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Two questions:
1. Is there a reccomended time of day to test yourself?
2. I know lower is better….but how low should I aim for?
I usually test first thing in the morning after I shower but before I eat or drink anything. My results are consistantly below 6.0 (average of 5.7) if I do it then. Testing other times of the day gives readings all over the place with no pattern.
That is a very good pair of questions. Certainly, the first one has got me thinking.
The background is that:
- We know levels fluctuate through the day.
- We know that, for reasons being pondered and researched, people can have uric acid levels above the 6.8 saturation point, with no obvious signs of gout.
- We know that most “official” tests are performed in the morning after a fasting period.
- We know that most gout flares are noticed during the night, or after long periods of inactivity such as a journey, or sat at work.
I, like you, have usually tested myself in the morning before eating. On reflection, I think that it is probably more useful to do this at night.
Ranges depend on status.
For diagnosed gout, had an attack within 6 months. Below 6mg is good. The lower the better in terms of speeding up the time it takes to get rid of old uric acid crystals. We all need some uric acid, so I would be worried enough to seek professional advice (or do a bit more research) if my level fell below 4.
For diagnosed gout, not had an attack for 6 months or more. Below 7mg is good. If on treatment such as allopurinol, some people take a break. OK, but then you never want to go above 6.5 – do not waste all that time on allopurinol. If you get back to the 7’s, you’ll soon be back in pain.
For undiagnosed gout. Whilst 7 to 8 is seen by many as “normal”, I would still recommend caution. You might suffer some crystal build-up without the exquisite bite of an acute gout flare. Watch for numbness, tingling, pins & needles, unusual lumps under the skin, or red blotches / rash on the skin. These could be attributable to many things, but are also among the signs of gout.
I have gout, I get treatment from the Dr. to deal with the attacks.
Colchicine – good enough but not something you'd take if you didn't have to – it's basically (like a lot of drugs) a poison.
When having a blood test recently I had to insist that SUA was added to assessement checklist for the hospital doing the analysis.
It just doesn't seem to enter the mind of medics that this figure is important to a gout sufferer.
When I queried the results to reception a week later I was told results were – OK !
Needless to say, I got caught with an attack a few weeks later, when being indiscreet with the beer glass.
My uric acid in blood was actually around 7.5,- for a sufferer, in the danger area -but discovered too late. Quoted as 445 mmol/dL just to confuse..
Your notes about Blood Uric Acid should be pinned to every GPs wall.
No wonder home testing is becoming, not just popular, but necessary.
tavery
If I were doing my own testing I would test first thing in the AM. That way the variable of how much of what kind of food the body is digesting is removed from the equation. For trends it is always best to compare apples with apples.
With that morning average of 5.7 I would expect you willl not see another gout attack unless you have noticeable tophi.
I got my 40 year old physical last Monday. They did a uric acid test since I mentioned I had gout. The test (taken at 830am with no food yet) came back at 8.2 mg/dL.
8.2 is very different than the readings I get with my UASure test kit. I consistantly test below 6.0. I tested myself that morning and got a 5.8 reading. I tested each morning for 3 days before and 4 days after the test (every time on an empty stomach right after shower) and all readings were always between 5.3 and 5.9. (control solution reads correctly)
Why would the doctor test be so much different? It seems like I wasted my money on the UASure test kit…
Thoughts?
p.s. For the record my other tests came back as follows:
Liver: ALT @ 44 (norm is 10-55) AST @ 28 (norm 10-40)
Diabetes: Glucose fasting @ 102 (norm is 70-99)
Cholesterol is high with HDL of 32 and LDL of 177 (he wants to treat with meds)
Total Protein Serum is 6.8 (dont know norm)
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