Gout in knee

If you notice my other posts you will see things have sucked for me lately. Gall Bladder surgery gone wrong, severe back pain which can't be repaired, MRSA what else can go wrong well Gout, last week my knee swelled up really big, I assumed I wrenched it but finally went to the dr.s she drained and luckily sent it for analysis. She was concerned about MRSA in the joint.. Today I went to the dr.s for a recheck on the MRSA and the dr. was shocked to see that the analasis of the fluid showed no infection but was high in uric acid. Now what, I had to have blood work to look for uric acid. If thats negetive then a 24 hr urine test. I am so damn frustrated its depressing me.

What I am interested in is how to treat the gout. Any ideas?

[smittygirl]

Sorry to hear of all your problems.  A lot of people don't that Gout is a form of arthritis.  It used to be referred to as "the rich mans disease" because it was thought to be associated with eating rich foods.   It is caused by there being too much uric acid in your blood which can cause hard crystals to form in your joints.   Drinking too much alcohol, or eating a lot of meat or fish with high levels of a chemical called purines can bring gout on.  Usually a course of NSAIDS or cortisone injections can help the pain and swelling.   Your  doc is on the right track so stick with her.  I hope things get better for you soon, been there myself and although it takes time, some how we all get through this stuff.  Welcome to our forum and please feel free to write just to vent, we have all been through  a lot here and having people that really understand helps more than you can imagine. There is always someone here to lend a shoulder, ear whatever!   Stay with us and let us know how you make out.


Sue
smittygirl

[Bugette]

Thanks for your concern, they also used to call it the Whispering Wind disease, they were able to diagnose it but simply blowing on the joint that was how painful it was. Part of whats strange is I don't drink, I am not a big meat eater and less of a fish eater. I am looking up online diets and "purines". She is also testing me for lyme but I have been tested about 5 times for that but my mom got it at my sisters farm so just to cover our basis I guess. The other thing is my dr was very shocked, the report just came back that morning and she was looking for infection not gout but she said they normally see if in post menapausal woman, I am still pre menapausal. Go figure.

Thanks again

[Bugette]

Update:  Well my blood work came back negetive for uric acid and also lyme, so now I have to do a 24 hour urine test, my family loves the thought of a bottle of urine in the fridge, lol.  I am still very confused on how this happened. The last 6 months have sucked. I had pancreatitis in oct and had my gall bladder removed then, now they are looking into whether that was related to the gout/uric acid.

Any input?

[spastic]

Hey Sweetie, nothing like doing them 24 hour collections for sure!!!  I don't know much about gout but have read an interesting article in where patients use preperation H on the affected area.  I want to say it was on wikipedia.  I will try to find it again for ya.  I just wanted to say hi and let you know I am here for ya if you need to talk.

Your Friend,

Ada