[jyl]

I've had some troubles w/ gout, was a longish thread about it. A few things I learned:
- colchicine (sp?) is a drug used for gout flares. You take it at the first sign of a flare. I use it when my condition acts up and it seems to work. Some people have side-effects (gastric) to colchicine, I don't.
- allopurinol is a drug that you take chronically, to control the ongoing condition. There is a new drug called Uloric (febuxostat) that is an alternative. I don't take either.
- There is at least one other gout drug in development, that will be an alternative to or maybe a supplement to allopurinol, if it is approved but that's a couple years off.

I tried changing my diet, didn't seem to make any difference.

My several-month long attack was quite demoralizing, plus I gained nearly 20 lbs from inactivity while on crutches/cane.

It is a painful disease, I found out, and I don't even have classic gout. Good luck.