An off-topic, personal update!
One fine day, I went to bed as usual and almost fell asleep.
After about an hour, I was suddenly awakened by an unbearable pain in my foot, revolving around big toe. It felt like the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in this life.
Someone rightly explained the experience as:
The pain pulses as if my heart has migrated to my foot, but instead of blood it is pumping razor blades.
The night went by with the pain coming back left, right & center with no chance of getting any sleep. The big toe can’t even bear the pressure of a thin bedsheet on it.
Morning I went to the doctor and within 5 seconds of looking at the condition he said:
It’s Gout, Your uric acid is high, You’re not drinking enough water.
That took my memories instantly to the day I took my first complete blood test which I did an year and a half ago and on examining the report, the doctor was shocked at the uric acid levels and said, “this is concerning”.
Shocking because I neither take non-veg nor alcohol which is the usual common factor for the uric acid spikes apart from many other factors. Even-though I was aware about the Uric acid issues by then, with time it slipped out of my mind and I forgot that it’s something which I’ve to keep an eye on and I’m now paying the price for my carelessness.
So the doctor sent me off with tabs as if it’s a common flu with a 2nd appointment scheduled a week later. But, I researched a bit on it and was shocked to see articles like,
- Gout reduces life expectancy by 25%
- There is no cure for gout
- Gout requires lifelong medication
At the same time there are also some interesting notes associated with it like: gout is also called as “Disease of Kings” and that many popular names in the world have experienced it, like: Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Darwin & more.
Now coming back to the condition, almost after 3 weeks things are back to normal now with inflammation expected to go away in a month or so.
That aside, along with gout attack, the axis attack on atlas for “non-personal usage” also came the same day, on one of my family cards and yet to be unblocked. They’re basically asking for excuses for delay every 3 days for past 3 weeks and I think they’ll unblock most cardholders by 20th April. Anyway, will cover that in sometime separately.
Takeaway
So here are some quick takeaways:
- It’s summer and so our body needs more water than usually required. Of-course we know, but most of us don’t follow. Hence drink more water! Doctor says that Gout cases usually rises during the summer season.
- Be conscious of Peanuts intake, as that’s the primary reason in my case, as I took HUGE quantities that particular week, combined with less water intake.
- Take a complete blood test once a year if you’re >30 Yrs old, as you never know what’s going wrong.
- Just knowing is of NO USE! Like in my case, I knew the uric acid levels are concerning but I never took proper care about it.
Hence take appropriate preventive ACTION whenever required, so that you don’t need to pay the price with the pain.
That said, this incident is an eye opening to me for very many reasons, so I’m absolutely glad I had to go through the experience.
It’s also interesting that most people I’ve spoken to after this, has known about Gout because they got it themselves or for their parents.
So it seems to be an inevitable problem for most – if not now maybe later in life. So I thought it would be useful for many, hence published. Hope this helps some!
1. Stay well hydrated.
2. No Alcohol (Particularly beer).
3. Avoid/Reduce meat intake.
4. Avoid Aspirin. It worsens gout.
3. If on diuretics, chances of gout are relatively higher.
Get well soon Siddharth.
Glad to know you’re better!
Hi Sid,
Thanks for sharing your personal experience, I’m sure this post shall be helpful like it was for me.
Glad to hear that.
Ah so that’s what happened. I was wondering where did you disappear!
Wish you a speedy recovery Sid! I’ll wait for you to recover and push out some CC content 🙂
Thanks!
Recovered and did a quick trip as well to get rid of expiring CV points !!!
Hopefully some fresh content in few days. 👍
Glad you are fine Sid. Thanks for the info on this disease.
Now we know why we dint hear you when do much was happening in the credit card world.
Take care, Sid!
Welcome to the Club! Here’s the straight dope for beating gout:
1. Don’t just swallow what docs say; you don’t want to be on pills forever.
2. Apple Cider Vinegar is king. Take it raw, with ‘Mother’, twice a day. That’s a liter of water right there, and it zaps gout attacks like nothing else.
3. Meat’s not the villain they make it out to be.
4. Real culprits? Fructose and Sucrose. They’ll ambush your gout, not meat.
5. Load up on potassium and magnesium. Your body’s begging for it.
6. Don’t skimp on Vitamin C. You need atleast 3000 to 10000mg per day. No kidding no sideffects. Make sure to get the right one which only has Ascorbic acid.
7. Exercise. Sweat. Flush out the junk.
From experience it should drastically reduce any future attacks.
Hope you recover soon. And all the best.
Beat gout like royalty, with smarts and the right arsenal!
With 3 weeks of full-time research on this, I agree with all of the above and I’m aware that each has to be explained in detail for newbies to understand how important they’re.
But I somehow feel “Apple Cider Vinegar” is bit uncomfortable to have. So I take Lemon water which I feel is equally good and fresh. With it’s Acidic properties + Vit C, it serves dual purpose. 🙂
And eventually it seems reducing intake of Carbs (to lower glucose spikes) is the only long term solution not only for Gout but almost for any disease.
Glad you doing better now. As an ‘informed person’ as you’re in card stuffs, im sure you did your share of googlings already.
Just beware of a bunch of different type of info and medications, preventions, and old-styled remedies.
I will suggest you to choose one aspect of medication, and follow it thru. Maybe it be ayurveda, herbal, allopathy or homeo, just stick with one for long term relief. This is my personal experience for my acute scaitica issues on left side, and i took random advice cause i saw no way out of this and thought “why not try this and that’, was my biggest mistake. Thankfully i am mostly better on a regular basis, but its lifelong issue for me.
I also experienced the same attack….
It always comes in night and you find it in the morning
You will not know when will it come…. Day before attack every thing is normal
It comes only in toe…. In my case left leg
Don’t take any protein food…. Like peas, pulses as protein breaks into purine which is the main cause of this…. But can’t stop complete protein food…. By the way I m also vegetarian
I have taken pain killer only twice in my life and that both time due to gout attract
Thanks Sid
I am also suffering with gout, tomorrow I am having appointment. Please share some more experiences of yours, do’s and dont’s so that it will help me in maintaining gout. I am not alcholic and I stopped raking non veg. Look forward to know some more precious words from you
Opps! First week would be bit painful.
Have a lot of water + take medicines for 2-3 weeks for quick relief as per your doctor’s prescription.
Ideally you’ll need to find the culprit affecting your uric acid levels, this varies with person.
This comment would help overall, so you can avoid it for rest of your life.
A kind of finger joint pain so baba Ramdev Yoga is utmost required for a spontaneous relief. So Sid get well soon. Because of Covid situation and lock down scenario every day exercise such as walking and running down the stairs is like age old practice similarly if there’s no offers running on particular cards same pain I feel on my fingers. 😜
It happens only in toe or can be in hand finger too because something like I am experiencing from past 2 weeks in my right index finger, it stayed swollen after I woke up in morning….day before everything was normal and also didn’t consulted doctor yet. It’s Time to rush for me after reading this. Stay strong Siddharth
Hi sid
Could you please share your uric acid reading from past and recent reports.
I have elevated lavel of uric acid for past 4-5 months but thankfully no attack.
However I was recently denied health insurance by Acko for my uric acid level 7.1 (while upper limit is 7).
Thanks
Approx 8 and 4 now
Denied issuance or claim?
No claim was made. I was porting from exiting health insurer to Acko platinum health plan which is really comprehensive.
They denied porting.
But is Acko good with claims?
I see many negative reviews online.
Guys be careful with ascorbic acids. Just before covid I was diagnosed with vit D deficiency. Having vit c during covid, was like a trend. In 2024, I saw I developed massive kidney stones. Please be careful with suppliments. Even too much of potassium citrate/ magnesium citrate will cause heart problems. After a lot of research I started with 2 small lemons per day. Potassium citrate after lunch. 12 proper glasses of water. I reduced my stone sizes and also reduced uric acid. The last line is the key
Hey Sid,
I always check your page for any new blogs, but it is heart breaking that the new blog is something about you experienced.
I hope you are doing well now and recover soon!
Looking forward to hearing from your Axis Atlas fraud
HI,
Get well Soon!!
Get well soon, Siddharth.
Get well Soon, Sid.
TC Sid.
Get well soon Sid.
Health is most precious for anyone but somehow this is neglected the most.
Thanks for sharing.
Get well soon Sid…. Just change your eating habit and timings of your meal. Avoid high protein food and drink more and more water.
Having papaya regularly will also help a lot.
Get well soon.
Hi Sid,
I’ve been following your blog for some time now, and had been wondering how come no update for a while. Glad to see you back in action – please take care! (I’ve upped my water intake after reading your post 😅)
I walk around 30 to 40 km a week. All of a sudden I started experiencing pain in the right shin when ever I even walk half km. I spoke to my relative who is a doctor and all we were thinking like it’s socks problem or shoe. Then one day when I accidently did a blood check because of offer by Tata 1mg I came to know that my vitamin d dropped to 6. In general it has to be 50 odd if I am not wrong.
Even though I do blood test for every 6 months we never do vitamin d or minerals test which is a complete different package. Even though me being a fitness freak and diet conscious never expected my vitamin levels fall to tht danger level.
I am 35 plus and though I do colestral and diabetes test just randomly do a vitamin test once a year. And please don’t eat self medicine especially supplements. It’s more dangerous than people realise. In India people randomly eat calcium tablets etc. Absolutely don’t take protein powders no matter which country it is.
My relative gets it from UK which is also no good. There are pulses and paneer where you can get proteins from Stay fit in addition to that do medical test.
Thanks Sid for bringing off topic 😁
What are we going to do with fancy cards and reward points when we don’t have health to enjoy life. Hope my experience helps all.
40 Km a week – Amazing!
Thanks for sharing about Vit D, I too found my levels as low as your’s an year ago, thanks to the complimentary benefit on Amex Plat which I wish it returns again. 🙂
Thanks for sharing Sid, I drank full water bottle after reading your blog and comments. Awareness should be there
Ah cool. That’s what I exactly did too, as soon as I stepped out of the Doctor’s cabin. But make sure you’re not over hydrating in long run.
I had a surgery for my ACL three years back. Due to lack of mobility and High protein intake, my uric acid levels went high. My wife saw somewhere in the internet regarding Celery Juice and its treatment for Gout. I tried and it worked for me.
Hi Sid,
In the month of March even I had a gout attack for the first time. And as you said, even I was totally aware of uric acid, but never expected that based on my lifestyle (no alcohol or red meat) I will get it.
So it all boils down to less water intake! 🙁
Anyways, all the best to you too for being safe from uric acid going further in life! 🙂
I had it around 10 years back. No wine, meat. Water intake was good too. I switched to organic vegetables and within couple of months Uric Acid came in control. Something other members in the form too can try.
There are too many Doctors who have given you advice .
My 2 cents
1. One of another reason for Gout is High Sugar. There are many video by Dr. David Perlmutter
2. Research on Kangen Water . I have no intention to cross sell you. I am on Kangen water since 2017. Its good.
If you want any help feel free to contact.
Dear Sid,
Its unfortunate to know that you have suffered an acute gout attach.
My best wishes for your fast recovery and good health.
Although my comment might drown among all the advices fellow well wishers have given. I am obliged to be of as any help i possibly can. As your website has given me immense knowledge on the world of credit cards and make informed decisions.
My father has suffered from such acute attacks for the past 30+ years. He takes the usual medications and the likes. The attacks impairs his ability to walk for a few days. However for the past 5 years he had discovered from a friend’s advice that natural red cherries dried or fresh (No sugar or the preserved ones) when consumed during the mildest sign of such an attack had resulted in completely controlling the inflammation and overall avoiding such a situation completely. Upon further reading red cherries have anti-inflammatory properties which proves to be effective for us. We always have ample stock of dried red cherries at home. It has been a savior in my dad’s case. And i hope it helps in your predicament.
Best Regards