Monday, May 30, 2016
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
How I remained 1 Year Gout Free
So its been a little over a year back that I have had my last gout attack, a very bad one at that and thanks to a friend's tip I have stayed gout free for the last year.
Well before I go on how I managed to control this you should read a few articles on what causes gout, how to identify and prevent it. Here are some but you can find plenty more online
Webmd - Gout attacks at home
Patient Info - Gout leaflet
Arthritis.org - How to stop a gout attack
Everyday Health - 10 steps to ease gout attack
Of course the more you read the more confusing it gets, especially as far as diet if concerned, some sites will say a particular set of food is good for you while there are some who will the say the same exact set of food is bad for you. Apart from that which still confuses me, I will let you know what I did which might help you stay away from it as well.
A little history first, I am currently 37 yrs old so gout happened a little early in my life, I have had gout attacks for the last 4 years approximately. The first 3 times it happened it did not even get diagnosed as gout, what happened with me each of these 3 times was I would wake up one morning and one of my foot would hurt so bad that I could not even put my foot down, after having done all possible tests like XRAY, MRI of my foot, the doctor though it could just have been a sprain from me playing tennis, (also since I was so young it was not one of the expected things) so I was asked to relax my feet for the next 5 - 7 days and surely things were back to normal. The second time it happened was around 6 months later and this time I did not even go to the doctor, just sat with my feet up and like the last time it went away. After my 3rd attack and this time the pain was a lot more concentrated a lot more around the toe of my foot, I went another doctor this time and a Uric acid test later it was confirmed that I did have gout, over the period of next 2 years the attack would happen initially every 6 - 8 months but towards the end it had come down to within 2 -3 months, food and drinking patterns had changed but it was still not helping. Then last April during Easter celebration I was fed up of being on a diet for so long I ended up eating a whole lot of sea food and meat which I was not supposed to and 3 days later I really had to pay for this. The difference this time round was, the attack did not go away for almost a month, normally a attack would last for a average of 5- 7 days but this time the pain would almost die down and the pain would only flare back up. I was on a total diet, was not eating anything I was even doubtful of, till finally it did go away with a lot of medicines and diet and a whole bunch of other things.
So here below are things that I have done to stay gout free for the last one year. This are mostly simple lifestyle choices that have helped me to prevent another attack from happening. Now these are things that I have done and may not work in your case, also benefits from this are over a period of time, so do consult your doctor if you are having an attack, what I am letting you know are things that I changed in my lifestyle in the last one year that has helped me stay gout free without getting frustrated from the diet restrictions.
First thing you need to identify what is the biggest trigger that causes you to have the attack, I have realised that if you follow the internet and the whole list of cannot eat items you would be left with nothing much to chose from and that can be very frustrating. For me personally I realised that every gout attack of mine was proceeded by me having gone overboard on things that I should not be eating, but for how long can someone who is a hardcore non vegetarian suddenly only be eating chicken and veggies. For me personally the biggest trigger was seafood, and within that any sort of shell fish.. so prawns, crabs, lobsters etc all my favourite food if had in plenty was a trigger to a attack almost in the next few days.
So here are some of the things I changed in my lifestyle -
1. Water -
While you have read it practically everywhere make sure that you are drinking more than 3 litres of water per day. Looking back I realised that days before the attack apart from too much eating food from the NO list I was not having enough water as well. So now I keep a big bottle of 1.5 litres of water with me all the time, (you can use a 1 Lt bottle as well) I made sure I finished that 2 times in the day, in addition to that the other change also was when I wake up I have around a little less than one litre of water, read Drinking water after waking up OR Benefits morning water therapy and remember to keep at least 45 minutes before you begin eating or drinking after that.
2. Alcohol -
Beer was a very important part of my alcohol consumption, thanks to the amount of pain that I went though I have giving up beer completely, well I did at least for whole year, now I occasionally have 1 or 2 beers but only once in a way. For the rest of my drinks, I never liked white sprits so no vodka, gin, etc for me, I only have whiskeys, single malts or dark rum. The trick here is to control the amount of consumption of alcohol, not having a whole lot on one night and then staying off does not help as much as spreading the same amount over a few days, this gives your system enough time to flush out the uric acid created by them. Of course during an attack a complete stop on all alcohol is highly recommended, you can start only after you feel you are fully recovered. Remember to drink a lot of water with your alcohol consumption (during, before after)
3. Food -
As mentioned earlier, keep track of what you are eating and what is the food that causes you to have a attack immediately, I am sure its different in different peoples cases, once you have identified that reduce or stop having that kind of food, in my case though the year, seafood has been eaten only once in a long time and the quantity of intake also just enough to feel good and not going overboard on it. For me other no foods like red meat was still consumed once or twice a week only keeping a gap between them, again during the days of the attack it is best to avoid all the kinds of the no food but once your have sufficiently recovered can re-introduce some of them in limited quantities.
TIP - The trick for both food and alcohol is to plan your week / month ahead, if you know you have a party coming up where you would most likely break all your diet make sure the week leading into and out of you are on a stricter diet, will help you body deal with the excess. Also limit quantities and spread as far as possible help big time
4. Apple Cider Vinegar -
This is been the best advice my friend could have given and I think the most effect way of keeping gout away, you can look up online and see that this has multiple benefits and while some people are a bit skeptical towards it, all I have learnt in my one year of using it that it works for me, it has no side effects so it has been the best thing that I could have every discovered, not had to take any medicines for gout at all. I have made sure I carry a bottle with me especially when I go on holidays cause that is where I am most likely to break all diet rules.
Do your own search online and you will find plenty of links, here are a few to get you started.
15 Reasons to Use Apple Cider Vinegar Every Day
6 proven health benefits of apple cider vinegar
The way I have apple cider vinegar is around 1 to 1.5 teaspoon with a glass of normal temperature water, to be had just before breakfast and dinner works fine for me, don't have it with too much of a gap as it would tend have a feeling of burning up. After a few days you get used to the taste of this and does not affect you but its worth it, in my case my diet tends to go off a little more than often these days thanks to this. Can have before lunch as well, so 3 times a day.
The biggest benefit that I noticed after I started having this that my weight did not increase drastically at all, even during holidays where normally I used to put on quite a bit was now reduced to putting on only a little bit at those times. So it is helpful in keeping your weight in check for sure.
Finally to recap, find out what food and alcohol suits your body type the best, this of course assuming that you don't have other complications to deal with, and go with what works for you and remember during an attack a full restriction is your best bet of getting well soon.
Check out Gout diet sheet comparison where I have compared different websites to tally what is good or bad to eat
Well before I go on how I managed to control this you should read a few articles on what causes gout, how to identify and prevent it. Here are some but you can find plenty more online
Webmd - Gout attacks at home
Patient Info - Gout leaflet
Arthritis.org - How to stop a gout attack
Everyday Health - 10 steps to ease gout attack
Of course the more you read the more confusing it gets, especially as far as diet if concerned, some sites will say a particular set of food is good for you while there are some who will the say the same exact set of food is bad for you. Apart from that which still confuses me, I will let you know what I did which might help you stay away from it as well.
A little history first, I am currently 37 yrs old so gout happened a little early in my life, I have had gout attacks for the last 4 years approximately. The first 3 times it happened it did not even get diagnosed as gout, what happened with me each of these 3 times was I would wake up one morning and one of my foot would hurt so bad that I could not even put my foot down, after having done all possible tests like XRAY, MRI of my foot, the doctor though it could just have been a sprain from me playing tennis, (also since I was so young it was not one of the expected things) so I was asked to relax my feet for the next 5 - 7 days and surely things were back to normal. The second time it happened was around 6 months later and this time I did not even go to the doctor, just sat with my feet up and like the last time it went away. After my 3rd attack and this time the pain was a lot more concentrated a lot more around the toe of my foot, I went another doctor this time and a Uric acid test later it was confirmed that I did have gout, over the period of next 2 years the attack would happen initially every 6 - 8 months but towards the end it had come down to within 2 -3 months, food and drinking patterns had changed but it was still not helping. Then last April during Easter celebration I was fed up of being on a diet for so long I ended up eating a whole lot of sea food and meat which I was not supposed to and 3 days later I really had to pay for this. The difference this time round was, the attack did not go away for almost a month, normally a attack would last for a average of 5- 7 days but this time the pain would almost die down and the pain would only flare back up. I was on a total diet, was not eating anything I was even doubtful of, till finally it did go away with a lot of medicines and diet and a whole bunch of other things.
So here below are things that I have done to stay gout free for the last one year. This are mostly simple lifestyle choices that have helped me to prevent another attack from happening. Now these are things that I have done and may not work in your case, also benefits from this are over a period of time, so do consult your doctor if you are having an attack, what I am letting you know are things that I changed in my lifestyle in the last one year that has helped me stay gout free without getting frustrated from the diet restrictions.
First thing you need to identify what is the biggest trigger that causes you to have the attack, I have realised that if you follow the internet and the whole list of cannot eat items you would be left with nothing much to chose from and that can be very frustrating. For me personally I realised that every gout attack of mine was proceeded by me having gone overboard on things that I should not be eating, but for how long can someone who is a hardcore non vegetarian suddenly only be eating chicken and veggies. For me personally the biggest trigger was seafood, and within that any sort of shell fish.. so prawns, crabs, lobsters etc all my favourite food if had in plenty was a trigger to a attack almost in the next few days.
So here are some of the things I changed in my lifestyle -
1. Water -
While you have read it practically everywhere make sure that you are drinking more than 3 litres of water per day. Looking back I realised that days before the attack apart from too much eating food from the NO list I was not having enough water as well. So now I keep a big bottle of 1.5 litres of water with me all the time, (you can use a 1 Lt bottle as well) I made sure I finished that 2 times in the day, in addition to that the other change also was when I wake up I have around a little less than one litre of water, read Drinking water after waking up OR Benefits morning water therapy and remember to keep at least 45 minutes before you begin eating or drinking after that.
2. Alcohol -
Beer was a very important part of my alcohol consumption, thanks to the amount of pain that I went though I have giving up beer completely, well I did at least for whole year, now I occasionally have 1 or 2 beers but only once in a way. For the rest of my drinks, I never liked white sprits so no vodka, gin, etc for me, I only have whiskeys, single malts or dark rum. The trick here is to control the amount of consumption of alcohol, not having a whole lot on one night and then staying off does not help as much as spreading the same amount over a few days, this gives your system enough time to flush out the uric acid created by them. Of course during an attack a complete stop on all alcohol is highly recommended, you can start only after you feel you are fully recovered. Remember to drink a lot of water with your alcohol consumption (during, before after)
3. Food -
As mentioned earlier, keep track of what you are eating and what is the food that causes you to have a attack immediately, I am sure its different in different peoples cases, once you have identified that reduce or stop having that kind of food, in my case though the year, seafood has been eaten only once in a long time and the quantity of intake also just enough to feel good and not going overboard on it. For me other no foods like red meat was still consumed once or twice a week only keeping a gap between them, again during the days of the attack it is best to avoid all the kinds of the no food but once your have sufficiently recovered can re-introduce some of them in limited quantities.
TIP - The trick for both food and alcohol is to plan your week / month ahead, if you know you have a party coming up where you would most likely break all your diet make sure the week leading into and out of you are on a stricter diet, will help you body deal with the excess. Also limit quantities and spread as far as possible help big time
4. Apple Cider Vinegar -
This is been the best advice my friend could have given and I think the most effect way of keeping gout away, you can look up online and see that this has multiple benefits and while some people are a bit skeptical towards it, all I have learnt in my one year of using it that it works for me, it has no side effects so it has been the best thing that I could have every discovered, not had to take any medicines for gout at all. I have made sure I carry a bottle with me especially when I go on holidays cause that is where I am most likely to break all diet rules.
Do your own search online and you will find plenty of links, here are a few to get you started.
 |
| I have tried both these brands over the last one year and both work perfectly fine for me |
15 Reasons to Use Apple Cider Vinegar Every Day
6 proven health benefits of apple cider vinegar
The way I have apple cider vinegar is around 1 to 1.5 teaspoon with a glass of normal temperature water, to be had just before breakfast and dinner works fine for me, don't have it with too much of a gap as it would tend have a feeling of burning up. After a few days you get used to the taste of this and does not affect you but its worth it, in my case my diet tends to go off a little more than often these days thanks to this. Can have before lunch as well, so 3 times a day.
The biggest benefit that I noticed after I started having this that my weight did not increase drastically at all, even during holidays where normally I used to put on quite a bit was now reduced to putting on only a little bit at those times. So it is helpful in keeping your weight in check for sure.
Finally to recap, find out what food and alcohol suits your body type the best, this of course assuming that you don't have other complications to deal with, and go with what works for you and remember during an attack a full restriction is your best bet of getting well soon.
Check out Gout diet sheet comparison where I have compared different websites to tally what is good or bad to eat
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