swelling will not subside

[kiteman]

Tried searching everywhere and can’t find anything. I am 29 and had the dreaded wake up in the middle of the night pain thinking my foot was broken. Turned out to be gout though I didn’t get uric acid levels checked. Anyway pain went away after a few days but almost 3 months later and my toe is still slightly swollen. It isn’t bad at all, but noticeable, and their is seldom pain but if there is pain it is so mild that it is hardly noticeable. I play a lot of golf and it isn’t even noticeably tender after walking 18 holes, but it constantly remains swollen.

I have a mediocre diet though and I don’t take meds for gout (don’t want to either), but I’m scared this is causing long term damage. Thoughts?

[Keith Taylor]

Hi kiteman,

I’m really not sure what you are asking, but here are my thoughts.

Gout is a progressive disease. That means, if you do not treat it, it will get worse. You are right to fear long term damage. When uric acid crystals form in and around the joints, they cause painful swelling as your immune system sees them as invaders. Unlike viruses and bacteria, uric acid crystals cannot be killed, but your white blood cells will surround them and try to make them harmless. But they are not harmless.

Part of this process is these deposits eat into tendons, cartilage, and bone. They cause permanent damage. This will get worse every day. It is a slow process, but you can be quite certain that if you do nothing now, then in a few years you will start to lose mobility. Instead of looking forward to retirement on the golf course, you will spend your senior years in constant pain.

Is that what you really want?

You can go that way, or you can learn to know your uric acid level, keep it no higher than 5mg/dL (0.30 mmol/L), and stay pain-free. There is a simple way out at http://www.goutpal.com/3425/simple-gout-treatment/

Meds may not be necessary, depending on your uric acid level. You can get help here (but better to use the new forum at the links above). It is usually easy to control gout, but it needs a little effort, otherwise gout will control you.

[zip2play]

kiteman,

There will always be a residual swelling left in any joint that has suffered an attack. I had only one gout attack in my right bunion joint and that was over a decade ago, but it STILL remains larger than the left bunion and I presume it will be this way til they close the lid.

There is permanent damage done to any affected joint, whether noticeable or not, and we can only hope that the PAIN caused by that damage is fleeting and slight.

Like Keith says, control your serum uric acid so that REPEATED damaging attacks do not occur making the situation worse and worse.
You cannnot undo the past, only affect the future.

[Author]

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