I have gout. I now go to a rheumatologist for treatment. She has some interesting stories about gout and does active research. One of those scary little stories is that gout, or rather the high levels of uric acid that causes gout, can also result in the deterioration and even destruction of your kidneys. Having watched my mother struggle with the loss of her kidneys (due to a rare, obscure disease named Goodpasture Syndrome – unconnected to gout), I feel entirely justified to tell every reader of this blog to GO AND GET YOUR URIC ACID LEVELS CHECKED. The test is cheap. If your level is out of range, insist on an appointment with a rheumatologist, because, according to my rheumatologist, most MDs do not have the training to understand what can happen.
Treatment can be very cheap, if you respond well to Allopurinol, which I mostly do. Prices bounce around. I’ve seen it as low as $4/month and as high as $16/month. Oddly enough, my insurance doesn’t cover Allopurinol, or so the pharmacy tells me. But then, I don’t care much for my prescription insurance – but that’s a subject of another rant.
