Hi Folks, I have at the suggestion of my wife just joined the NRAS and this is my first post!
One thing I would like to find out from other members is if it’s possible to tell if your flare-up is RA or gout? I suffer from both. My Rheumatologist treats the RA with 2000 mg of Sulfasalazine daily and my GP treats my gout with 400 mg of Allopurinol daily. I also take Naproxen on an ‘as and when basis,’ - which is the full dose at the moment. Generally my RA is quite stable and has been for the last 6 years, with only the occasional flare-up. Although I did have a new hip three months ago. Since starting on Allopurinol I have never knowingly suffered another gout attack. However, since mid January I have been in a flare-up that is concentrated in my hands and feet, nothing I do seems to calm this down. I had one of my routine blood tests at the end of January and that seemed fine, ESR 5 and CRP 3. My job is a designer and currently I am struggling to hold a pencil which is the basic tool of my trade. :( So, is it RA or gout? Is there a simple method of identifying which it is? And hopefully, any clever ways to stop a flare-up.

Hello Paul and welcome to the forum.

I`m sorry I can`t really answer your question : my hands and feet were quite badly affected before my RA was brought under some form of control, but at least I had the certainty of knowing it was RA. A chat with one of your medical team would be the best way forward I think. RE the question of how to stop a flare happening, I don`t think there is a way to do this, but in theory the better-controlled your RA the less flares seem to occur. Having said that, they are very nasty when they come - my RA is relatively under control at present, but I do still get flares from time to time.

Kathleen x

welcome paul, its a mystery all of it really how it works, my son who is a body builder and is good to his body, recently suffered horrendous gout in his foot and up to his knee in one leg,where's the logic,doctor couldn't give any reasoning of it, I have suffered in the past real gout it is so painful but I was on an eat/drink what I like bender at the time, for years now have had to behave due to ra,oestio and psoriatic so fingers crossed he is not on my path,so far my daughter has no signs, as said you know the drill take the medical road,good luck,dorothy

hi Paul,

welcome to the forum, and like our other Paul says do keep posting .. we are lacking in men .. lol

i've never suffered with gout, but my hubby had it and i know the pain was horrendous where even the quilt on his toe was excrutiating pain.

if i've had a flare i wouldn't say i was in that sort of pain, my pain is very general .. not sure if i'm making sense here as we all suffer pain to different degree's and also cope differently.

i think you've made the right move in seeing your GP, how often do you have your bloods done then? mine are always done monthly.

there is always the option of maybe having a depo steroid injection, or more specifically a cortisone injection in the said joint. i had one in my little finger ( i had trigger finger ) and it worked so well and it put the finger back to normal.

do let us know how you get on,

and keep posting now you have joined,

Suzanne

Hi

My husband suffers from gout and it varies between his feet and hands. Always just one limb at a time though unlike RA which seems to be more general. He's tried some of the usual gout medications but all caused bad side affects. I was given a short course of Arcoxia for a suspected kidney stone and I noticed it is also for gout. We were on holiday at the time and as my husband was in a lot of pain he tried one. It really worked for him and now, even though Arcoxia is not prescribed often these days, the doctor does prescribe it for him. He was taking bendrofluozide for high blood pressure and was taken off it as this can be a cause of gout.

I hope you feel better soon - best wishes Brenda

Hi Paul

Gout normally just affects the feet, most commonly at the base of the big toe. It will look very red where as the R.A won't always be red, just very swollen and painful. Have you tried any dietary measures to control the gout? I believe alcohol and rich foods aggravate it. Gout causes high levels of uric acid in the blood, have you asked for the levels to be checked?

That must be really difficult with your job with pain in the fingers. That sounds like the R.A, some steroid will help with that. I take arcoxia which is the best anti-inflammatory I have found for the R.A. And if it helps the gout too that would be a free bonus for you.

best wishes
Rebecca

Well I’ve had my blood tests. Guess what, everything is fine. ESR 7, CRP 2 and Uric Acid 292. My doctor believes in treating patients and not numbers and as he could see and feel the swelling he sent me for some X-Rays. He did say when he was examining me he ‘felt’ the knuckle may have gone on my index finger. Not good news if you draw for a living. He did give me some anti-inflammatory Phorpain Gel which is fabulous and has allowed me to make a fist for the first time in weeks :) Update coming soon…