Just a quick update here. Work has me a little busy right now. The wife and I had a very nice trip over the weekend to Dresden where I was able to do some real walking and getting around for the first time in almost a month. It was nice to be mobile again. There were a few small twinges and some slight pain in my right ankle leftover from the last attack, but it really wasn't too bad. With breaks to rest in between exploring the city, my body held up better than it has in months. Even today, after two days of some fair walking, I don't feel bad except for a little muscle soreness in my legs. That's to be expected, though, after such a long period of inactivity. The splitting up of my Allopurinol dose and adding in the daily Aleve just might be doing the trick. Time might also be a factor here as my body continues to rid itself of uric acid. I'm not getting my hopes too high, however, as I've done that way too many times and have had way too many setbacks. Instead, I'll continue taking it easy, going for short walks to try to recondition my leg muscles a bit and may also start going on some short bike rides. I'll just have to see how my body reacts in the coming days. Today and likely tomorrow will be recovery days, however. I need it!
Another thing to note is that I'm going to start slowly introducing meat back in to my diet. Small 3-6 oz portions once or twice per week to start. One of the great things about living in Germany is the availability of high-quality, healthy meats straight from the butcher. I can actually get meat free of hormones and from sources that weren't stuffed full of genetically modified feed. I did have a small amount of sliced ham this past weekend, and last night, enjoyed a bison burger with no ill effects as of yet. I've been researching this a bit over the past week and I think it's important to include a bit of high-quality, healthy meat in one's diet. We humans, afterall, are omnivores, and I have no qualms eating responsibly raised, hormone free meat products. I've noticed over the past couple of days that my thinking seems sharper and my head feels clearer than it has in a long, long time. I don't know if there is any correlation here - only time will tell.
Here's a very quickly processed 360 degree panorama of Dresden - I took the pictures from the top of a hill - that I actually climbed with little problem! (click to view full size)
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ReplyDeleteNate,
I am very glad your gout pain is down to 1.5 and that you can tolerate Aleve well. Let's be very, very careful this time so gout attack will not come back again.
I strongly suggest that you stay on prophylatic doses of Aleve. If you think 660 mg/day is more than necessary, wait for 2~3 more days then reduce it to 440. If 440 is more than necessary, wait for 3~4 more days, then reduce it to 330. At that point you can decide whether to stay at that level, further reduce it to 220, or replace Aleve with Colchicine for prophylaxis. At any time if you think gout attack is back, go back to 660 or 880 immediately.
Another suggestion is: when you see your doctor, you may like to ask him to give you a Rx for 50~100 tabs of Colchicine 0.5mg. Colchicine is a very good prophylaxis for gout. In my opinion, it's safer than NSAIDs for long term use and is very inexpensive. Get the Rx when you see the doc even you have no plan to use it now. It will save you time from having to chase down the doc for a Rx later when you want to try Colchicine.
I am in agreement with you on your diet and exercise plans. I expect your UA level to go up from the current 3.9 when you take the test in the next few days because you have been doing exercise lately. It's the normal minor fluctuation of UA and may actually good for the health. I don't see any problem for you to start eating small portions of animal protein, provided that they are fresh and are prepared by youself. Prepared foods from restaurants and markets contain certain additives which are gout triggers to some gouties.
Take care.
(By annon.nn)
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ReplyDeleteNate,
You took Cyclobenzaprine 30 mg/day on 3/23/10 & 3/24/10. Do you recall how many more days did you take it before those two days? Thanks.
(By annon.nn)
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Hi anon,
ReplyDeletethanks for the tips. I do plan on sticking with the Aleve. Instead of taking it for a few days and then not taking it for a week, the steady flow of Naproxen does seem to be helping. My stomach is still doing fine, too.
I will be watching my diet carefully. I'm very picky about what type of meat I will eat. We don't eat out more than once or twice a month, and I doubt I'll be eating any meat when we do. Too big of portions and too many questions about the quality. Oh, and NEVER fast food. It's not really food anyway :)
I did take Cyclobenzaprine for a week I believe. It was when I first did my back in. I didn't think it really pertained to my gout at the time and wasn't careful about documenting taking it.