CKD and gout

[Aoki]

Hi. I'd really appreciate hearing other people's experience on this one. I have CKD egfr stable at around 30. My doc says this is why I am getting attacks of gout for which she has prescribed alluprinol. But I'm hesitating to take it because it seems to have a nasty array of side effects and to be counterindicated for people with kidney problems (!) Grateful to hear what others have been advised on this.

[Hidden]

Hi, I have a mild form of Gout as well and I've been taking 1/2 tablet of Allopurinol (full tab is 300 mg) for 5 years with zero side effects. Everyone is different so your concerns are valid. Did you take it for an extended period of time? I ask because some of the side effects are minor and temporary. I have maintained a GFR average of 50 over the last 29-30 months, so, in my case, the Allopurinol has had no negative impact on my CKD. I've attached an article for you to look at and it lists some other medications for Gout. I hope it helps.

webmd.com/arthritis/underst...

[RaviC in reply to Hidden]

Hi Mr kidney. What was your lowest egfr? I have been reading a lot of posts and people seem to have increased gfr w a plant based diet. But doctors here in the Philippines say it's impossible to improve Gfr

I don't want to believe them

[Hidden in reply to RaviC]

My original GFR at diagnosis was 32. Since then I've been as high as 65 and over the last 29-30 months, I've averaged 50. I do not follow a plant-based meal plan. I include fish and poultry in my meal plan for protein. I'm consuming about 8 oz. per day. This was done after a consultation with a Renal Dietitian.

[Aoki in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much for this helpful reply and the link which is very useful

[Hidden in reply to Aoki]

For the future, may I also recommend you use drugs.com to check all of your medications for interactions and possible harm to your kidneys. You can also sign up for newsletters regarding medication alerts and recalls. Best of luck.

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador]

I too am taking allopurinol, 100mg daily for a year. I am at CKD 3b. The uric acid in blood was too high, and so far the bloodwork shows it to be in the normal range. I have had no ill effects from the medicine. I am not taking any medicine that it interacts with it. As far as effects with kidneys, the Doctor is monitoring it and so far seems to be ok. I hope this is some help.

[Aoki in reply to orangecity41]

Certainly is of help. Thank you very much

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

Hi

I also take allopurinol My uric acid was so high I was passing uric acid crystal kidney stones like a goose laying eggs. Since taking it, I have not had a stone and my uric acid levels, which were ridiculous are in the normal range and have been for four years. For me, allopurinol was extremely beneficial for me. Not sure what side effects you are worried about, but it is know to be beneficial for the kidney.

If you are suffering from gout, there is a lot of information on diets low in purine. I also try to follow that as well.

[Aoki in reply to Bassetmommer]

Thank you so much for this. I have obviously been spooked about the side effects by stuff on less reliable sites on the Internet. Thank goodness for this one.

[Celtic]

Aoki, I have a sole kidney, CKD3b, eGFR 44. When gout arrived suddenly on my birthday in April this year, my renal consultant prescribed the oral steroid Prednisolone at 10mg daily for one week. There was an immediate improvement with the two toes affected becoming pain-free and back to normal size. However a few weeks later, the inflammation returned. I then made an appointment with a very trusted rheumatologist (a colleague of my renal consultant) who didn’t want to put me on Allopurinol,saying that he thought I was already on a lot of medication. Many different medications have had to be stopped in the past as I have been found to be very sensitive to them. The rheumatologist gave me a depo medrol injection and prescribed oral steroids (Prednisolone) at 5mg daily for 3 weeks. That proved successful and I have remained pain-free since, with the uric acid levels returning to within normal range since the end of treatment in mid-June and my eGFR remaining stable at 44. I wouldn’t hesitate to have the same treatment again if needed. I wish you luck with whatever treatment you receive.

[Aoki in reply to Celtic]

Many thanks for your response. I think my doc is going to insist I try alluprinol first as I'm in reasonable shape apart from the kidney problem. I'm now determined to give it a go. Great to hear your uric acid levels have gone back to normal range

[GAL14]

Works great for me

[Aoki in reply to GAL14]

Many thanks for replying. It's great to hear you and others here have no problems with alluprinol and I've obviously been daft to resist it -- a gout free future beckons!!

[JimVanHorn]

I took Allopurinol for gout for a short time with kidney problems and prostate cancer. I had no side effects. You know that if you have gout you eat NO Gravy!! Stay away from meat drippings, because it is rich in uric acid from the muscle in the meat. Uric acid crystals in you blood stream cause the pain. You can look up a gout diet on the internet.

[Aoki in reply to JimVanHorn]

Many thanks for your reply. So helpful to hear from everyone on this. I shall certainly make more effort with my diet as well.

[Oldearkie_83]

You can treat the gout or you can treat the cause, or both. My neph--prescribed a couple of things that went in the trash when they didn't work. What did work for me was black cherry juice for the gout (just a few hours), real juice not from concentrate and sodium bicarbonate tablets for the cause which was my pH being too low (acidic). I try to keep that at 7 or a bit on the alkali side. This took 3 days to level out. Of course, I ran this by my PCP and it was okay by him. That was a year ago. No pharmaceuticals involved! Oh yeah, my GFR is 23 as of yesterday. I'll see my PCP later today.

[Aoki in reply to Oldearkie_83]

Many thanks Olderkie I'm going to give both alluprinol and better diet a go. How interesting about cherry juice. I'll certainly keep that in mind if the dreaded gout strikes again. I'll also ask the doc re my pH and whether sodium bicarb might help

[JimVanHorn in reply to Aoki]

Talk to your nephrologist before you use Sod. Bicarbonate. It affects your filtration in your glomerulus in your kidneys.

[Hidden in reply to Aoki]

Food for thought: A lot of our medications began as plants and synthetic versions developed from them . The lowly aspirin is from the willow tree, quinine, the 400 year old treatment for malaria is sourced from the Quina-Quina tree bark. We in the US have become a drug culture and junkies for the fda "approved" pills. So much of our medications began in the various rain forests of the world. For new medications prescribed for you, learn all you can about them , not just blindly take then. Be wary of any who make their livelihood from another's misfortune.

[WYOAnne NKF Ambassador]

High uric acid is what causes Gout attacks. I also had high levels when I was diagnosed with CKD. I took Allopurinol until I had my transplant. I had no side effects. Everyone is different, but I was actually having kidney stones made up of uric acid crystals. You have to worry that if you don't take the Allopurinol you could get stones that can cause more damage to your kidneys. Have you talked about these fears with your doctor? But let me tell you, I would be afraid to NOT take the Allopurinol and wind up with much worse kidney issues

[Aoki in reply to WYOAnne]

Many thanks for this. I'm now determined to try alluprinol. I'd certainly like to avoid kidney stones -- no idea this was another threat. How wonderfully helpful this site is.

[WYOAnne NKF Ambassador]

Take care! We are here for you.

[SadMad]

I too had trouble with gout when my egfr was in 30s and my nephrologist prescribed alluprinol and it must be working because I haven't had an attack in months.