Gout Treatment Options to Consider
Gout is one interesting condition. Once you get it, you’re stuck with it forever.
The good news is that it’s a manageable condition and there’s a host of things you can do to keep it from bothering you. It’s all a matter of finding remedies that work for you and sticking to it.
The growing number of gout sufferers has led to a tight community where fellow sufferers share their experiences and insights for managing the condition.
One thing that most people learn when they’ve had the condition for many years is that gout is not something you can treat with just a pill. You have to make holistic changes in order actually to see the benefits.
If you rely on pills alone, you’re only treating the symptom, not the root cause of the problem. Also, reliance on prescription pills can take a toll on your kidneys.
Did you know that 20 percent of kidney failures are because of taking too much prescription pills? That’s right.
You don’t want to be taking gout medication for the rest of your life when you can manage it with the help of more natural methods.
Gout comes to people differently, and not one treatment will work for everyone. It’s not fun to be always worrying about your health, anticipating that next gout flare.
However, gout makes itself a blessing in several ways such as that it teaches you to be in tune with your body’s needs. You become more accountable for your health and you get to learn new things about nutrition that the average Joe wouldn’t know.
In this article, we’ll explore the many different gout treatment options available, ranging from pharmaceutical drugs to natural remedies.
Medication for Gout Treatment
There are different types of medicine for gout. They can be classified into three categories.
1. Medicines That Lower Uric Acid
This is the primary treatment for gout as it helps lower uric acid levels. Before you get prescribed this medicine, your doctor will check if you do indeed have hyperuricemia. The goal of taking the drug is to decrease uric acid levels down to 6mh/dL.
After that, you have the option to stop taking the drug. However, most doctors will recommend that you take it daily. It acts as preventative medicine by keeping uric acid levels normal helping you to avoid gout attacks. But, it should not be taken if you are having a gout attack as it will only worsen the inflammation.
These are the urate-lowering medicines commonly prescribed by doctors:
- Allopurinol (Zyloprim, Aloprim).
- Febuxostat (Uloric).
- Probenecid.
- Pegloticase (Krystexxa).
- Lesinurad (Zurampic).
The saying “It gets worse, before it gets better” applies to these meds. Most urate-lowering medications will cause a gout flare at the beginning of treatment. In some cases, it takes six months for the drug to take effect, in which case, prophylactic medications are taken together with these meds to help manage the symptoms.
Next page: More information on gout medications, and other gout treatment options.
