Hello everyone

Slugbug
Slugbug Member Posts: 5
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:04 in Living with arthritis
I gave myself gout at 32 because I am an idiot
I read it was kind of arthritis so Im hear to read about solutions ect.
Misery loves company ect!

All the best

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 3,635
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi slugbug
    Welcome to the forum,gout can be very painful my Dad had it and when he was having an attack it drove him mad,still sorry to hear you have it hope the pain is not too bad. We are all friendly and understanding and will try and make you feel part of the forum the most popular forums are Living with Arthritis and Chit Chat.
    All the best Christine
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi slugbug :D

    I didn't give myself anything. RA rocked up, unbidden, when I was 15, decided it liked me and moved in. A few years later it sneaked its mate OA in too and we've all lived together in perfect lack of harmony ever since.

    You can read all about gout here https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/gout/

    If you've any questions please fire ahead. As most types of inflammatory arthritis respond to the same things we all have a lot in common.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • SusiM
    SusiM Member Posts: 87
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Forgive me for my ignorance but how did you give yourself gout? I wonder if l have myself arthritis by all my smoking. I quit 4 months ago and then l got sick. The irony is ridiculous :roll:
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I don't think it's ironic, Susie. I don't think many people feel good after giving up smoking. It actually took a friend of mine about two years before she felt better as a non-smoker than she had done as a smoker.

    As for the link between smoking and RA - yes. Smokers are more likely to get it and more likely to feel it more keenly. https://www.nras.org.uk/smoking-and-rheumatoid-arthritis
    I'd guess that, in your case, the symptoms of incipient RA have been arriving alongside the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal so it's all got a bit confusing. You will feel better eventually, though :D
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    It sounds as though your immune system has decided to play up, hence the gout, and it has nothing to do with what you have or not have done during the course of your life to date. It is similar to arthritis in that it is an auto-immune inflammatory condition.

    A diet high in purines is thought to be a possible trigger for gout but, like all auto-immune conditions, no-one is really sure why the immune system can go into overdrive if it never has before. My husband has the occasional bout of gout which he deals with by taking naproxen for a week or so which clears it away until the next time. There is a drug called allopurinol which can be taken should the gout prove to be very obstinate, your GP should know about it and is better placed to advise you. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Slugbug
    Slugbug Member Posts: 5
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks guys and sorry for the late reply. Thanks for all the kind comments.

    I dont know. Ive always been a bit of a glutton and feel that i could have prevented this. Still onwards and upwards now!

    Im losing loads of weight and drinking lots of water and seems to have helped. If only that im just lighter!
    Sorry im new here @stickywicket whats OA and RA. i get the impression its rubbish so sorry too.

    Nice name - a cricket fan?

    KR

    Stu
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Slugfest, don't beat yourself up about the gout. Although diet is quite important once you have it, I don't think it arises because of diet. Start from where you're at which is in a much better place thanks to your great dieting efforts. Keep going with the water, especially, in this weather.

    Sorry to bemuse you with the initials. RA is rheumatoid arthritis and OA is osteoarthritis. RA leads to OA if you don't get on the right meds quickly enough. In my early years they weren't there so I didn't :lol:

    Cricket is a religion in our family :wink: It's compulsory. We just had a ball with the world cup.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I have PsA (psoriatic arthritis plus OA so I've done the double. There are a few forms of auto-immune inflammatory arthritis then OA which has a different root.

    We are sold the idea that by doing this, that and the other we can stop ourselves from falling ill and that when we do it will be no more than a temporary inconvenience. Utter twaddle. My favourite example of that is Jim Fixx, the guy who 'invented' jogging as a preventative measure against heart disease. He went for a jog, had a heart attack and died. Good plan, Jim! :lol: DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben