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I can only take Colcrys for my gout,the price has gone up so much its not affordable for me at this time.My Dr will not prescribe any other medications because I have only one kidney.so I am trying tart cherry juice once a day every day & watching my diet.No pork or beef & very little turkey or chicken.I have had 2 bouts in one month,right foot then the left.So far its the only places I have had it,been having the attacks for about 3 years now, every 3 months or so.Most occur after holidays so I know it the relaxed eating habits at the time.
Oh Mary, I could cry.
It’s very insensitive for your doctor to respond as he has done. I will try to do better, but I have to hope that you realize I am not a doctor. In the case of gout complicated by kidney disease, you must get the help of a suitably experienced rheumatologist. I understand that money is an issue. I know that needymeds.org has many resources to provide financial help for Americans struggling with health costs. That includes advice about Colcrys costs as well as help with access to medical facilities.
It is my belief that the license for Colcrys has expired (or been amended), and generic colchicine should be available again. Pester your doctor for information on this, and also ask local pharmacists. There has always been a “get-out” clause with colchicine, though I don’t personally know of anyone who has done it. The “secret” is for your doctor to write a prescription for a dose that is not covered by Colcrys. They have 0.6mg tabs, so if your doctor insists on 0.5mg tabs for health reasons, these can be produced from generic colchicine by a Compounding Pharmacist. I’m informed that this is supposed to become mainstream following an agreement with Prasco Laboratories, but I’ve yet to hear of anyone actually getting cheaper colchicine. It#’s sad that your doctor can’t help on this. Perhaps if you ask him directly for information about Prasco Laboratories, he might be able to help more.
Sorry I can’t offer a more succinct response, but I’m UK-based so I rely on my American friends for local information. If any friendly Americans are reading this, perhaps they can respond with better information. C’mon Guys! Mary needs our help!
Mary, I can see that you are being forced to consider diet control as your only option. Diet control for gout is usually best as part of a comprehensive gout treatment plan. What we must do is create a diet plan that helps you achieve some specific treatment goals. I can’t help you with this unless you give me more facts about yourself. If you want a personal diet plan, just let me know. Start by putting as much relevant information as you can in your Personal Gout Profile. As a starting point, I need to know your uric acid level, height, weight, favorite foods, foods you hate. Without the basics, I’m unsure how much I can help you. I promise you it will be more than the things you have mentioned already. There’s not much wrong in what you are doing so far, but it doesn’t form a coherent plan that you can measure and refine.
One last question: What’s the cost of daily tart cherry juice compared to Colcrys?
Did my response make sense Mary?
Please let me know if I need to clarify anything about Colcrys, cheaper colchicine, or tart cherry juice for gout.
Sorry I have not had a chance to reply,yes your advice makes a lot of sense.You mentioned cheaper colcrys,I had never thought of a compound pharmacy!Do you think stress has anything to do with gout,because I have been under a lot for the past year.
Thank you for all the good information,I plan on reading all the posts just as soon as I get time !Stress is an interesting gout topic. Unfortunately, since the retirement of Herbert Weiner over 30 years ago, there is very little recent research. The old stuff is not complete, but best found by searching for Psychosomatic Gout. They are probably interlinked. Gout pain definitely causes stress, but so do many other things. Stress might, in some unknown way, trigger gout attacks, but so do many other things.
The only way to treat gout is to get uric acid down to safe levels. In your case, Mary, that is 6mg/dL or below. There are many ways to do that. The newest drugs take weeks. Other methods can take months or years. Once you reach that stage of gout control, you do not need to worry about gout pain any more.
I’m still very concerned about your doctor’s reluctance to prescribe uric acid lowering meds. Everything I have read about allopurinol and kidney disease says that allopurinol helps kidney function. Obviously, it has to be dosed and monitored correctly, but any half-competent doctor should be able to do that. I hope you can persuade your doctor to think again, Mary.
Good news my doctor did prescribe Allopurinol yesterday.I haven’t taken the first dose yet,may get brave enough to take it today.
Ok I did take the stuff only 100 mg at this time,he may raise the dose after he sees how well I do.That is 3 months from now.The only effect it has, is sleepiness,I need a nap anyway LOL.Hope it works for me & he dont raise the dosage,I can’t sleep all day !
The 100mg starting dose is sensible. It’s a good safe option to ensure that side-effects risks are minimized.
It’s very important to return after 2-4 weeks to get uric acid tested. Then dose can be adjusted to get uric acid safely below 5mg/dL. There is no point in taking allopurinol if it does not get uric acid safe. Under-dosing will not reduce gout attacks, and can make gout worse.
The tiredness issue is interesting. I experienced it a bit, but can’t prove if it was the allo, or the stress of medical treatment. It passed quickly for me, and it was never dose dependent.
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