Does anyone know of any over the counter meds for gout. Haven't had this for over 5 years and now it rears its ugly head again......

Everything here is "over the counter" in one sense of the word - as in no prescription is necessary.

There are a number of different medicines available. I forget what they are though. Ask any pharmacist and they will give you something.

Drinking can bring on gout. I know Chang Beer gives it to me bad - so I don't drink it anymore. Hard to think of anything more painful than gout.

Certain foods can aggravate gout or bring an attack on. You may have to cut back or out, on rich, fatty foods for awhile until the attack gets under control and then eat them in moderation.
I take a anti-inflamatory medication called Mobic. It's easier on your stomach and liver. It's more expensive than many of the others available, but I need to take it daily.

I've been taking another anti-inflammatory Probenecid 500mg for years to prevent gout flareups and, as mentioned, watch my diet. Too much shellfish can bring on an attack, in my case. My doctors monitor uric acid and liver/kidney function tests on a regular basis, also.

I can empathise with anyone who has ever experienced a gout attack. During my first one I couldn't even put a sheet over the affected foot/toe because the pain and burning sensation was so severe. I broke an ankle once and felt less pain.

Hi There, as a fellow sufferer, I feel your pain.
I also have the answer !! I hope.

Firstly understand what gout is, it is uric acid crytals that form generally in the lowest part of the body, your feet, however you can get gout elsewhere.
Gout is formed by the body not getting rid of purins that occur in food, there is a wide list of them, but not everybody is affected in the same way.

Myself its re meat, Beef, Prawns and wine, beer is fine......for me.

You need to take Colchicine 500 or 600mg tablets up to thrre times per day whilst the pain is there, anti inflamatories will not help, Colchicine will disperse the uric acid crystals.
However if you have a weak stomach, bewarned this may cause diarrheo.

Lay off all spicy food.

You can get the drug over the counter quite cheaply, however back in the UK it is expensive.

Let me know if it solves your problem

Leave off the port as well, not that I've seen it over here in LOS!!

I've been using Allopurinol (300 mg daily) for several years now and no recurring flare-ups. Good thing too because as Polehawk said it was so painful I could not even put a bed sheet over it.

Thanks all for your comments and I must say I do agree with you Polehawk I too have broken an ankle and the pain wasn't half as bad...

Bamboopaul - a friend of the TW's has a falang husband, she called him on an oilrig aomewhere and he also recommended Colchicine 500....the TW picked up some yesterday and as quickly as today the foot is a lot better, can at least put some weight on it now....

And the reason it flared up again, shellfish......... I haven't had seafood (apart from basic fish) for at least 5 years as they diagnosed this for the reason for the first attack...I was eating shellfish every day, 3 times a day, living on Phuket..

So my own fault I guess.........thats me and shellfish saying syonara from now on.....

Thanks again for your recommendations....

All the above is good advice. I just want to make sure you do not take colchicine 500 mg. It actaully doesnt even come 500 mg. It comes in 0.5 and 0.6 mg (500 micrograms not milligrams) Usually, most people can tolerate that amont 2 or 3 times a day. You can take more but then you will get some diarrehea. Also allopurinol as mentioned is an excellent medication for preventning gout, but do not use it during or near an actual attack of gout or it potentially can make it worse.

Stickyrice, I stand corrected I should have wrote Micrograms, sorry.

Kudjap or Bust Glad to be of help, I know how painful Gout can be,like you I only eat shellfish in small quantities now.........sadly !!

You will also find other triggers that will cause gout, but each person is different.

Speedy recovery my friend

TY Bamboopaul, all seems a lot easier today as was yesterday so I guess its on the mend.....

Hope its another 5 years til the next attack, or better still never again, but it seems once you've had it you'll get it again sometime.......

Glad you found a med that helped, Kudjap or Bust.

Several years ago my doc found my uric acid was too high so doubled my dosage of Probenecid to two 500mg a day. The strong medication brought on a recurrence of gout and was the second worst one that I've ever experienced. Anyone who's experienced an attack knows that it's pretty much impossible to wear a regular shoe over the affected foot/toe. I tried wearing a snowmobile boot after removing the heavy felt liner but didn't help. Finally was able to hobble off to work wearing the boot that I used when I had a broken ankle (oversized contraption with hard rubber sole, heavy felt footwrap and velcro straps). I still keep that boot around, just in case.

hmmm.. without the appropriate lab tests can you postively say it is/was gout?? I have an Uncle that moaned for years about gout, avoided various foods et al until finally a doctor told him he was almost a borderline diabetic.. When treated for diabetes (and indeed that was what caused his gout symptoms) the seeming gout disappeared..

If you don't have medical proof of a condition it may not be a good idea to start taking medication for an assumed affliction. The symptoms may be caused by something entirely different as my uncle discovered...

Anyone who has suffered a bout of gout, as OP indicated, knows when it rears its ugly head again, FrazeeDK. Gout symptoms are very much different from diabetic symptoms, also. I'm one of the unfortunates who has experienced both.

Do agree that it is always a good idea to see a doctor and get the lab tests before taking a medication, however. Can be done easily within 1-2 hours at AEK Hospital.

As Polehawk says, once you've had an gout attack you know what it is the next time......

I knew what it was, realised why I got it again (bloody shellfish), just looked for some over the counter meds to ease the pain quickly.

We're 30+Kms from AEK, the local hospital would only refer me to Udon and I couldn't drive....The wife doesn't drive and the bus trip would have been hell.

There's a couple of good pharmacies in Kudjap and I knew I could get something there if I knew the name of the med......if they didn't have it in the morning they'd get it for me by the afternoon........

I do accept though if I hadn't had gout before I would have paid someone to drive me top the AEK...