The Pain on taking Allopurinol

[Aki]

Hello All,

Thanks for sharing all the information on these gout topics as I’ve learnt a lot by reading all the information shared here. Honestly, without the information especially on the right ways of treating this gouty pain. I would definitely stopped continuing my Allopurinol pills right-away on the 1st sign of pain.

Right now, I’m on daily 600 mg of allo which been prescribed by my GP. After reading some of the info related to allo, I’ve been thinking on reducing it to half of it.

When I first started with this medication, my UA reading was 8.7 mg/dl. After a month, it was reduced to 5.3 and the episodes of my right ankle pain started. I’m taking colchicine (twice a day) and arcoxia( 90 mg once/day) for pain reliever but looks like this magic bullet is not really working on me.

I have to walk side ways as the pain is really killing me .. should I get back to my GP for him to prescribe me a lil bit stronger drugs to reduce my pain.

Honestly I’m a true believer of this Allo approach and my target to stay below 5 mg/dl at least and I’ve monitored my UA level on a daily basis since start taking the allo …. thanks in advance for any advise.. Cheers

p/s : I’ve been on gout for more than 12 years … and still suffering …

[Keith Taylor]

Hi Aki, and thanks for sharing your thoughts about allopurinol, colchicine, and Arcoxia (etoricoxib). We don’t hear much about that anti-inflammatory in UK or USA, but it might be common in Malaysia and other countries. In that discussion that I linked to, and other Internet sources, it suggests that the best Arcoxia dose for gout is 120mg per day. I think you should definitely discuss this with your doctor. Whilst you are there, ask about compatible pain-killers that you can take alongside Arcoxia.

When do you take the 2 colchicine? I think it’s best to take one at night, then, if you need it, take another in the morning. Again, it’s a good idea to ask your doctor about this.

It’s a good idea to drink lots of fluids when you are taking allopurinol. Usually there’s a recommendation in the patient information to drink a certain amount. I believe, rather than a fixed amount, you should aim to keep urine the color of pale-straw.

The thing that puzzles me most is the idea that you would get more attacks as uric acid goes lower. I can see that, at least in theory, low uric acid should cause more crystals to dissolve. I’m struggling to understand how this is a bad thing. In my mind, it’s good to dissolve crystals as fast as possible. I guess it’s easy for me to say that, as I learned how to control my gout pain many years ago.

My choice was to take allopurinol well below 5. In fact, I insisted on maximum allopurinol to go as low as I could. I haven’t kept my records very well, but I think I got down to around 3mg/dL. I’m not saying this is right for you, Aki. I just wonder what you think of my way, compared to yours.

Obviously, forum discussions are not science fact, and every gout sufferer is different. But, the zone that I warn against most lies between 5 and 7. In that zone, you can easily get to a situation where uric acid crystals start dissolving. That increases the level of uric acid in the blood, which could start the crystallization process again. Obviously, this is just my theory, so I’m very interested to know other people’s opinions.

[Author]

Posts