Mike’s Story: Healthy Lifestyle & Diet
Mike Age 53: "I'm hoping to stop gout attacks by watching what I eat."
Mike’s Gout Treatment Plan:
Like many people with gout, Mike depends on lifestyle changes to manage his gout. He’s cut back on alcoholic beverages and tries to avoid high-purine foods. Unfortunately, Mike’s uric acid level remains high (8.3 mg/dL) and his gout attacks are still occurring.
What Mike Doesn’t Know:
If you’ve ever overindulged in certain foods only to wake up with a throbbing, painful toe, you understand first-hand why diet is often one of the first things that people try when it comes to managing their gout.
But, when it comes to gout, diet is just one part of the story, and it comes into the picture differently than you might expect. Despite
popular misperceptions, diet is not the root cause of gout. However, it is one of many things that can trigger attacks in people with gout who already have high uric acid levels.
Gout isn’t caused by the foods you eat or the beverages you choose. It’s caused by a buildup of uric acid in your blood.
Everyone has uric acid in his or her body. It comes from substances called purines. Most uric acid comes from purines made naturally in your body. The rest comes from purines in your diet.
Most uric acid comes from purines made naturally by the body
If your body produces too much uric acid and/or your kidneys have trouble getting rid of it, the uric acid builds up. If you have gout, high uric acid buildup can lead to more attacks.
ULORIC and a Healthy Diet to Help Control Uric Acid
If you notice that you have gout attacks after eating certain foods or drinking certain beverages, you should talk with your healthcare professional about what kind of dietary changes are right for you.
Some of the things you eat and drink are associated with the risk of gout. So if avoiding high-purine items like the following seems to help, it’s certainly worthwhile to make the change.
Examples of high-purine choices to avoid:
- Beef
- Pork
- Lamb
- Certain seafood (canned tuna, dark meat fish)
- Certain shellfish (shrimp, lobster, scallops)
- Non-diet soft drinks
- Beer
- Liquor
But, you should be aware that, while limiting or even cutting out alcohol and certain foods that are high in purines is important, changing your diet alone may not be enough to get rid of the buildup of uric acid and help reduce future gout attacks.
In most cases, a strict low-purine diet has been shown to reduce uric acid levels by about 1 mg/dL—a good thing, for sure, but typically not enough to reach a healthy level (less than 6 mg/dL). Medication, such as ULORIC, may also be needed to reach a healthy uric acid level.
In clinical studies, ULORIC 40 mg was similar, and ULORIC 80 mg was significantly better at helping patients reach a healthy uric acid level (less than 6 mg/dL) compared with allopurinol. In fact, in clinical studies, patients who took ULORIC 80 mg cut their uric acid levels by almost 50%. Learn more about ULORIC
Talk to your healthcare professional about how ULORIC and a healthy diet fit into your gout treatment plan.
Questions for Your Doctor
If you’re trying to manage your gout by changing your diet like Mike, you might feel frustrated, and blame yourself when you have attacks. But, there are other options.
Here are some questions that you may want to discuss with your healthcare professional about your experience with gout and decide on a treatment plan that’s right for you.
About Gout:
- I’ve nearly eliminated red meat from my diet, and I’ve stopped drinking beer altogether. Why are my gout attacks still occurring? Why is my uric acid level still high?
- What role does uric acid play in causing my gout?
About My Gout Treatment Options:
- What should I do if I am still experiencing flares?
- I take medicine when I have a gout attack, but is there also a long-term treatment option that can address the root cause of gout, high uric acid?
- Is prescription ULORIC an appropriate option to help me lower my uric acid to a healthy level?
Print these questions and bring them to your next appointment.
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Next: Pete’s Story: Long-term Gout Treatment >