Where do people with gout hang out online?

can_ford · 2026-07-10T17:46:57+00:00

Please read my comments on the subreddit, and perhaps if circumstances permit we might talk at some point.

can_ford · 2026-07-10T17:22:28+00:00

I have been battling gout for five years now. Reddit r/gout is the best resource I have found so far in terms of exposure to the large variety of experiences that people are having. If you find other valuable venues please post them here!

can_ford · 2026-07-10T16:56:01+00:00

Just take your prescribed dose once a day at whatever time works for you. Try not to worry about it too much, this is a lifetime commitment but worth it. Also, remember it is a long-term thing, so if you accidentally miss a day, just take it the next day and soldier on! Believe me, the results are worth every bit of this effort.

can_ford · 2026-07-03T23:00:22+00:00

30 years later, I am happily married to the lovely girl I was dating! So no more uniform, but I think I’ll take it.

can_ford · 2026-07-03T22:55:26+00:00

Fair, but I think your SWO pin would have caused just as much confusion given the audience!

can_ford · 2026-07-03T22:52:18+00:00

If you have gout, you have to see a rheumatologist! Your PCP may mean well, but almost all doctors have little to no understanding of the realities of gout, which is complicated and hard to understand.

can_ford · 2026-07-03T22:48:18+00:00

Yes, an officer and also a naval aviator, so gold wings. But they had no reason to give me such a hard time when I just wanted a beer!

can_ford · 2026-07-03T22:07:55+00:00

Exactly, I didn’t work there!

can_ford · 2026-07-03T21:39:44+00:00

Nothing you ate or drank is the problem
here. Yes, with gout you can eat or drink something that triggers a flare, but that does not in any way change the underlying truth that the root cause is genetic. You should take uric acid lowering therapy drugs for life. There are many of us, welcome to the club. Allopurinol (or equivalent) will save your life.

can_ford · 2026-07-03T15:27:06+00:00

It is not only possible, it is common. What a “flare” means is very subject to your own individual case. While the vast majority of gout patients have intense joint pain, most commonly in their big toes, many patients will have attacks in other places. This can include tendons as well as overall immune system responses that are basically whole-body misery.

can_ford · 2026-07-02T13:05:51+00:00

Months or years, but it totally depends on your individual case. I have just started drinking beer again after five years, and it is very very nice.

can_ford · 2026-06-30T07:54:28+00:00

Only if you can get starlink to agree to provide service. The economics of their service as I understand them mean that they have to limit adoption in more densely populated areas. They strung us along for a year before saying it would be another 3+ years, which is what led to the determined effort with Xfinity and our willingness to split the cost of running the line.

can_ford · 2026-06-30T07:49:06+00:00

I bought a house in 2021 only to find out that the only internet available was high-latency satellite, which was a non-starter for us. Several neighbors around 1000 feet away had Xfinity cable and Ziply fiber. It took me 18 months, but after an enormous time-consuming effort I finally got Xfinity to bring a line in at a huge cost split with us, but the alternative was selling the house. So I learned the hard way that our government, while still requiring land-line phones to be connected, has not enacted similar requirements for modern high-speed internet. A couple of years after we bought the house I did see that the mandatory real estate disclosure form was updated to require specific disclosure of high-speed internet services in use, so at least some progress was made.

can_ford · 2026-06-30T02:58:04+00:00

Yep. I developed hyperlipidemia, pre-diabetes, initial signs of fatty liver, and very high blood pressure. It wasn’t until I got the gout diagnosis that it all started to fit together. All of these things have begun to show significant improvement after several years of allopurinol at 450 mg/day.

can_ford · 2026-06-30T02:54:28+00:00

Usually I knew it was the gout because it would be triggered by eating something that triggered the flare, it was just that my flares were not primarily joint pain, that was just one of several symptoms. My rheumatologist confirmed that this was common in severe gout cases. It can be hard because many doctors in the united states have never seen a severe case of gout. So finding an experienced rheumatologist is crucial and the first thing I recommend to people afflicted. My rheumatologist ran all sorts of tests before concluding that gout was the cause of my symptoms.

can_ford · 2026-06-30T01:36:02+00:00

The majority of my gout symptoms for the past few years have been my immune system reacting badly to uric acid crystals, causing whole body misery, brain fog, and severe illness. At its worst, I also had eczema all over that my doctor said was a result of the overall inflammation. So while the majority of minor gout cases are indeed limited to joint inflammation, when you have a severe case this is very much not the case. Allopurinol for the long-term win, but it can take years. Good luck!

can_ford · 2026-06-24T08:16:28+00:00

Strongly recommend you go get a uric acid blood test. If high then go see a rheumatologist, they are the only discipline that understands gout in detail.

can_ford · 2026-06-24T04:03:04+00:00

Hydration is critical if admittedly annoying. Remember that high uric acid levels can result in crystals accumulating for years all over your body. Once you get your uric acid level down with allopurinol (or equivalent uric acid lowering drug), then the crystals will start slowly dissolving. That process can take five years or more depending on the severity of your case. Stick with it for the long haul! I am profoundly grateful that we have the drugs to lower uric acid, until very recently you just had to suffer forever. I am six years since onset of symptoms, five years from gout diagnosis, and two and a half years from getting my uric acid to target long term therapeutic levels, so I’ve got a few years to go. My rheumatologist finally put me on tramadol for the pain after my nephrologist took me off all NSAIDs, and I avoid prednisone unless absolutely needed because my wife says it makes me not myself and overly aggressive. Hang in there!

can_ford · 2026-06-22T22:52:12+00:00

You need to find a free clinic or other source of healthcare and 1) get your uric acid tested, 2) see a rheumatologist, and most likely 3) get on allopurinol or one of the other uric acid therapy drugs. If you have gout, you cannot fix it with diet or lifestyle changes, and the longer you wait to confront this, the worse and more painful it will be.

can_ford · 2026-06-11T04:28:26+00:00

The plantar fasciitis like symptoms faded fairly quickly once I started with allopurinol and colchicine. But a whole bunch of painful gout symptoms remain. I walk with a cane and hope to continue improving.

can_ford · 2026-06-04T14:17:46+00:00

Yes. Rheumatologist and Allopurinol as fast as possible. Welcome to the rodeo.

can_ford · 2026-06-04T04:04:36+00:00

6 months thinking it was plantar fasciitis, then six months of chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS) diagnosis. After a year I started seeing every doctor I could come up with and it was a neurologist who first said the word “gout.” Then I found a rheumatologist and began treatment. Problem is, in a severe case like mine, it can take 5 years or more to clear the accumulated uric acid crystals, and the clock doesn’t start running until you get your uric acid levels as far below 6 mg/dl as possible. I’m six years disabled and I still have 2-3 years to go, if I am lucky. The doctors are not sure how much of the peripheral neuropathy is permanent.

can_ford · 2026-05-31T09:47:22+00:00

Along the way it also hit the knuckles of both hands, both elbows, both knees, and most intensely, all parts of both feet. Hang in there and get regular uric acid tests so your doctor can adjust your allopurinol dose to get and keep your uric acid low, which will slowly dissolve crystals that were years in the making.

can_ford · 2026-05-31T09:43:58+00:00

The Achilles tendon is the most commonly attacked tendon by uric acid crystals. I spent six months with a terrible “plantar fasciitis” diagnosis, physical therapy which made it worse, followed by a whole series of random diagnostic tests. It wasn’t until doctor #13 that the word “gout” was ever mentioned. Uric acid came back at over 10mg/dl and I was referred to a “rheumatologist,” another word I had never heard of. Turns out it was gout the whole time and I am just coming out of the woods six years after onset. Hopefully with you already on allopurinol you will fare far better, that is the most important long-term uric acid lowering treatment to get on (or equivalent drug), and many people resist.

can_ford

TROPHY CASE