Wondered if anyone suffers from this terrible condition and what they use to get rid of it.
Am off work til Wednesday at least and could do with some advice on how to get rid of it. Been to doc’s and he gave me some anti-inflammatories and offered me a sick note for a week. As I work for agency if I don’t work I don,t get paid so I need to shift it rapidly…
Thanks everyone…
Dave
keep off the port 
OH you unfortuneate person, all my sympathies go with you.
The problem is Uric Acid in the joints and as far as I know there is no cure but it can be kept at bay.
I have taken 1 Zyloric per day for the past 30 years or so and the only time I had problems and I mean big ones was when I forgot them when going on holiday and I was lucky to be able to fly home.
Take care though, once the chemist gave me a substitute and I had after affects so now I am prescribed Zyloric by name
I was diagnosed with Gout a few months ago.
I must have had it for a while and just thought it was a sprain or something.
I had it really bad in my toes,and could hardly walk,and now and again I get it in my thumbs.
The doctor asked if I drink alcohol a lot,I don’t (not for some years anyway) and said it’s usually caused by an excess of alcohol or red meat.
I had some anti-inflamatory drugs and it’s all but disappeared.
Bloody painful tho’.
KW, believe me it WILL come back at some future date and it attacks all joints but usualy the toes.
There is a diet sheet for it but I don’t take notice of it
KW: GET yourdoctor to measure your acid level asthis has to be kept
down below a set level or youwill getattacks more frequently,ido not know how bad you have experienced the attacks,but theycan if not held in check
put you off work for more than you will like, also if you get a attack on the road it is not nice,Try going on the web and looking at a site which deals with the illness,and do try your best to obey some if not all of the rules/advice given, i have to take a tabletonce a day to reduce the risk of an attack and also follow certain advice given,if not treatedand checked the illness can and will get progressievly worse and thatis not nice,no one can honestly say that they keep 100% to the diet but ,do try and avoid the main ingredents that cause the most damage,read alsoup on the forbidden food products as then you alone can prevent --hinder future attacks mate, If you have any questions send us a pm,
Strewth! What’s happening here? All these people with gout. I thought it was only blimpy old colonels with big red noses. And how on earth do you drive with those great big bundles of bandage on your foot?
Sorry. Didn’t mean to mock the afflicted. I expect we will now hear that it is very common as a lot more of you own up. I said own up because it is not usually the sort of ailment much talked about. Like my piles. I don’t have them because a very efficient doctor and NHS service chopped them out tout de suite, but I was amazed when I said I was going in how many others were sufferers. Many less fortunate who had all sorts of temporary remedies foisted on them.
Now I’ve got this hiatus hernia. No problem as long as I keep taking the pills and Gaviscon.
Any advance on gout, farmers or hh?
In sympathy Dave, I’m sure you will get lots of help on here and be able to sift out the useful from the facetious 
Salut, David.
What Is Gout?
Gout is one of the most painful rheumatic diseases. It results from deposits of needle-like crystals of uric acid in connective tissue, in the joint space between two bones, or in both. These deposits lead to inflammatory arthritis, which causes swelling, redness, heat, pain, and stiffness in the joints. The term arthritis refers to more than 100 different rheumatic diseases that affect the joints, muscles, and bones, as well as other tissues and structures. Gout accounts for approximately 5 percent of all cases of arthritis.
Pseudogout is sometimes confused with gout because it produces similar symptoms of inflammation. However, in this condition, also called chondrocalcinosis, deposits are made up of calcium phosphate crystals, not uric acid. Therefore, pseudogout is treated somewhat differently.
Uric acid is a substance that results from the breakdown of purines, which are part of all human tissue and are found in many foods. Normally, uric acid is dissolved in the blood and passed through the kidneys into the urine, where it is eliminated. If the body increases its production of uric acid or if the kidneys do not eliminate enough uric acid from the body, levels of it build up in the blood (a condition called hyperuricemia).
Hyperuricemia also may result when a person eats too many high-purine foods, such as liver, dried beans and peas, anchovies, and gravies. Hyperuricemia is not a disease and by itself is not dangerous. However, if excess uric acid crystals form as a result of hyperuricemia, gout can develop. The excess crystals build up in the joint spaces, causing inflammation. Deposits of uric acid, called tophi (singular: tophus), can appear as lumps under the skin around the joints and at the rim of the ear. In addition, uric acid crystals can collect in the kidneys and cause kidney stones.
For many people, gout initially affects the joints in the big toe. Sometime during the course of the disease, gout will affect the big toe in about 75 percent of patients. It also can affect the instep, ankles, heels, knees, wrists, fingers, and elbows. The disease can progress through four stages:
Asymptomatic (without symptoms) hyperuricemia–In this stage, a person has elevated levels of uric acid in the blood but no other symptoms. A person in this stage does not usually require treatment.
Acute gout, or acute gouty arthritis–In this stage, hyperuricemia has caused the deposit of uric acid crystals in joint spaces. This leads to a sudden onset of intense pain and swelling in the joints, which also may be warm and very tender. An acute attack commonly occurs at night and can be triggered by stressful events, alcohol or drugs, or the presence of another illness. Early attacks usually subside within 3 to 10 days, even without treatment, and the next attack may not occur for months or even years. Over time, however, attacks can last longer and occur more frequently.
Interval or intercritical gout–This is the period between acute attacks. In this stage, a person does not have any symptoms and has normal joint function.
Chronic tophaceous gout–This is the most disabling stage of gout and usually develops over a long period, such as 10 years. In this stage, the disease has caused permanent damage to the affected joints and sometimes to the kidneys. With proper treatment, most people with gout do not progress to this advanced stage.
What Causes Gout?
A number of risk factors are related to the development of hyperuricemia and gout:
Genetics may play a role in determining a person’s risk, since up to 18 percent of people with gout have a family history of the disease.
Gender and age are related to the risk of developing gout; it is more common in men than in women and more common in adults than in children.
Being overweight increases the risk of developing hyperuricemia and gout because there is more tissue available for turnover or breakdown, which leads to excess uric acid production.
Drinking too much alcohol can lead to hyperuricemia because it interferes with the removal of uric acid from the body.
Eating too many foods rich in purines can cause or aggravate gout in some people.
An enzyme defect that interferes with the way the body breaks down purines causes gout in a small number of people, many of whom have a family history of gout.
Exposure to lead in the environment can cause gout.
Some people who take certain medicines or have certain conditions are at risk for having high levels of uric acid in their body fluids. For example, the following types of medicines can lead to hyperuricemia because they reduce the body’s ability to remove uric acid:
Diuretics, which are taken to eliminate excess fluid from the body in conditions like hypertension, edema, and heart disease, and which decrease the amount of uric acid passed in the urine;
Salicylates, or anti-inflammatory medicines made from salicylic acid, such as aspirin;
The vitamin niacin, also called nicotinic acid;
Cyclosporine, a medicine used to suppress the body’s immune system (the system that protects the body from infection and disease) and control the body’s rejection of transplanted organs; and
Levodopa, a medicine used to support communication along nerve pathways in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Who Is Likely To Develop Gout?
Gout occurs in approximately 840 out of every 100,000 people. It is rare in children and young adults. Adult men, particularly those between the ages of 40 and 50, are more likely to develop gout than women, who rarely develop the disorder before menopause. People who have had an organ transplant are more susceptible to gout.
How Is Gout Diagnosed?
Gout may be difficult for doctors to diagnose because the symptoms may be vague, and they often mimic other conditions. Although most people with gout have hyperuricemia at some time during the course of their disease, it may not be present during an acute attack. In addition, having hyperuricemia alone does not mean that a person will get gout. In fact, most people with hyperuricemia do not develop the disease.
To confirm a diagnosis of gout, a doctor may insert a needle into an inflamed joint and draw a sample of synovial fluid, the substance that lubricates a joint. A laboratory technician places some of the fluid on a slide and looks for monosodium urate crystals under a microscope. Their absence, however, does not completely rule out the diagnosis. The doctor also may find it helpful to examine chalky, sodium urate deposits (tophi) around joints to diagnose gout. Gout attacks may mimic joint infections, and a doctor who suspects a joint infection (rather than gout) may check for the presence of bacteria.
Signs and Symptoms of Gout
Hyperuricemia
Presence of uric acid crystals in joint fluid
More than one attack of acute arthritis
Arthritis that develops in 1 day, producing a swollen, red, and warm joint
Attack of arthritis in only one joint, usually the toe, ankle, or knee
The above information is from NIAMS and provided the clearest information about Gout that I can find.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Gout is supposed to be caused by good living
Port and Stilton come to mind 
I know someone who has it, mind you he has angina and had a heart attack too. you know the type, whatever you have, he has it worse Hope you are ok Bob