Last January, I made my usual annual trip to India, to spend time with my family and friends and in general, to get my “India Fix”. If I don’t make that yearly trip, I find myself lost. It is almost like a rehab trip, where I cleanse myself, get back, and get ready to face the world again.
This trip was different. Sitting on the 14-hour flight from Orlando to Dubai is not too bad, especially when I get myself an exit row seat or better still, when the airline’s computer decides I’m eligible for an upgrade to business class (yes, that has happened a couple of times!), but for some reason, as soon as I landed in Dubai, I experienced a slight discomfort in my right toe. And like I always ignore minor aches and pains, I ignored this one. After a 2-hour layover, I boarded my next 3.5 hour fight to India; the pain was persistent, but bearable. By the time I got to my parents place, the discomfort turned into a sharp ache. I took a couple of painkillers and went to bed with the dual purpose of combating the usual jet lag, and the new pain.
I Couldn’t Ignore the Pain Anymore…
Tirumala Steps
On my visits to India, one of my must-do is a visit to an ancient temple in a town by name Tirumala in the southern part of India. Surrounding the hills are seven peaks of the Eastern Ghats. The temple is on the 7th peak of Venkatadri. One can drive or walk there. I usually walk the distance of 11 km (about 7 miles) over 3,550 steps (very steep in parts).
Despite the terrible pain in my toe, I decided that I must make my annual trek to the temple. By the time I finished this nearly 3 hr walk-climb, I was really hurting. Bad. I gulped down more ibuprofen, took a hot shower and tried to sleep. The pain was still there next morning and I could not ignore it any more. I realized something was really wrong. A local physician took a look, diagnosed it as a bunion, prescribed more pain killers and suggested that I get it surgically operated when I got back to the USA.
The Right Diagnosis
Still in pain and on pain-killers, I returned to my Florida home. Soon thereafter, my wife suggested we head out to a beach not too far from us, as it was a gorgeous weekend day. I walked barefoot in the sand for a couple of miles and just loved it. When we got back home I noticed my left toe was swollen, really dark in color and hurting like hell. Somehow, the pain seemed to have transferred itself from my right toe to my left toe!
I decided to go see a foot doctor who did a bunch of tests and made his dire prognosis: I had gout. Gout?! Me??! Growing up, I had read about gout, in books by various British authors, especially P. G. Wodehouse. His characters were constantly plagued by this (to me) mysterious ailment. Gout pops up throughout P. G. Wodehouse books, as a nasty and disabling condition, but not something to be taken at all seriously. All his characters afflicted by this malady are people that wallow in decadence and debauchery and then are “laid up” and “off their liquor and meats” for a bit. A few days later, they are singing in the rain and golfing to the 16th hole! Little wonder that Gout, known since antiquity, was historically referred to as “the king of diseases” and “the disease of kings” or “rich man’s disease”.
All in all, I had no idea that the gout described in these novels, was in any way connected with the symptoms I was having. The doctor gave me some strong painkillers and directed me back to my general practitioner. And like all of us do when faced with a new ailment, I went online to find out what all of this meant. I was reluctantly accepting that this was probably the right diagnosis, but I wanted more information before I fully came to terms with it.
According to Dr. Axe, “Gout is a painful condition considered a complex form of arthritis that is caused when too much uric acid builds up in the body. High levels of uric acid causes the formation of crystals in the joints, creating intense pain and inflammation. The body produces uric acid as it breaks down purines, which are commonly found in meats, seafood, legumes, alcohol, fructose, yeast and some vegetables.”
At my GP’s office, I was given more serious painkillers and a list of food and drinks I should avoid. I got my uric acid levels tested and they were within the norms but on the higher end of the spectrum. Only about 30% of my diet is meat and that too white lean meat and fish – I hardly eat red meat. Apparently, that didn’t really matter, because I was affected by an ailment when I was 18 – an infection that affected my heart and joints. I was lucky enough to get cured through homeopathic treatment, but the long term effect on joints had lingered on.
How Did I Put My Gout In Remission?
For starters, I had to make some tough decisions. Lifestyle decisions. Uric acid build-up, and the resulting Gout have a direct connection to what we eat. I went meat-free and alcohol-free for a month. I also paid attention to foods I needed to avoid (mushrooms, cauliflower, spinach, eggs etc, based on my physician’s list) and started having tart cherry and increased intake of water and coffee (yes, coffee!). The pain was very intense for two weeks and I started doubting whether all the food sacrifices I was doing, were even worth it.
Then, the results started to show up after a fortnight. The pain slowly started to subside. I had a business trip coming up for which I could not wear my regular dress shoes (because my toe was swollen), and had to go to the store to buy myself a pair of extra wide shoes with a double insole. What a relief and comfort that was!
Ayurveda To The Rescue
We have a great Ayurvedic family physician in India, who I was able to chat and speak with, on Whatsapp. He knew exactly what I was going through and recommended an Ayurvedic medicine with an unpronounceable name (try this: Kaisoraguggulu Vatika). Kaishore Guggulu is a drug of choice in Vatarakta (Gout). It corrects purine metabolism and checks on uric acid production. Further, it improves the elimination process of uric acid through urine. Read up some research here.
I used this Ayurvedic medicine for a couple of months combined with the controlled diet and the pain is fully under control.
I’m back to all my activities like yoga, tennis, swimming, Pilates and gym workouts. This July, we took a week’s vacation in the Smoky Mountains and did some intense hikes (almost 5 miles a day) and my foot did not bother me. I’m completely free of gout pain now, but I continue to keep a close watch on my diet.
Resources
If you or someone you know suffers from gout, please read up on literature listed below. My advice would be to consult a physician before switching to a natural remedy.
Hello! Thanks for sharing your story. It is far too familiar, since I had multiple encounters with this dreaded beast. It feels great to hear a good success story and gives hope for others to keep the fight going.
Here’s my experience – My first “gout attack” occurred almost 10 years ago, when I woke up one morning and realized I couldn’t walk. There was intense pain by one of my toes (I don’t remember which one). The pain felt like a thousand needles piercing my foot from inside and every step I took was hell. I was clueless what had happened to me or what caused it. I was merely 23 years old at that time, with a fairly active lifestyle and full of energy to conquer the world. The experience was a shocker. I was in India at that time. I went to a physician who gave me some pain killers, anti-inflammatory pills and asked me to get some rest. The doctor neither offered a diagnosis nor further tests to find out more. A couple of days of pain killers got me back to normal and I happily went about my life without thinking too much of what exactly caused this. Well, then again, those were the days when I was young and stupid!
Fast forward to 2012, I was in Dallas, embracing my new life in the great nation of USA and it happened again. I had experienced another “gout attack” and rushed to my primary care physician. This time the diagnosis was spot on, mostly because my dad’s recent blood work in India had shown high levels of uric acid, which the doctor had linked to possible reasons for his own leg & foot issues. I mentioned this to my physician in Dallas. He immediately suspected that I might have gout, ordered blood tests and confirmed the diagnosis. He also told me that it could be a heredity issue, which ringed few bells in my head. My dad had been visiting a whole array of so called “specialists” who were unable to diagnose or treat his foot and knee pains for several years. I asked my dad to make an appointment with a Urologist and mention the word “gout” as possible reason for his problems. Guess what, it turns out that my dad had gout all along and had been struggling without proper medication or dietary guidance. Few adjustments to eating habits and a daily pill (for few months) completely got me and my dad to normal life.
The heredity angle still had me perplexed. I made few phone calls to my relatives and enquired a bit more about their health issues. What I discovered blew my mind. Almost every single adult on my dad’s side of the family tree had gout, some other form of arthritis or an undiagnosed knee and foot issue. I was not alone! This runs in the family!
It’s been more than 6 years since I last experienced the deathly pain of a strong gout attack. Being a vegetarian and a teetotaler, there was very little I could do to alter my diet itself. Surprisingly, my medicine to control gout has been the good old glass of water! Yes, you heard it right. I could make the maximum impact just by drinking a lot of water, every single day. That alone has kept me pain free for all these years. My doctor once told me some deceases are “curable” while others are only “treatable”. Gout is one of the latter kinds which has to be managed throughout ones life. Even though I don’t have pain anymore, to this day it reminds me in several ways that it is still lurking inside of me, waiting to comeback and punish me if I fail to follow mindfulness. I have also gained as well as lost weight (mostly body fat) couple of times in the last few years. I experience almost no “gout related” effects when I have a healthy body weight. The “gout related” effects increase exponentially when I gain weight. Another way our body reminds us to stay healthy and take care of ourselves.
Wow, Sudarshan…what a wonderfully well-written story with a happy ending! You suffered at such a young age and had to deal with mis-diagnosis. I am so glad you and your father took the natural path to healing your body. Good ole’ (free) water did the trick, eh?! Your words “our body reminds us to stay healthy and take care of ourselves” is so true…provided we LISTEN to our bodies. We hope that Healthy Indian blogs will encourage people to do just that: to help them take health into their hands through healthy food and lifestyle habits. It takes time and effort to write such feedback and we really appreciate you for doing so. If you’d like to write about how else lifestyle changes has made you happier and healthier, do let us know and we can feature you. 🙂
Thanks for the kind words, Malathy. I would love to contribute something for the site. Just need the right inspiration 😊
…and when your inspiration comes, you know how to reach Healthy Indian. 🙂 Until then, here’s to good health!
Hi Venu, Sudarshan
Thank.you for writing your experiences about Gout. I have been diagnosed with gout recently and being a vegetarian and teetotaler myself I was left to wonder what can help me out of this. Your blogs are inspiring. Could you let me know if your Uric Acid levels dropped back to normal with the dietary changes and or ayurveda medicine only or if you had to take alopathy medicine as well ? Thanks
Hi Laxman,
Sorry to hear you got the gout- having been through it I know how painful it can be. I think the ayurvedic medicine definitely helped, in addition to going off meat. My doctor also asked me to cut down on other protein intake like eggs and dal too for a while to get the uric acid levels down. I’m happy to connect you with my ayurvedic doctor for additional advice. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Best,
Venu
Many thanks Venu for your quick response!! I have cut down on all possible protein options – dal, tofu, soy etc. I am based out of Minneapolis and couldn’t find any ayurveda practitioners or store for medicines here. I would love to have an opportunity to connect with your doctor for a consultation over phone if possible. Again many thanks for your considerate response.
Kind regards
Laxman
Hi Laxman,
In my case, I had to take allopathy medicines to quickly recover from a gout attack. On longer-term, dietary changes (cutting down on proteins, especially the ones with high levels of purines), upping intake of water and losing body weight has been the most effective tools. I haven’t tried Ayurvedic medicines yet and I am open to experiment.
My two cents on this topic is whatever medicines or techniques we use might seem effective for the time being, but gout is the kind of disease which is slowly and quietly having long term effects on us over several years, without us noticing it on a daily basis. So the most prudent thing to do is, in addition to your ayurvedic medicines and other techniques, is to make it a habit to regularly get our uric acid levels tested by GP to make sure we are really keeping it under control. This is the only way to be sure there is no long term damage brewing inside us, unnoticed!
I hope this helps.
Thank you Sudarshan for your insights. All you said makes sense. I am going to have my uric acid checked regularly.
Hi all,
Im suffering from same issue since 2016.im a vegetarian.kindly help me with a doubt.dals and pulses flare up uric acid?.plz help me with dis
So sorry to hear Remya. I don’t believe lentils flare up uric acid levels. In fact, the arthritis.org website says “Fill up on lots of green veggies and other non-meat proteins. That means peas, beans, lentils, tofu as well as leafy and starchy greens. They don’t raise uric acid levels and may even protect you from gout attacks.”
https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/nutrition/healthy-eating/gout-diet-dos-and-donts
However, some people may react to purine-rich foods that can cause gout according to this article: https://www.everydayhealth.com/rheumatic-diseases/purine-rich-foods-and-gout.aspx
Also, consult a good holistic doctor who can assess your overall situation and prescribe the right medication and diet for you. All the very best.