Marty welcome to a not very enviable club. Close to twenty years ago took my fil to the UK for the first vacation he had almost ever had, and he was on chemotherapy. On the plane developed a terrible joint pain, in my big toe, and shortly could only hobble. Could not sleep and even a sheet on it was torture.
Knew what it was and finally went to a doc who gave us something to break it.
For the next several years just put up with it. And then a doc I knew saw me hobble, insisted I go to his office, stuck a needle in the joint and told me what I already knew.
There are drugs, which I hate to take, that one can take to minimize or at least severely reduce attacks. But they sure do work.
Have since learned that gout is a complicated disease from a rheumatologist I know.
I really did not change my diet because I rarely ate any of the contraindicated stuff. Red meat we do not eat all that often, offal on Thanksgiving and Christmas and steak and kidney pie once or twice a year, oh year, and haggis about as often.
Maintained it on simple drugs for about five years and then decided to go off them. Have not had an attack since.
Why? I have no idea. Am just saying it is a confusing disease.
Go with your doc. Know how nasty, and almost debilitqting, the attacks can be. Good luck and God bless.
My next attack could be in an hour.
