Early this week, I notice a painful lump on the outside of my right foot, I thought I hit it but couldn’t remember doing so. Over the next 2 days it worsened and I couldn’t wear shoes comfortably.
Went to the doc and he thinks (?) it may be gout but he hasn’t seen gout in this area before.
Very painful! I looked it up on the internet - as we do - and found that it can be caused by excess protein.
WTF!? never heard of that before and in searching through T-Nation, I couldn’t find anyone else with a similar problem.
The pain is at point “J” in the pic.
Anyone else experienced in this please? Am I just getting old or is this a bi-product of eating too many eggs and protein powder. The only change I’ve made to my diet is carb restriction and increased eggs intake to 6 a day.
The more knowledgable med types will hopefully jump in but here’s what I know. I had gout, always hit around the big toe and there was no visible swelling. Around where D is on you chart. Not so much caused by high protein but food high in Uric Acid I was told. I got it when my weight went way up after I was injured and quit working out. To determine it was gout I had to piss in a gallon container for an entire weekend and take that in to be tested. They gave me Indocin which made the gout go away but played hell with my stomach.
Every doctor has their favorite gout causing food/beverage. Seafood, alcohol, port wine, ice tea, the list goes on. When I lost some weight and began working out again I quit having attacks. Occassionally when I’m eating real rich food I get a little warning ache and backing of on the food and taking some ibprofin handle it. Need to find out for sure because I think recurring attacks can have a degenerative effect on the joints.
The only person I knew that had gout was a 25 year old girl. She drank beer like a fish, ate junk food, and popped dexa-trim tabs like they were breath mints. The gout hit her when she was driving to work one morning - a pain in her ankle so excruciating she couldn’t depress the gas peddle of her BMW (that she bought on E-Bay while dead drunk and later regretted).
Gout seems to come on with these co factors present.
High Seafood diet or protein foods high in the amino acids adenine and guanine.
High carbohydrate intake (alcohol, sweet breads, etc.)
2a) Metabolic syndrome - which is evidenced strongly by insulin resistance which is itself evidenced by auto-immune diseases, general inflammation on up to diabetes.
Dehydration - as we age, we don’t notice that we’re not taking enough water. In fact some think a good portion of “senile” dementia may be simple dehydration.
High ratio of adipose tissue to lean body mass. (e.g - you’re fat)
Often, if you can alter 1 or more of these co factors the gout seems to go away.
The pain is caused by the excess uric acid pooling in the joints and then crystalizing there. The crystals can wear away at the joint structures creating an protective immune response (infalmmation) from the body and creating the symptoms of arthritis. Sometimes swelling of the joint can occur, but often times does not.
I am not a doctor, I just poked around the net for gout and looked for the commonly occurring factors in the articles I found.
I have had gout a few times- foot,ankle,shin,big toe.
It seems to have a genetic link, as many uncles have had it.
I know how to conquer it.
Every time the cause has been not drinking enough water, and 2 litres a day is far too little, you should at least double it.
Diet plays very little part for me, as does beer and wine(except that they dehydrate)
To cure it:
At night 1(one) 400mg Ibuprofen before sleeping.
First thing in morning on an empty stomach 1 bi-carb tablet(500mg) or half a teaspoon of powder, with lots of water.
Fruit vinegar also helps de-acidify.
Takes about 1 week to cure,max 2 weeks.
Good luck.
Skidmark, My first thought was along those lines too as the previous days training involved various calf raises. However I didn’t notice anything until I went to put on my shoes the next day and the sudden pain was quite severe.
I thought I must have bumped the bone against something but couldn’t remember doing that so I figured a tendon strain must have been caused the previous day.
The pain and swelling increased over the next 2 days and it was EXTREMELY sore to touch - so - off to the doctor.
I have no idea why gout would occur when I don’t really do anything to encourage it so I hope the tendon injury is the real reason.
BIGMOOSEJOHN - thanks for the remedy mate - I’ll see if I can follow your advice to get some improvement. 4 litres of water a day seems huge but what the hell, I won’t drown will I, so I’ll give it a shot.
Duke, I picked up a 1/2 gallon plastic drinking bottle at Walmart a few weeks ago. I just use it to take to the gym, but it’s a good way to ensure you are drinking enough. It’s really not hard to do if there is always water in front of you.
Cheers Stu, I’ve taken the advice and now have a bottle in front of me most of the day.
back to the doc tomorrow for a follow up. Still red and a little sore but far better.
Skidmark pretty much summed it up. I always have a strong anti inflammatory ready at the pharmacy. Rest it on a pillow or something to keep it elevated and drink lots of whater like that other guys said and keep it warm. If anyone gets a chance look up what the uric acid crystals look like…it’s brutal, like thousands of needles crowding into your joints.
Gout runs in my family like clockwork. I’m only 27 and haven’t had an attack yet, but my family members tend to get attacks after eating processed meat products like hotdogs. Also, I know that the most common place to get it is in the big toe, but I’ve seen family members get it in other areas of the foot, ankle, knees, and elbows.
Make sure you take your medication if your doctor prescribes it.
Had a bout once in the big toe but the bone is chipped in that area from a previous injury. The chip is still in there so I think that made it an easy target. I was however drinking tons of beer, eating plenty of other carbs and not drinking anything other than beer, coffee and soda.
As a former gout sufferer I can detail my experience. I was initially misdiagnosed by my family doctor and by a sports medecine specialist after X-rays etc. Finally saw a nephrologist(kidney doctor) who ordered blood test that revealed elevated uric acid.
The prescription drugs allopurinol and colchinine easily cure this problem and are both on Walmart $4 prescription program. I take one .6mg colchinine pill once a day and probably will for the rest of my life as it is hereditary in my family. Gout attacks are extremely painful.
if you have a gout flare-up, the joint will usually be red, warm, swollen, and VERY tender- it hurts to barely even touch it. This is due to inflammation, and usually helps differentiate a gout atack from muscle strains and osteoarthritis flare-ups. When all is said and done, most of people with gout have a genetic predisposition (as others here have said), and they can get it without necessarily eating the wrong foods, or whatever. Most people with gout, but not all, have elevated uric acid levels in their blood, but a lot of people with elevated uric acid never get gout.
Allopurinol helps lower the uric acid (if it is high), and this can protect your kidneys also. Colchicine is not used as much for prevention (except for people who can’t take allopurinol), but it can be used for flare ups. Indomethacin, a strong NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), is used a lot for acute flare-ups. Have your uric acid level checked, and good luck!
Paul
