H / Gout

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I get relief from my gout by taking tart cherry juice.http://www.joint-pain.com/cherry-juice-gout.htmlhttp://www.brownwoodacres.com/ P PM (Polymositis) 12/98, UIP 8/00, o2 24/7 9 LPM 8/04, PH 3/06, ILL yo 60Subject: thanks for the feedback....To: Breathe-Support Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 12:57 AM

thanks for the feedback in response to my first post.

I reside in , British Columbia...

occasionally I develop edema in the feet and calves... i was told to elevate my legs and

was given a diuretic. However dehydrating my body then gave rise to

a gout outbreak (for that, i was told to drink plenty of water and take colchicine).

A delicate balance, to say the least. The gout seems more painful and crippling

than the edema, so I continue to drink plenty of fluids.

My doctors are primarily concerned with improving my health in the short term

(i.e. i will shortly undergo an overnight sleep study in a hospital and likely proceed

to CPAP therapy.) The doctors are trying to stabilize my heart's arrhythmia and increase

my general sense of well being. I have slept VERY poorly for the past 5 months.

NAC is not covered by my provincial medical plan (nor is CPAP equipment) but

I will start taking the recommended 1.5 grams daily, next week.

I have found a source of time-release NAC. It costs twice as much as the regular

formula. Is there any known advantage to time-release capsules?

My subjective evaluation (based on the increasing frequency of coughing and frequent

shortness of breath) is that my lung condition is getting worse. However, whenever I have

been in ER (4 times during July and August, for heart issues) and been given

supplementary oxygen, i felt a lot better.

When the sleep study is done, I will be seeing the lung specialist again -- and will

raise questions about supplementary oxygen and the possibility of another CT scan in the

next few months.

In the meantime i will read the posts in this forum, for whatever i can gleam....

I have no living family and get by on an adequate government pension (providing

that extra health care costs do not mount up) -- so I do not have the option of becoming

disabled by illness, of whatever sort. The electrocardiologist that I see says that if the

arrhythmia does not decrease, he will recommend a pacemaker/defibrill ator implant (a

device that I understand will cost the Cdn health care system about $50,000).

Since late June, counting all of my tests and medical appointments, I would estimate I have

cost the system over $200,000.... (in the U.S. costs would be nearly double that).

I have strong reservations about imposing upon society to such an extent -- and the end

is nowhere in sight. (My reservations concern me, in particular, not as a general social

policy for others.)

However, for now, I will do whatever the doctors advise... in the hope of attaining a

reasonable "quality of life" for at least one year, if that proves possible. I am trying to be

realistic, not pessimistic, but have not yet found the line between the two.

johnH