The Side Effects of Gout Medications

Gout is an arthritis associated with the elevated uric acids that eventually form deposits of crystals in the joint, causing inflammation in the joint. Fortunately, some medications are available for coping. However, there are some possible side effects from these medications you need to concern, too!

Another good thing, gout is extremely treatable condition. In some cases, the first attack may go away naturally without treatment. And many sufferers are free of the second attack for many years without treatment, too. Even some never experience another attack after their first attack.

What does it mean? Does it mean that left untreated gout is your option? The issue of why some cases of gout first attack that resolve without treatment is not fully understood yet. But to keep safe, it’s much better to keep monitoring the disease!

If the attack lasts longer than what you expect, see a doctor promptly! There are some home remedies and lifestyle approaches that can help control your uric acid level and may help provide relief.

For the first attack of the disease, sometime it may not need medical intervention to resolve, as noted before. But if the disease flares up for the second time or even becomes chronic, this is something you cannot ignore!

Overall, don’t; take the risk! Even though you have a gout attack for the first time in your life, it can be much safer if you see a physician to find appropriate treatments and more guidance to cope with the disease (both in short and long term).

The next flares are more likely to require more medical interventions than the first attack. See also the progression of gout from the first flare to the next flares (chronic, at advanced stage) in this section!

Treating the first gout’s attack may help prevent another attack from recurring. Your doctor can suggest the appropriate steps you can follow to reduce or eliminate the risk of gout’s complications, too.

During flare-up, some medications are available to ease and improve the symptoms. But in the long-term management issue, the major goal is to keep uric acid level as normal as possible. The possible complications of poorly controlled uric acid in people with gouty arthritis include:

1. While blood sugar levels are the major concern in people diabetes, uric acids levels are the headline you need to always concern if you have gout. More episodes of high uric acid you have, the greater risk you have to experience other flares of your gout, which then eventually can lead to chronic gout.
2. At the advanced stage, untreated gout attack may cause tophi (lumps of uric acid that form in nodules, under the skin around the affected joint).
3. The risk of uric stones (kidney stones). The excessive uric acid in the bloodstream may collect in the urinary tract, this can cause kidney stones.

The current health and other factors (such as your own preferences or the severity of the disease) can affect the kinds of medications you need to take to treat your gout.

NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines)

These medicines are one of common choices to help treat inflammation and ease joint pain in arthritis, including gout. Typically, they are prescribed to help cope with acute attack of gout. If necessary, sometime doctor may use them to prevent the next flares of gout by prescribing a lower daily dose.

For most patients, the use of NSAIDs is commonly tolerated as well. And the good news, if they do cause side effects, these are usually minor (such as heart burn and mild stomach irritation) and typically will improve once the use of the medicine is discontinued.

Taking NSAIDs as well as prescribed by your doctor is commonly safe. But although mostly they cause minor side effects, they could carry serious risks such as the increased risk of developing ulcers.

To reduce the chance for the medicine to irritate the lining of stomach (the starting point for ulcers to develop), NSAIDs are commonly suggested to be taken after a full meal. If necessary, doctor may prescribe other medicines such as antacid or misoprostol to reduce the risk of stomach irritation!

NSAIDs may promote cardiovascular risks, too. These include stroke and myocardial infarction. The duration of use may play a role in increasing these risks. For these reasons, NSAIDs are not too recommended for people with some risk factors of cardiovascular disease.

* If you do concern about the side effects of NSAIDs, consult more with your physician! And if you have other health conditions or are taking other medicines, tell all of these issues to your doctor /physician!

Overall, the decision of prescribing NSAIDs is thought to outweigh the risk. If you cannot take NSAIDs, other medicines are available. One of them is colchicine (go to the next page)!