Persistent gout at low uric acid levels

[Rich Blazeski]

Hello,

I want to post my last values with you and ask an opinion.
August 2017 -5.4, October 2017- 6.2 (the highest value ever measured), December 2017- 5.4 mg/dL, April 2018 5.15 mg/dL (the last value I took the test one hour after lunch).

Still, I have pain for 11 months now. Around big toes both feet and sometimes in the other small toes. Most of the time the pain is in the ball on my sole. What do you think?

Is the uric acid level hidden in my body? So it doesn’t show in the results.

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Are your uric acid levels normal?

[nobody]

I’m going to sound like a broken record but there you go…

If you used to have more uric acid in your blood before 2017, some of the resulting crystals could still be in your body. It sometimes takes longer for the crystals to go away.
But the longer your problem goes on while your test results remain this low, the less likely it becomes that your problem is caused by uric acid.
At some point you’ll have to ask medical professionals to investigate other causes, especially if your symptoms haven’t improved. If on the other hand the problem was becoming less severe over time, it would make more sense to keep waiting.

I guess there is also a chance that the tests you’ve been taking are biased.
But your symptoms aren’t typical gout symptoms in the first place.

[Rich Blazeski]

The only result I have before 2017 it is from may 2015, 5.8 ml/dl. I checked three dr last year,two of them told me they believe is uric acid to blame,one of them told me he believes is something else..since then I let it like that as the pain is bearable..even though I had a normal diet (meat almost daily even pork sometimes) and alcohol intake in the last 4-5 months..
Regarding the results I have no doubts..they are correctly 100%.

[Keith Taylor]

“Regarding the results I have no doubts..they are correctly 100%.”

Really Rich, 100%? I have several doubts. Because:
1. I remember from earlier discussions you are traveling around Europe where the scale used for blood test results is hardly ever mg/dL.

2. None of your results actually state mg/dL. Because your first 2 results in your list have no scale. Then you say mg followed by mg/do, neither of which are valid scales for uric acid blood test results. Finally, you end with ml/dl, which is again meaningless.

3. I have wasted much time over the years trying to investigate gout at low uric acid levels outside the USA. But wherever people have bothered to check they have *always* returned with corrected results in mmol/L.

So, Rich, please can you double-check the scale used in your test results. Then compare them with the different scales used for measuring uric acid levels. Also, if you have the actual lab reports, perhaps you could photograph them and send the pictures to me.

[Anthony Truong]

Could it be a bunion? Its been over 4 months since my last major attack (large amount of swelling and unable to wear shoes or put any pressure on my big toe). Now the swelling has gone down but I believe I’m left with a bunion that occasionally gets red or have some skin irritation around the affected area. No swelling or anything just skin irritation.

[Pat Stanton]

if it is uric acid and it gets bad enough you will not be able to walk… I’ve had it and forced myself to go work on it. then if you seriously get it bad bad enough. you will have to crawl… to the bathroom ..

Posted via reply to update list: On Fri, Apr 6, 2018, 12:48 AM GoutPal Support Services Update

[d q]

Rich, I don’t want to be sending out the wrong signals but I’ve had pain in my toe joint and not so occasionally on the ball of my foot since my last gout attack in May 2017 however my UA levels have been high since I stopped Allopurinol in May 2017. I started Febuxostat in November 2017 on a very low dose and have been increasing it very slowly in hope of avoiding another major attack. Anyhow;

Whenever I get pain in the toe joint I leave it and just drink plenty of water and believe it or not it seems to go away. So it could just be that your joints are shedding final pieces of crystals and a burst of water helps flush them away causing no issues. In my case I’m hoping the above is the happening and the solution is temporary as I continue to drop uric acid levels.

However when I get pain on the ball of my foot I start to get a little worried as my attacks start there so I either drink lots of water and monitor it very closely. If I feel no response in a given period of time I just take a colchicine tablet for precaution.

I just wanted to share with you that I too still have pain from the last attack but my UA levels were uncontrolled from May to November 2017 (550+ummol) and they have only recently (March 2018) come down to 366ummol so that could be to blame.

Have you checked with your doctor for scans that could possibly identify any damage?

[Rich Blazeski]

Hi all, thank you for your replies.
@ Keith all results are mg/dL, I checked them very carefully each time, there s no doubt about it.
Anyway the pain is on the ball on my sole under big toe, sometimes stiffness around big toe joint and very often in the first joint of my smaller toes both feet, it is felt like a burning along the smaller toes in the upper part, this pain is getting worse in the evening and getting better or even disappear in the morning till wake up..I think is getting worse after drinking and eating meat I m not quite sure as I started to think it might be just coincidence.

One year since my first big attack. ( ball under big toe was very painful and swollen).

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Is your uric acid blood test result safe or normal?

[Author]

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