I am 10 mos out and have just developed gout!! It's very painful! Has anyone else had this happen? All the pre-surgery conditions contributed; obesity, high cholesterol, then a low calorie diet now adds to it. I have been trying a natural treatment, herbs and vitamins, but no relief yet. ! I am seeing a rheumatologist tomorrow for some meds.

Wow sorry you are going through this. My surgeon and the NP just prescribed allopurinol to me prophylactically so I wouldn't develop it. I am loving them even more now.

High protein diets contribute more than low calorie ... so I guess because they push protein first they figure best to head it off at the pass.

Allopurinol is exactly the correct Rx for the gout. I ve had it for almost 30 yrs and the only that was the drug to prevent the uric acid buildup in your body. For fast relief the dr. might perscibe cholchicine or indocin but indocin is strong on the stomach and I know before LB I had to take it with food but never for long periods. Good luck I know what your going through

Please tell me how it turns out. I have an appointment next week with my regular doctor because of a very painful big toe "knuckle"?? I dont know how to explain it, but it HURTS and usually just starts out of the blue. I wasnt sure what it was - should I see a podiatrist or rheumatolgist instead?

Why not call your surgeon 1st?

I am due for a fill next week, I can ask about it then...but I figured they wouldnt really help me since its not the band...? I can always ask though. :biggrin:

I don't know your surgeon of course but as i said, MINE monitors our blood work etc and mine is the one who prescribed the allopurinol for me because of my uric acid levels (on my bloodwork) and my high protein diet (often a causative factor in gout)...so if your surgeon monitors your blood work etc frequently then he should know if your uric acid is high...and if he won't prescribe allopurinol to you he may be able to tell you what doc to go to. If you don't want to ask your surgeon you can just go to your primary; if it is gout he/she can prescribe for you without a big ruckus and if it isn't, he/she can refer you.

Edited July 8, 200917 yr by RestlessMonkey

Thanks RestlessMonkey! I'll definitely ask next week when I go in for a fill. I'd like to have blood work done since it'll be 6 months since my surgery and want to see if there's much improvement from the weight loss.

Good luck! And if your uric acid is high but he won't (for whatever reason) prescribe the med, your reg doc can take care of it for you!

Just thought I'd report back what I know. Doc thinks its pseudogout, since my toe is not red and puffy. I looked it up online, due to calcium crystal deposits and usually underlying medical conditions, I have hypothyroidism. So we did an x-ray & blood work which I will get the results on next week. She did start me on cholchicine which works on any type of crystals in the joints. No relief as yet……