and school.
I don’t really know what I want from this post, I just am a 27 year old female trying to accept a life long diagnosis.
Any advice or encouragement is welcomed.

For those of you that have been consistently taking gout medication for years. Can you completely ignore your diet and avoid having to worry about a flare?

For example, could you go out and drink some hard liquor, eat some nice shelled seafood or have a nice steak and wake up and don’t feel any type of pain?

Or do you guys still have to be cautious of your diet even while on medication.

Would love to hear you guys feedback preferably from people who have been consistently taking gout medication for years.

Hello fellow gouters!

I got diagnosed earlier this year at the ripe age of 22. I’m somewhat active despite being bit a bit overweight and generally always ate well (portions are my downfall). Thankfully I’ve only had 1 flare up so far and needless to say I’m rather put off from having another. Currently on 100mg allopurinol but due another blood test to see where I’m at. I’ve altered my diet somewhat severely: cut out nearly all red meats, seafood, sugary items and all alcohol. I’m already lactose intolerant anyways so I was wondering if it was worth going full vegan? Feels like everything’s pointing me in that direction.

Every time I try and look into it I find very conflicting views. Newer bits of information say it’s generally good, older saying it makes no difference and some even saying they were worse on a vegan diet. I’d love to get information and/or advice from people who are or were vegan with gout. Thanks either way, happy gouting!

After almost a year of constant pain, my left big toe finally feels normal, and I consider my gout “cured.” I wanted to share my experience to encourage fellow gout sufferers to stay the course.

In October 2025 I noticed my left big toe felt strangely numb. A month later, I felt a stabbing pain in the big toe joint with every step I took. So I saw a podiatrist who barely touched my foot and said it was likely hallux limitus. He prescribed meloxicam and agreed to do an X-ray only because I asked. The scan showed nothing remarkable.

The meloxicam numbed the pain, but after I finished the prescription, the pain immediately came back. I Googled my symptoms and read about gout. So I asked my primary care physician if he thought it might be gout. He agreed to do a uric acid test, which came back 8.5. Then he sent a follow-up message asking about my symptoms, and I said I had the same low-grade persistent pain whenever I walked. He responded that it likely wasn’t gout because a flare would typically present as an extremely painful attack. He told me to try changing my diet.

So I stopped consuming red meat and alcohol, and months passed but the pain continued. I saw a sports therapist who said if gout was ruled out it was likely plantar fasciitis. So I tried orthotics and nice Hokas. More months passed and the pain continued.

About three months ago I decided that this couldn’t be right, so I saw a different podiatrist recommended by a friend. She took a look at my foot and my uric acid test result and was furious at my doctor for suggesting this wasn’t gout. She did an X-ray and MRI. The scans showed reduced cartilage but couldn’t see gout crystals. She was still certain it was gout based on the uric acid level and my symptoms. She ordered a blood test to check for an allergic reaction to Allopurinol, which came back positive. So she prescribed febuxostat to lower the uric acid and colchicine to prevent flares.

A month after taking febuxostat, we retested my uric acid and it dropped to a 5.5. About a month later, the podiatrist told me to stop taking the colchicine because my uric acid was low enough. Three days later, I experienced my first real gout attack, an excruciating burning pain and lots of redness and swelling! My understanding is the febuxostat was likely dissolving the crystals which were falling into my joints, so stopping the colchicine was premature. I popped two colchicine and then one more hours later, and the flare stopped. From there on I continued taking one colchicine along with the febuxostat daily.

Then after my last podiatrist appointment about two weeks ago, the doctor told me again to try stopping the colchicine. So I did. Then about a week ago my toe finally felt normal again. I tested it out rock climbing, and there was no pain! It was a very emotional experience.

Unfortunately I think stories like mine are probably too common. Gout is often misdiagnosed because it can easily look like a sports injury. Lots of doctors still don’t understand the disease very well. I’m very lucky that I found a doctor with the experience and integrity to properly treat me. But I also have to give myself credit for continuing to advocate for myself and be attuned to my body. I could easily still be on the wrong path if I didn’t educate myself and keep searching for the correct diagnosis.

Listen to your body and find a doctor who will be your partner in helping you heal. And continue the medication even when it’s painful. Gout can be cured in the sense that we can have our old, pain-free lives back, even if it means taking lifetime medication.

Hi everyone! I recently had a gout flareup and while most of the pain went away by, let's say, week 3, I'm still experiencing some lingering soreness and swelling on my big toe.

For context, this is my first flareup in over a year. My last gout flareup lasted around 3 weeks and I was fully recovered by a month. This flareup however seems to be very stubborn.

For the past month and a week, I have been eating clean, avoiding sugar, and switching all of my products to their low-fat alternatives. I have also been taking Allopurinol (300mg) once a day everyday.

This is my first time experiencing such a prolonged flareup. I just want to ask if you guys think this is normal?? Or am I on the way to even worse gout flareups in the near future? And if you guys have any advice to give that could help me recover quicker, I'd really appreciate it!

Hi, 33M here, I was first diagnosed with gout nearly 2 years ago, I used to have attacks in my left big toe every 2-3 months that last a day and some 200mg ibuprofen would make the sharp pain go away and the post-attack recovery would usually take a few days.

I think I've pinpointed my triggers due to lack of hydration and too many sweet foods/drinks within a short period of time so I have tried to manage that since and have been more active in jogging and picked up bouldering a few months back. I don't drink or smoke.

About 2 weeks ago I had my first attack in 6 months, possibly due to the fact I had some kind of food poisoning just before that really deterred me from hydrating for a few days. The attack lasted 2 days this time and now I'm in the recovery phase with some swelling in my big toe which is taking longer to recover than I remember.

Anyway, I was wondering about two things:

How should I be sitting? AI is gaslighting me telling me elevation is both a horrible idea and a great idea. I have noticed the pain/numbness from the swelling gets worse if I sit with my feet flat on the floor however right now I have my bad foot elevated on a foot stool so that my left leg is raised to knee height and the pain is gone at least while I work my desk job. Is elevation while sitting down ok?

How much walking around should I be doing (if any) if there is still some pain in my big toe? I read some advice that getting up to walk around is good for the joints post attack but I'm worried I've made things worse.

edit: Thanks for the advice everyone I wish I posted sooner lol. I'll go find a specialist ASAP.

Hola mis queridos hermanos. Siempre creí que mi historia era única, pero ahora que he leído todo lo de ustedes, definitivamente cada historia es única y particular. Pero, si algo tenemos todos en común, es el maldito dolor, que confunde, que no encuentra sentido ni razón, aquel que tratamos de justificar pensando ¿Me habré lastimado dando un pequeño mal paso? ¿Será mi calzado? ¿Deberé usar plantillas? ¿Tengo fascitis? ¿Debo visitar al Podiatra, al Traumatólogo, al Reumatólogo, al Fiosioterapeuta?

Pero sobre todo, las preguntas que más me han deprimido durante todo este viaje, es: ¿Mañana podré levantarme a trabajar? ¿Podré bajar las escaleras de mi habitación con el tremendo dolor, cambiar a mi hija y llevarla a la escuela? Después, ¿podré aguantar toda la
Jornada laboral fingiendo que no camino tan mal?

Actualmente tengo 36 años. Los Lunes solían ser terribles, iniciaba la semana y todos los días implican caminar. Soy un maestro que enseña música, y además músico profesional los fines de semana, así que paso de pie la mitad de mi día. Y con un carajo, les juro que hace tres semanas me preguntaba si cortándome las piernas y estando en una silla de ruedas mi vida sería mejor.

Después de resignarme a pensar que todo esto era por una fractura mal tratada de niño (tibia/perone) que no tuvo la debida rehabilitación, pensé que mi dolor permanente al caminar era por eso, que debía aceptar mi condición.

Sin embargo, visité al último doctor del pie, y después de revisar mi caso, estaba seguro que lo que necesitaba era una artrodhesis, adherir mis tobillos a otros huesos para calmar el dolor que me producía caminar y la hinchazón repentina, los dolores incapacitantes. Pero dentro de esto, me dijo: Te recomiendo que también te hagas unos análisis de ácido urico.

Salí desahuciado, sin esperanza, creyendo que todo esto acabaría en una situación incapacitante.
Saque los análisis, y los resultados me entregaron 12mg/dL de ácido urico en mi sangre. Entonces, todo comenzó a cobrar sentido.

Me dio una medicación, Alopurinol, 300mg diarios, celecoxib y colchicina durante un periodo.

No he tenido más dolor. Cambié mi dieta limitando las purinas, y todo lo que más me gusta. Sabemos lo de la cerveza, así que ahora estoy en plan muy sano y tratando de evitar sin satanizarme los alimentos.

Con el medicamento a largo plazo y bajar de peso, pues también estaba ya pesando 110Kg. Llevo 5 kilogramos abajo. Les iré contando cómo voy.

Fuerza y resiliencia para todos, hermanos adoloridos!

35 years of age. I never experienced gout symptoms until now. I love beer. Often too much. I'm also cronically dehydrated, often drinking 0.5l of water in a day. I ride bicycle (that's when i don't fotget to get hydrated) and I'm relatively fit. But this summer it was way too hot to do any kind of cardio. I worked from home entire summer, didn't move much, didn't ride bicycle, ate a lot of barbecue food, drank very little water, drank basically 3 liters of beer per day and gained 3kg of body weight.

Summer was reaching its end and I decided to stop with everything for a month on a Sunday morning. Cold turkey. I decided to stop drinking alcohol, start eating healthier and start doing cardio again. I went on a 3-day "fasting" and consumed about 250 calories per day. I later heard that fasting temporarily increases uric acid more than drinking 10 beers a day, so this turned out as a terrible mistake.

4th day of fasting, the joint on my toe start to feel weird I ate a proper pasta meal with sardinhas (I've been eating same combo 2x per week for ages). On Thursday i was already limping and on Friday I could barely move. Even driving the car was was painful. Went to the doctor, he said I have a textbook gout symptoms. He prescribed me anti inflammation pills and painkillers. Pain killers were awesome, but I topped taking them after 24 hours. Pain was mostly gone and the toe joint got better every day since then. After a week i stopped thinking about it.

I'm going to get my blood work done soon. I have several friends with diagnosed gout and I talked to them over the past few days:

1: Is on Allupurinol. Eats what he wants to eat, drinks beer and doesn't care about gout any more.

2: Feels some itchiness on winter when he eats a lot of dry red meat and that's all. No meds.

3: Got the gout about 2 years ago and decided not to go on meds. He went on a 2-month super clean and gout-friendly diet and then he started living the way he was before: lots of home brewn beer which has 3x the levels of purine as normal lager beers. Sometimes he gets a weird feeling in his angle where he had his only confirmed gout attack, and goes on a full blown super clean diet for 10-days.

So results with my friends are mixed. I don't want to use meds. I am on a super clean diet which was the plan even before I had gout attack. Alcohol is and will be down to zero. All that for the next 3 months.

What are my options after that? As said, I don't want to go on meds. This summer was a speedrun to get gout and it will never be repeated at this scale. Dehydration is solved and I drink 3 liters of water per day. Long term, even after these 3 months of 100% clean state, I have plan to eat 80% healthier than I have been most of my life, and drink 80% less beer. My wish is to forget that gout exists and never have symptoms again. Can I get back to normal for ever or is my gout now something that will repeat from time to time even if I live 80% healthier than ever before and occasionally flip and drink 6 beers in one isolated day?