If someone has gout..and has had it for years..many attacks..andnot gone on allopurinol..I’ld definitely be leaving the colchicine tosomeone else..UNLESS it is prescirbed by a Dr. ALONG with allopurinol. Then there is another problem..because of an ongoing attack..mostDr’s are not going to give you the allopurinol UNTIL the attack isgone.And they’re probablly not going to give you colchicine now..THENallopurinol..then colchicne for maintenance.. They may give you colchicine for the attack now..it might be alot..and you’ll be sick..then..you’ll be on yourown..recoverring/stabilising..not attacks..then start allopurinol andthe colchicine for maintenance.

Yes, it has been used for more than thousands of years for treatmentof gout. My mother was treated by her family physician exactly asArnold described and her gout attacks were mostly controlled withculchicine until she had a very bad series of attacks which led toher seeing a Rumatoligist which then led to allopurinol andeventually to no gout attacks in the last four years.

She was on a daily dose of culchicine for about 5 years beforefinally getting off it and onto allopurinol.

I also will use culchicine when I am having a bad attack, when Icannot stand the pain and when I do take culchicine, I absolutelyfear taking that pill.

Why?

Why do I fear culchicine?

Please look over the web site references I have listed below and ifyou wish I can supply you with literally thousands of up to date andsome very old references about culchicine.

http://www.pharmacynetworkgroup.com/w/colbenemid-warnings-precautions.htmhttp://plant-tc.coafes.umn.edu/listserv/2003/log0304/msg00071.htmlhttp://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=mutagenhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=135205&dopt=Abstracthttp://www.overgrow.com/edge/showthread/t-306962.html

The bottom line is that culchicine is one of the strongest and mosteffective mutagens known to man. It induces mutations into any livingtissue it encounters.

Mutagens are not carcinogens. Carcinogins cause cancer. Mutaginscause mutations. Some of those mutations may result in cancer but notnecessarily.

To be more specific here, they cause your DNA to change which willinduce random changes into your genetic code. If you are a youngperson and you take culchicine you are really playing with a loadedgun. This is particularly true if you are planning to have morechildren.

The fact that culchicine causes mutations is something that is sowell known in the botany world that it is kept in most botany labs asa standard reagent. They make diploid plants from haploid plants bysoaking the seeds in culchicine. You can make fabulous doublehemoracallis flowers, day lilies with a flower that appears to be twoflowers in the same place, by soaking the seeds in culchicine. It isused to make multiple varieties of tulips, of wheat, rice and on andon. The procedure is to soak the seed in a culchine solution and thenplant the treated seeds. Most of the seeds don’t even germinate orgrow and most of those that do grow, are terrible plants. However,some of the plants that do grow, a very small number, are beneficialand those improved plants are screened out, propagated and that’s oneway they improve the stock. The other way of doing this mutationprocess is with radiation of the seeds.

Mutations are sometimes cancers. That is a fact and it is also welldocumented. There are also many side effects that are thought to be aresult of mutations that result in long term afflictions. Among thesediseases, or afflictions, that are thought to be caused by culchicinetreatment are peripheral neuropathy and fibro mialga. There are manymany others but none have been difinitively demonstrated. It isclearly true that both of these afflictions can occure without theculchicine treatment but the occurance with people who have beentreated with culchicine is statistically very, very high. Notice Isaid thought, because it has not been proved but it is statisticallytrue that, for example, a very high percentage of people who takeculchicine for more than 5 years will develop peripheral neuropathy(It is where you loose your feeling in your arms and legs.)

The fact is that each and every time you take a culchicine pill youwill be inducing some of the cells in your body to mutate. Almost allof the mutations will result in the death of the affected cell andthat cell will be removed by the normal cell removal process.

But you are running a known risk that you will be inducing a mutationthat will noit kill the cell, that will make something that will stayand that will alter your DNA, be permanent in your body and it couldvery well be a result worse than the gout that you are trying to fix.

I say, take allopurinol, fix the pain with NSAID’s and takeculchicine only when you cannot stand the pain any more and then stopit when you can bear the pain again. Stay on your allopurinol andyour gout will go away and if you stay on it, it will not come back.

Let’s back up a bit..to it’s dangers.There are almost nosubstances as dangeorous as this one.Colchicine is a pretty muchguaranteed horrific death if you o/d on it..this takes from about 10to 50 pills.You take these.The active ingredient will be in yourbloodstream like lightning.It is one of the very few substances thatexist that are simply this dangerous.There is no cure..nohelp..absolutley nothing that can be done..even in an emergencyward..if you get a wack of this in your blood stream.

To it’s dangers in treating gout?..well..it has been aroundforever..and it’s use documented..it is still prescribed a fairbit.The overwelming consensus amongst experts is that..within reasonit is safe.I have done a lot of reading/research on it..asked a lotof Dr.s It really hasn’t caused very many problems..when used withinreason.Some problems that it was blamed for..where there before.

Reason..I should also have pointed out..popular now..is that youget the max..5 pills a day..for ONLY 3 days..(. 6 mg pills)THEN yagotta go off the stuff for several days..THEN you you can go backon..at a lower dose..etc. Max dose is low..about 2 pills a day..for ayear..then 1 for another max year..then no more.

There have been cases where women could not get pregnant..andcoincidentally..on colchicne for gout..got pregnant.Women havebirthed healthy babies while on it. Nursed babies..apparentlly no illeffects.There have also been cases where men could notimpregnate..while on it..with normal sperm counts.Figger this out. Again we are of course talking about healthy individuals..thatare taking it. I had to take it..or suffer the horrors of gout..for 1 1/2years..I pretty much took 2 to 3 pills a day.. And I did do plenty of reading..and asking about it.I also had anAWFUL! lot of blood tests..they watched me like a hawk!

It still is not known exactly how it works..some experts say itkills wbc..hence killing the attack.According to the DR.s I havetalked with..their response is..No..not at this low level..if it didkill wbcs..then why during a gout attack does the wbc count rise?Andafter colchicine..why even when the mess of crystals and wbc’s areaspirated why isn’t the count down even there?The wbc’s are therealright..my rheumatologist says(and so does other research) that thecolchiccine..”tricks”..or paralyses..the wbc’s..ONLY in their attackof the foreign body(the crystals).No one doubts that it works on theindividual wbc.But there is a difference in the way it works onplants and humans..

I’m not arguing the point..one way or the other..

I’m ESPECIALLY agreeing with Walter’s EXCELLENT POINT!..Take theallopurinol..and you won’t need the stinkin’ colchicine..

I don’t think there is anyone that would even dare to compare thedangers of colchicine to allopurinol.

All I’m reallly saying..if you have an attack..AND you have totake it..then take it..BUT take this garbage..ONLY as a stopgap..until the allopurinol has worked. I should really have pointed out..that the taking ofcolchicine..was neccessary for ME as maintenance..and MAYBEothers..BUT try other stuff first.