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Excellent. So, you've been told you have gout but you've never had a kidney stone or chronic kidney disease.
Based on your answers, treatment to reduce the uric acid may be appropriate. This therapy tends to prevent attacks of gout and reduce the risk of its complications.
There are two ways to reduce uric acid and you may be a candidate for either one:
1) Reduce the body's creation of urate. Allopurinol is highly effective for this purpose; new medicines may soon be approved to do the same thing.
2) Increase the removal of uric acid from the body -- probenecid and sulfinpyrazone are drugs that can increase the kidney's capacity to remove urate from the body and into the urine.
Because you have no kidney disease or past kidney stones, any one of these three medicines to lower urate, including allopurinol, sulfinpyrazone and probenecid, could be considered. (Persons over the age of 55 or who have significant kidney disease may get little benefit out of sulfinpyrazone and probenecid; in addition, these medicines may increase the risk of stones). Check with your doctor to confirm that you have no reason to avoid one or more of these medicines.
Click on the link below to learn more about medicines that can prevent attacks of gout and its complications. Or, if you prefer to read more general information about gout, choose that link. Or, you can choose the "quit" link if you are all done.
Medicines to prevent gout
General information about gout
I'm ready to quit.
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