Ivor
Ivor’s first attack of gout occurred when he was abroad on holiday. He has chosen to manage attacks with diclofenac rather than taking preventative medication. Ivor has about three or four attacks a year but does not feel that these impact on his day to day life.
Ivor was abroad on holiday in 1978 when he felt a pain in his big toe. He remembers the pain initially feeling like a sprain, but then it got worse and worse. About four days later, Ivor was lying in bed in the middle of the night and was experiencing excruciating pain. He could not bear to have a sheet over his foot. Ivor’s wife called a doctor, who came to see him. The doctor told Ivor that he had gout. Ivor did not think that this was the correct diagnosis because he was 35 and believed that this was too young to have gout. He also believed at that time, that the main causes were eating red meat and drinking port neither of which he had been doing. The doctor prescribed anti-inflammatories that Ivor remembers took a long time to work. Ivor’s foot was very swollen and he could not wear shoes. It was about four weeks before the swelling and pain had subsided enough for him to walk properly and wear his usual shoes.
When Ivor returned from his holiday, his GP checked his uric acid levels and found that they were high. The GP suggested that Ivor could take a tablet every day for the rest of his life to prevent him from having attacks. Ivor does not like taking pills because he is concerned about potential long-term side effects, so he decided not to use preventative medication and to deal with attacks as they occurred.
After his first attack, Ivor experienced attacks three or four times a year for about six years. He tried modifying his diet but he did not find anything that appeared to cause or improve his gout so he did not make any long-term changes.
Ivor was surprised to discover how many people had gout. He had previously thought that it was a very rare condition. He was concerned that he might not be able to continue playing sports such as football and squash, but felt reassured once he learnt that the symptoms could be controlled.
Attacks of gout impact less on Ivor’s day to day life now than they did when he was first diagnosed. He believes that this is because he is able to recognise when an attack is starting and can then take diclofenac quickly to control the symptoms.
Ivor still experiences symptoms about three or four times a year, but as long as he controls them by taking diclofenac, he feels that gout does not have any impact on him at all.