Interventions For Tophi In Gout
Background
Gout is caused by urate crystals forming within or around joints.
Inflammation can lead to pain, redness, warmth and swelling of the affected joints, making it difficult to touch or move. Some of the reasons why people develop gout include their genetic makeup, being overweight, ingesting certain medications , impaired kidney function and lifestyle habits such as drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and sugar sweetened drinks.
Tophi are nodules that develop in people with uncontrolled chronic gout. Tophi can become infected, cause pain and lead to reduced function. Tophi can be treated with urate-lowering drugs , surgical removal or other interventions.
Study characteristics
This is a summary of a Cochrane Review on interventions for the management of tophi. The literature was searched up to 28 August 2020. We reported five studies on pharmacological interventions. Participants were from a wide range of countries, including the USA, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and locations in Europe. All studies were funded by pharmaceutical companies.
Key results
Comparing biweekly pegloticase to placebo
Resolution of tophi
33 more people out of 100 had resolution of one or more tophi after six months’ treatment with pegloticase biweekly compared with placebo .
40 out of 100 people had tophi resolution with pegloticase.
7 out of 100 people had tophi resolution with placebo.
Total adverse events:
94 out of 100 people had an adverse event with placebo.
The First Facts About Tophi
Tophi occurs as a result of a high level of uric acid, among people who have been affected with 7 mg/dl for a long period of time. It consists of monosodium urate crystals who will be present in the joints like knees, ankles, toes, but also in ears. Once formed, these crystals will cause a severe pain and they must be treated as soon as possible.
For us, gout sufferers, it is important to know that tophi occur as a result of chronic tophaceous gout stage. It affects 25% of us, gout sufferers and it is a severe condition that must be treated. An interesting fact is that the first treatment for tophi appeared in 1951, a drug called phobenecid.
I must explain tophi a bit more. This condition is known to form lumps all over the body. These lumps are formed as the effect of white blood cells which will attack the aforementioned crystals and therefore make the lumps even bigger. Basically, we can see the lumps being made out of crystals and dead cells.
When Is Surgery Considered
If you experience a lack of improvement after more conservative treatments, surgery may be necessary. There are multiple instances when surgery for gout tophi is considered.
You may need surgery for impaired function, nerve compression, infection, joint instability, significant pain, and skin ulceration. Ulcerated gouty tophi are susceptible to infections. Surgery is considered when or infection occurs.
If there is deformation or inability to move the joint properly, surgical intervention becomes inevitable. It is most common to have surgery when mechanical problems result from the tophi. Sometimes, surgery may be indicated for pain.
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One Day Things Really Became Too Much
Just over 2 years ago I had a gout attack that was so painful I was crying.
Im not one of lifes cryers.
But I had let it go on for a week and was in so much pain I honestly started questioning whether I wanted to live.
I went back to my doctor turned out he was on vacation. So I saw one of his colleagues instead.
She was a nice lady. Thoughtful. She listened.
And she could tell I was badly affected by this latest flare-up.
We had a long conversation and she told me about a practitioner who specializes in dealing with gout.
Seems this practitioner had a startling record with permanently ending gout for her clients.
Not reducing it. Removing it.
That practitioners approach was verified both in theory, in experiment and in real life.
She based it on three decades of science coming from leading researchers in the US and Europe.
The researchs successes in tackling a range of health conditions are mounting up and for some years now the medical community has been rethinking some of their most fundamental ideas about how the body works.
From that research she had created her gout strategy that is now having such profound results for gout sufferers.
My doctor admitted it wasnt her area of expertise.
So she gave me the name of that alternative health practitioner shed mentioned.
And thats when I first heard of Shelly Manning.
And, if its not too dramatic a statement to make, what I learned from Shelly changed my life.
Gouty Tophi Ear: Can This Be Real
The ear is often referred to as a hub for tens of thousands of nerve endings. Therefore, the ears are considered to be one of the most sensitive parts of the body. In fact, they are more sensitive to pain, and various sensations like the tickling pleasure. Due to this fact, us, being human, have the instinct to protect them against danger.
Moreover, the gouty tophi, in a simple term, one of the numerous entities, which may pose threat to the ears. However, its also one o0f the most fear-inducing, painful, and frightening conditions.
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What Are The Surgical Options
There are several surgical options for gout tophi that you may discuss with your healthcare provider:
- Shaver technique: Intra-lesion shaving is done by making multiple small incisions of the skin to allow direct access to the tophic mass. Suction and irrigation are performed simultaneously to remove the chalky deposits of sodium urate at the same time.
- Full surgical removal: The tophi may be fully excised and removed from the joint as much as possible without destroying the surrounding tissue. Removal of gouty deposits and nodules occur at this time as well.
- Joint fusion: If the joint is unstable and damaged by the tophi it may be recommended to have joint fusion. Smaller joints will be fused together to limit movement and reduce pain.
- Joint replacement: If the gout tophi cause irreversible damage to the joint, you may need a total joint replacement such as in the knee or hip to restore function and reduce pain.
Can You Remove Gout
It should be fairly evident why youd want to get rid of gout, but is it feasible in fact?
Sure is, but theres not a one-size matches all solution.
In the next section, well become going over whats worked best for us!
You wont want to lose out on this free video tutorial.
NOTICE: Id highly recommend going to your doctor or seeing a specialist about this situation, since we arent experts. See our medical disclaimer for more details.
We dont know what will work for you, but we know whats worked for us and others
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It Will Only Get Better If You Make It Get Better
Dont doubt that your gut health is poor.
The bacteria environment in a gout sufferer is basically sick.
Friendly, life-enhancing bacteria are in retreat.
And their place in your gut is being taken by that steadily increasing number of bacteria that will only do harm.
Put that way, you perhaps realize that you dont have gout at all.
You actually have a diseased gut.
Gout is one of a diseased guts many possible symptoms.
In time, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, kidney failure and some cancers are much more likely because of that same diseased gut.
Dont do this to yourself.
Do what thousands of ex-gout sufferers have done.
We took charge of our gout by taking charge of our health.
And by doing that we not only freed ourselves of that deeply unpleasant condition
. we also drastically reduced the chances of catching something even worse.
We know that if we dont address disease properly things tend to get steadily worse. Which is the last thing we want. Now, then, is the time to act.
Youll be immediately redirected to the members area where you can download the End of Gout program or read it online.
Can You Drain Gout
There are risks in draining gout in this way.
For more insight see What do Uric Acid Crystals look like?
If you or your health adviser has allowed your gout to get to the point where you need to drain gouty tophi, you are a Gout Victim. Depending on the reasons why tophi have developed, and your personal views, you might easily start a different plan. So I strongly recommend that you read Questions for Gout Sufferers now.
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Our Gut Health Is Our Health
A healthy microbiome a healthy gut is our health in many respects.
Obesity is now thought of as a gut disease. Unhealthy bacteria get the upper hand in your gut and cause the kind of food cravings that most of us find so hard to resist.
And gut health also affects mental health. Moods, basically.
Scientists now believe that persistently feeling low for no apparent reason may have a bacterial explanation.
So lets be absolutely clear about this.
Your gut bacteria arent just add-ons to your health they are your health.
In the same way that a faulty liver will cause you big problems.
Just as a weak heart will require expert attention in order to keep you alive.
Like lungs that dont function properly or kidneys that are diseased or a lymph system that isnt working effectively
Your gut health is vital to your overall health because your gut bacteria do things that your body itself cant do.
To be healthy we must make sure that we encourage beneficial, healthy bacteria to flourish, whilst at the same time we discourage less beneficial or harmful bacteria from doing the same.
If we dont do this then there are consequences.
And gout is one of those consequences.
And thats how I got the condition myself. Poor gut health gave me gout.
Its done the same to you.
But good gut health undid all that damage, making gout nothing more than a distant memory.
And it can do the same for you.
You really can do something about your condition now.
Gout Has Dangerous Risk Factors
Things get a tiny bit worse.
During that first visit my doctor told me two other things. And I didnt like either of them.
First, he pointed out that each gout attack makes another attack more likely. Once youve had a few attacks thats about it get ready for gout as a regular thing.
Some people that have had attacks of gout over a longer period can end up developing a more chronic, or persistent, form of gout.
Its called chronic tophaceous gout and the pain and loss of mobility is life-altering and disabling.
Then he told me this.
Gout is a risk factor for other conditions some of them even more serious than the gout itself.
In other words, because I had gout it was more likely that Id get at least one of those other conditions.
And those other conditions included heart disease particularly heart failure and strokes.
He added that gout was also a risk factor for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, arthritis, stress and a number of unpleasant other conditions.
And there isnt a limit on which of those afflictions I could find myself suffering from.
It might be that, in time, I contracted just one of them.
But it could be two of them. Or three.
The possibility of my gout being a risk factor for me suffering those all at once did shock me quite a bit.
I felt like I was just waiting for something else to go badly wrong with my health.
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Do I Need Surgery For Gout
Surgery for gout is unusual however formation of tophi may make it necessary. Learn why.
Doctors rarely turn to surgery for gout. People who have this painful form of arthritis take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or corticosteroids to deal with agonizing gout attacks. Otherwise, doctors urge gout patients to eat a balanced diet, exercise, and lose weight as the best means of treatment.
“With my patients, I’m always trying to give them lists of the good foods that prevent gout and the bad foods that promote gout,” says Edward McDevitt, MD, a partner and orthopedic surgeon with Bay Area Orthopaedics in Annapolis, Md. “Most of the time, people with gout can be treated without surgery.”
Surgery for Gout: When Tophi Form
However, there are circumstances under which surgery for gout should be considered. Surgery most often is used to remove gritty, chalklike nodules called tophi a single one is called a tophus that form in a person’s joints as a result of gout. These nodules can be uncomfortable and unsightly, and in rare instances cause dangerous infections.
Gout occurs when too much uric acid builds up in the bloodstream. Crystals formed of uric acid begin to build up in the body’s tissues and joints. Those crystals begin wearing away at the cartilage in the joints, causing painful arthritis.
Most of the time, these tophi are harmless and can be shrunk using medications. “It’s not usually too painful,” Dr. McDevitt says. “It’s more of an annoyance.”
Management Of Patients With Comorbidities
It is important to consider comorbidities in gout patients . Renal function impairment function should be assessed by estimating creatinine clearance rather than relying on the serum creatinine level. In patients with renal impairment, the dose of allopurinol must be adjusted according to renal function , and some uricosuric drugs may not be effectivesuch as probenecid and sulphinpyrazonein patients with moderate renal function impairment, although benzbromarone may still show efficacy, although only at higher doses, in patients with moderate renal function impairment . Severe allopurinol toxicity has been associated with renal function impairment due to the accumulation of oxypurinol, its active metabolite, which is renally excreted , and not to a direct toxic effect on the kidneys. Although genetic predisposition has been recently reported in 100% of the Han Chinese showing Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions to allopurinol and in 55% of the patients of European ancestry , renal function impairment was the other, highly statistically significant, factor associated with SCAR in patients on allopurinol . In addition, the side effects of colchicine and NSAIDs may be more frequent in patients with renal dysfunction and prescription use should be restricted in renally impaired persons to treat acute flares and for long-term prophylaxis .
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The Causes Of Gout And The Real Causes Of Gout
After my first encounter with gout my doctor gave me the standard explanation of its causes.
He said that gout was caused by excess uric acid in the blood.
Uric acid is a byproduct of the processing of certain foods.
The uric acid comes from the liver as a waste product. Its sent to the kidneys from where it is supposed to be removed from the body.
I had gout because, in a nutshell, gout is what you get when your body isnt expelling all its uric acid.
The excess uric acid forms tiny, spike-shaped crystals.
Those crystals get into your bloodstream.
From there, they find their way into your joints.
And from time-to-time the immune system attacks them.
And when the immune system does that the inflammation that results is experienced as a gout attack.
Also known as excruciating, awful pain.
If you suffer from gout then I truly feel for you. I know what youre going through.
Its been just over 2 years now since my final gout attack. But I still remember what it felt like.
Anyway, that was the doctors explanation of gout. So far, so simple.
How To Get Rid Of Tophi From Gout: What You Must Know
Gout is becoming more and more common and its one of the worst issues to have
So I fully understand why youre interested in How To Get Rid Of Tophi From Gout.
Nonetheless
Im working on a brand new video to go over How To Get Rid Of Tophi From Gout in detail!
So I apologize for the delay.
Please however, this post may be really beneficial to you because well be going over
- What is Gout & can you get rid of it?
- How thousands of people have stopped gout pains
So lets get into it. Sound good?
Perfect.
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How Are Gout Crystals Removed
If youve been diagnosed with gout, you may wonder, can gout be removed? Gout can be an extremely painful condition. A commonf inflammatory arthritis that affects the joints, most often the big toe, gout is caused by a buildup of uric acid in the body.
With proper treatment you may be able to reduce the number of gout crystals in your joints, however, sometimes gout tophi can interfere with your daily life. Gout removal may then become necessary. When this occurs, you may need treatment such as steroids, debridement, or full surgical removal in order to relieve pain, avoid infection, or restore mobility.
So Why Do You Have Gout Whereas I Dont
Its because I have one thing you dont have:
All the right bacteria thriving in my gut.
And, specifically, that bacteria is doing one thing for me that its not doing for you.
Its helping my kidneys process the excess uric acid that causes gout in the first place.
Because that bacteria is converting up to one third of that excess uric acid into something called allantoin a substance that dissolves in water.
Which means up to a third of my bodys uric acid can be simply got rid of in urine. So, put crudely, I simply pee it out.
No need for my kidneys to process it all. My gut bacteria has it covered.
This is the incredible power of your gut microbiome.
Human bodies cant turn uric acid into allantoin. But our friendly gut bacteria can.
And when it does that for me its clearing up the excess uric acid in my bloodstream.
Meaning my kidneys dont have to.
So those pin-like uric acid crystals dont form.
Which means they dont find themselves lodged in my joints.
Meaning theres nothing for my immune system to attack so nothing to cause excruciating, disabling pain.
My gut will have trillions of bacteria in it whether I want it to or not. So will yours.
But I can choose whether that bacteria is the life enhancing bacteria that keeps me happy, healthy and alive or the dangerous, disease-giving stuff.
I chose the good stuff.
So I have plentiful good, friendly, life-enhancing gut bacteria, working for me, doing things for me that the human body simply cannot do for itself.
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