Young male with gout

dpope

Hi, I'm 26 and have had problems with my feet for several years, during 2020 I was told gout was a possibility and now this summer this diagnosis has been confirmed to me. I'm really struggling to come to terms with it all. The last few years with this, has massively affected my ability/confidence to do sports, it's affected my mental health and it's affecting my relationships with my friends and family. Does anyone have any tips/advice on how I can better come to terms with it and manage it, I've recently been put on a proper course of allopurinol after a major flare up last month, but I'm still often having aches and pains and I feel so tired most days. Also any tips about how I can communicate with my friends and family about it all would be great. I feel I am not taken seriously sometimes because I have always been pretty healthy and someone who up until a few years ago played sports 3/4+ times every week. I feel even some doctors and other healthcare professionals haven't taken me and the pain I was going through seriously. The pain and complete upheaval of my life during an attack is so intense and I really fear the possibility of future attacks.

Thanks in advance for any responses!

DODGYKNEES

Hi @dpope a good way to come to terms with it is to find out as much as possible about Ur condition. Books, websites, groups. A good way to communicate with friends and family about it is to sit down with them and talk. Explain to them what u r going through. The more u find out about Ur condition the better u can communicate it to them. Also u could get some information leaflets and tell them to have a read so that they can have some understanding. Try to be positive and do what u can. Accept that u will have bad days, and be kind to yourself. Hope this helps

dpope

Hi @DODGYKNEES, thank you for your response, I appreciate it. I’ve been doing more research about it all recently which has been good. And today actually I had a long FaceTime call with one of my best-friends about it all and what I’ve been going through which was great. I’m struggling to communicate with older family members though such as my Dad who seem to think that because of my age it isn’t serious or that I’m faking it/over dramatic and that I’m to blame somehow. At least that’s how it feels. But yes definitely trying to stay positive and accept the ups and downs. Thanks again!

DODGYKNEES

Hi @dpope no problem. Happy to help. Luckily there is more information and advertisement getting out there that athritis can effect people of any age. The more information that gets out, the more understanding others will be. Hopefully. Lol.