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Thanks guys. I read you mails few times but did not reply as I don't know what to write
I go to two doctors they bloody say X-ray is all clear and swelling is not big enough to be able to draw fuid from the joint and I apparently don't have gout. The rheumatologist “specialist” suggested that maybe my feet are too wide 
I am not buying that.What I don't understand is-
a) Why my pain is not as hardcore as typical Gout patient where even slight movement or contact is painful? I don't have pain in the morning thing either.
b) Why is my swelling not hardcore either? Or redness as I have seen in typical Gout patient photos?
c) Why is the pain in such a specific small area on the top of my left toe joint?? Although not exactly pain like in the right toe joint but I am feeling things on my right toe joint as well. That can't be coincidence.
I will call my hospital's Rheumatology department and take it further from there
THANKS FOR LISTENING AND KEEPING ME SANE! 
I had deleted the earlier photo so I have re-uploaded it incase anyone is still curious.
Guys I am back. To recap the pain that I felt in a 1cm diamater area on my left toe joint on pressing with my finger had gone for last few weeks. The area never felt completely normal though but atleast the sharp pain which i felt on pressing with my finger was gone. I even bought Nike FREE line of shoes for extra comfort (nice comfy shoes btw). Strangely the left shoe always felt slightly tighter than the right one even though there is no obvious swelling.
Anyway today I went for a long walk with my wife. We walked 4 hours at casual speed. Drank water and ate tons of fruits. By the end of the walk my left toe joint was hurting again. The pain when I press with my finger is back with original force. I have no typical gout like swelling or any discolouration. I can walk kind of normal but don't feel normal nor have felt completely normal there ever since I had this problem2+ months ago.
Atleast the pin point accurate pain on pressing had gone but even that is back after today's walk. additionally my right toes at the exact same spot is not feeling completely normal Although there is no pain on pressing the right toes joint.
I am starting to think that maybe I have something other than gout. Ok I really don't know what the hell I have
I think I will have to see another Rheumatologist. This is breaking my heart!Sounds like a rant about everything
Mind if I rant away as well? I do agree that on average docs are just pill pushers. I lost my faith in god kind of hocus pocus stuff long time ago and in recent times I have lost my faith in science as welll. Everyone is just a number in this world so don't be surprised if you get treated like a number as well. We are just passing through this world like we pass through our docs office Burial or cremation for you sir? 
zip2play said:
I would attribute the range (7.8-8.2) to expected testing error. I would interpret them as essentially the same reading, 8.0, with an error of +- 3%. That's quite good for a home test.
Big difference after a meal though, eh. (What was the meal? high purine? meaty?)
Brings up an interesting point though.
VegGuy…you must be rich because those strips are a couple bucks apiece, right?
Ok read the user guide from start to finish and according to the manual:
Point 1- Putting two drops or adding a second drop will give false reading. I am guilty of doing that
Point 2- To get accurate reading you must be on empty stomach
Since we generally have out blood drawn in a doctor's office on an empty stomach (to get a reliable triglyceride and LDL cholesterol level) we might all be walking around with uric acid considerable above what our lab tests say.
Refer to my second point from the guide book. Looks like accurate readings are the ones that are done on empty stomach.
Anyway what I ate for lunch was 4 x boilled corn on the cob, ravioli with spinach stuffing, plain probiotic yoghurt with fresh cherries cherries. I was hungry 🙂 Hey I am veggie so no meaty stuff for me.
I am not rich just paranoid when it comes to health
Yeah they are just under £1 for each strip. Still less than a pint of beer. It was first day so I got carried away.Ok ate food and two hours later did two more tests one after the other and it's up now.
test5- 470/7.8
test6- 494/8.2
Why 24 point difference between tests5 and test6 when they are only one minute apart?
I just can't leave you guys alone
Got my Artic kit today. Kind of addicted to pricking my fingers now. Made 10 pricks in all, 4 for actual testing and 6 as test runs (sticking with level 5 prick). No more tests for today unless I start on my feet.My results of the 4 actual tests between 11 and 11.15am. All done properly with thoroughly washed and dried hands. Blood drop fully covered the test area in all 4 tests.
test1- 309/5.1
test2-298/5
test3- 375/6.3
test4- 375/6.3
In the last two tests I overflooded it with 2+ drops. The last two readings must be accurate then.
375/6.3 is looking good I must say from 490 I apparently had.
Yeah CC_Alaska was on to something. Ok I will take a break from the forum. This gout businnes really sucked too much out of me. Good luck to all the confirmed gout sufferers. Either way I will be keeping an eye on my diet and my uric acid levels. Peace out.
Ok went to see Rheumatologist. Had to strip down again. He checked everything from my hip bone position to my feet. He was taking lot of detailed notes. I had also taken photos of my toe at the worst pain stage plus all the blood test readings and X-rays. He said yes the uric acid levels are higher than normal but he is confident that it is not acute gout. I asked him if I could have my toe joint liquid analyzed for peace of mind and he repeated what my GP had said. He said I have no to low level swelling so it is not easy to take the liquid out and it would be pointless. He said my feet are wide near the front and that sometimes causes pain like I am experiencing combined with over excertion of the joint. He said the only thing he can offer me is to come back in 3 months to take another look at my blood uric acid levels ( I doubt that it would change much, in 2007 it was above 400 and now it's above 400 as well).
He said my diet also makes me a low risk canidate.
So there you are. I honestly don't know what to make of it all.
GoutPal said:
I'd love to know his opinion on your risk for gout based on your recent uric acid test results.
Me too
You will be the first to know GoutPal. Today I got some other blood test results. I will take them with me to the Rheumatologist tomorrow. Do these numbers say anything to you?Vit B12 171 pmol/l (normal level 150-700)
Folic Acid 41 nmol/l (normal level 7-40)
Iron 180 ug/l (normal level 20-300)
Iron is not on the high side so that must be good from Gout pov. Folic acid is high though.
Ok got an appointment and am seeing the Rheumatologist tomorrow. I hope he does the joint fluid test
Continuation of my novel
Busy with project work so have not had much time to drive myself crazy. The toe keeps reminding that something is not normal down there. Got a list of Rheumatolagist in my area so will get an appointment next week. My Arctic machine should arrive by then as well so can play with some real numbers.
There is still 5-10% sweeling on my toe. Walking does not hurt much but I feel stuffed down there. Pressing at the spot still hurts even after 3+ weeks. Still hoping that it turns out not to be Gout after I see the Rheumatologist.
Anyway on average what kind of uric acid levels do Gout sufferers normally have without any medication? I read that some have as high as 12+. What is the upper limit of the measurment scale for humans?
Interesting. I will hit my local Asian food store and pick some black beans. I will probably add onions, herbs and some spices to the liquid.
Ok ordered the Arctic stuff and picked goutPal from the drop down menu. Looking forward to testing and keeping a log of the read outs. Also searching for decent Rheumatologist in my region.
My doc did say that as I dont have major swelling getting fluid out of my toe joint won't be a simple thing. Any views on that? Will it be super painful?
Granny Smith and similar sharp tasting apples, peas, plain non salted cashew nuts, various beans and lentils, spinach and leafy dark greens have been very very very central part of my vegetarian diet. Based on sucking up info from all over the web it seems Peas, Cashew nuts, beans and lentils are a no no for me. This will really impact my vegetarian diet. Hmmm don't know what to believe as there is so much contradictory info everywhere.
I am on Arctic Medical's website but not sure about the lancet bit. Does their lancets 30G (100) box have everything in it to draw blood or do I need a holder/pen type of device to hold the lanceot?
http://arcticmedical.co.uk/con…..ancets.png
P.S- I have your GPAM8 code on the ready.
P.S II- Thanks for all the help and patience for my 1million questions.
Are you taking supplements?
I take Berocca on and off. Nothing else apart from that. Try to get everything from natural food in general. Do you think I should stop taking Berocca? It must have artificial sweetener or something in it.
GoutPal what do you make of my reading spiking to 490s during the pain and lowering to 420s as the pain has eased. Should it not be other way round? Urea near the joint so reading lower during pain?
> Increasing muscle mass through excessive exercise is not good for gout, though you have to balance the cardio-vascular risks of too little exercise.
I am not body builder or anything like that
I don't take any protein shakes or suppliments either to get big. I just go gym to do mid level weights for an hour and step machine for 40 minutes of cardio. This gout business has really thrown a spanner in my works. I don't even know what to do, what not to do and how to balance everything. I guess best would be to take regular blood urea readings and see how my diet or change of gym routine impacts my readings.Yes I will see a Rheumatologist. Are they the absolute specialists for Gout or is there a chance that they are not too bright?
Are Arctic Medical's urea readings reasonably accurate?
Can't I eat the black beans used to make the broth? Why do I need to boil it soo long? Can't I soak it in water overnight and then cook the black beans for 20 minutes or so and then eat it all?
Update- Pain is less (not that it was ever extreme) but when I press my toe with my finger then it's still there. Today I even felt slight tingly, electric kind of sensation on the underside of my toe, could be related or just one of those random things. Anyway saw the doc today with my x-rays. X-rays are ok, so no physical damage. Doc took the blood reading again and said he is confident that I don't have gout.
– Pain in not the kind that gout sufferers have as I can walk freely plus touching does not hurt (I am thinking maybe because I am at very early stage so pain is low level?)
– Urea reading is normal (Gout Pal's link says otherwise)
– Visually it does not look like gout (Again maybe because I am at very early stage?)
-X-ray shows all clear (Again too early for X-ray to show anything)
I was pleased and excited but I asked for copy of my readings.
On coming home and analyzing the reading I feel I am not out of jail! My reading as stated in my earlier post was not 4.6 or 4.9 mg/dL like I had thought. My blood urea level when I first went to doc last week was 495 µmol/L and today was 429 µmol/L. I also have a reading from 2007 in my chart which was 455 µmol/L.
Based on GoutPal's link I am in the “BAD” category- https://gout-pal.com/refere…..id-levels/
Feel like I am at square one again? Whether I actually have gout or not currently I don't know. The point is that I might as well act as if I already have
What the hell am I going to do with my diet? I eat so sensibly already and have been for last 5 years I work hard in the gym and am very fit and not overweight.What should be my next step? I will order the blood urea test kit tonight to monitor everything. Should I see a Rheumatologist or see how it goes for next few weeks and months? Am I being paranoid?
EDIT- Googling and came to this link-
http://knol.google.com/k/theod…..locale=en#
Depressing those photos. I think I am going to bed to shut down my mind for now.
CC_Alaska said:
Well…there's another way to diagnose it: Tuff it out this time and if it's Gout; IT WILL RETURN….probably about a year or so from now when you have completely forgotten about the first incident. Sorry…thats my tongue in cheek humor.
Oh you are evil
You might be on to something as I feel that I have had this pain before for past few years. A minor version of it. It's like a deja vu feeling. Maybe I am just going mad GoutPal said:
Make it bigger. Put the kids in.
Better still don't have any parasites, umm I mean kids
You lot are funny
So I went for the x-ray today. Half way through, the machine broke down LOL So I was sent to another place to get them done (they payed for the taxi). Stripping off twice at two different MRI places was too much for me Anyway I have the x-rays but have to wait till friday to show them to my doc. To my untrained eye the xray does not seem to show anything bad. I compared them to normal x-rays online. Wearing and walking in my shoe is not as painful as it was before, just bit stiff. When I press the black dot with my finger then the pain is exactly same as before though.I was not doing calf raise. It is a machine for the calf but you push with the lower front part of your feet (not the toe) and rotate with your ankle area. I think it migth still have been the culprit. Once I get better I won't use it for few months.
http://www.reccenter.siu.edu/w…..d_Calf.jpg
Doc did a thorough check of my tendons and tendons don't seem to be the problem. You know he made me push up, down and sideways with the toe and it does not hurt at all, meaning the tendons are ok. The pain is joint related. I might have over driven them without knowing.
Edit- You guys any good at reading X-rays?
GoutPal I am going back in two days with myX-rays and he will be taking my blood urea test again, I will make sure to get all the info that you were refering to.
His words were that normal blood urea is roughly around 4.2 and mine is slightly higher than that (4.6 or 4.9) but no where near the risk area levels. So that would make me believe that it was mg/dL.To be honest I have driven myself into such a state that everything seemed like a blur when I was there. You won't believe how hard I have been working out on my health for last few years and even the possibility of gout was messing with my head. I was like I take so much care of my health and as a reward I get gout. Whatever happens I have a new found respect for gout sufferers. I will be buying the home kit that you mentioned earlier so I can keep a close eye on my blood uric acid levels, irrespective of being or not being diagnosed with gout.
I went to the doc today. According to him it is highly unlikely that I have gout. The kind of very localized pain that I have is not very gout like and not as severe as what gout patients suffer. The cause is definitely the joint and not tendons or anything around it. I will get X-rayed today but he thinks it will most probably come out normal as well. Doc thinks I might have overstrained the joint somehow. Fingers crossed. My blood uric acid level was 4.6 or was it 4.9. I forgot now. It's slightly high?
Goutpal thanks for the post. I know you are probably not a doc but visually what do you see in my photo apart from my ugly feet? It is possible that it I have Gout 🙁
Regarding the fluid test, don't they make the area numb to be painless?
I have to see the family doc anyway as then he refers me to the specialist, that is how it works here. If I do the joint fluid test then can it 100% confirm if I have or not have gout? Is it not possible that someone has Gout but no crystals at the joint on the actual test day?Edit- For future use is there no home blood uric acid test? Similar to home urine ph test?
