Ben was 30 when he experienced an attack of gout. His toe became painful and he thought that he had stubbed his toe and possibly had a fracture. He visited his GP who said that it was probably just bruised. A few days later the pain was more intense, so Ben went back to see another GP. She looked at his foot and told him that he had gout. The GP prescribed naproxen for Ben to take.

Ben took the naproxen tablets, but did not feel that they had much impact on his pain. He also tried using bags of frozen peas on his foot to reduce the pain. Ben’s symptoms lasted for about two weeks and he had to have time off work. He remembers being in agony and yelling out in pain at times. He could still drive his car, but found walking very difficult. Ben telephoned his GP Surgery and they arranged for him to borrow some crutches from his local hospital. He could not wear shoes or socks, but found that flip flops were manageable.

Ben’s dad regularly has attacks of gout, but Ben did not know much about it. He did a lot of reading on the internet to find out more. For about three months, Ben tried changing his diet to reduce foods that he thought might cause attacks. He also started to drink more water.

Ben’s attack lasted for longer than he was expecting, based on what he had read about other people’s experiences. It was two weeks before he could put a sock on his foot.

Ben still gets an unusual sensation in his toe every few months and sometimes wonders if it is the beginning of an attack of gout. On one occasion he thought that an attack might be starting, so he took some naproxen tablets and his symptoms went away. He continues to drink more water than he used to.