Shoe size
I have gout.
I have had it for about 3 years and I am now on allopurinol. Istarted t mopnths ago with 100 mg, bumped it up to 200 for two weeksand I am now at 300. During this time I have had constant knawingpain in the variious areas where I have had full blown attacksbafore. It may be my imagination but it seems to me that during thistime of “flushing out the old uric acid”-so to speak-large amounts ofwater seem to be very helpful. Much more helpful than whyen I was inthe middle of a full attack “Before Allopurinol”. During this periodof rather constant attack, I have used NSAIDs off and on and on someoccasions, while on allopurinol, I have taken some culchicine but notoften as I am very afraid of the long term effects of that drug.
I woke last night with another spot being inflamed, not badly butdefinitely inflamed and for some reason it hit me, that about 5 yearsago, well before my first gout attack, my shoe size suddenly changed.I have been a size 9 since I was 16. I remember playing football inHigh School in size nine shoes and I played my whole amature tenniscareer in size 9 tennis shoes. I had 3 pairs of golf shoes in size 9and at that time, and, almost over night-yes in the spring when Ifirst went out to play golf again- the shoes were so tight. I had toplay that day in my street shoes and ended up buying size 9-1/2which also got too tight after about 6 months. I now wear 10 to 10-1/2 and if I can fined them I wear an E width whereas I always wore aD width before.
I asked my physician and several physician friends about the shoesize chgange at 55 years of age and none of them could offer anexplanation. I did not grow taller or grow shorter either so I wasnot actually getting bigger. My feet were just getting bigger.
I now suspect that the growth was from uric acid being stored thereand I wonder if anyone else has noticed an increase in their shoesize. By the way, I am not talking about the increase that is obviousand necessary when your foot is being attacked by and swollen by agout attack. I am talking about a larger size being required when youhave no pain and no attack.
The reason I mention this is that if, after allopurinol treatment fora long time, possibly years and years, if my shoe size shrinks backto 9, I think I can be pretty sure that I have gotten rid of theexcess uric acid that the serun blood tests, and the 24 hour urinetests do not moniter.
Has anyone else noticed an increase in shoe size?
Terrance Molock on June 11th, 2007
I’ve had gout since about 87/8..undiagnosed until 99. Around 90 my feet started to change shape..my arches..which werenever high..became higher..and higher..such to the point that I hadto replace my ski boots..$!..for a pair with much more arch support.Ibegan practically living in runners. After a wicked gout battle..(and starting allopurinol)..8 out thenext 20 months I was basically unable to walk..20 hrs a day..my feetwere SORE SORE SORE..such to the point that I could not stand on hardsurfaces at all for those 20 months.
My routine was SIMPLE..I kept a very cushy high arch supportrunner beside my bed.When I got up in the morning..in bed..on theywent.I walked to the kitchen..where I assessed the last..bit ofwalking..and made a decison on which shoes I needed..On top of thefridge(so my dog wouldn’t take them outside and BURY them)I had 5more pairs of runners..all of varying degrees of support.I tried towean myself off as best I could.Often wearing different shoes on myfeet(different degrees of support) This NONSENSE! only lasted for 2 years..At that point I was offALL painkillers(only allopurinol) and didn’t need the shoes..I couldnot only walk..I could stand on hard surfaces.Shoes off fridge.
During this time I read that shoe problems are notorious in goutsufferers. I don’t so much think that it is the swelling per se..but thedeposits limiting normal bone joint movement in the feet.Probabllytoo the body is being VERY defensive..walking gingerly etc. Some reccommed exercises to stretch the feet..forcing movement ofthe synovial fluid. I noticed that I could reach/stretch..up on my tippy toes..like Ihadn’t been able to for a LONG time
Good luck bro..
Long term effects of the MIGHTY colchicine..Idno..I ONLY had totake it for 20 months..every day..a couple times a day..nice.It wasthe ONLY thing that worked..yes I tried EVERYTHING else! Like I had a choice.yeah..take colchicine..or be in horrificpain,don’t walk.. at a BIG bottle on my desk with HUNDREDS of them init..bad memories..but my savior.Hope as long as I live I never,everhave to take any of that stuff again..
Sabina Shamel on June 11th, 2007
I know for sure that I had the shoe size increase well before myfirst attack, about 2 years to be exact, because I remember having tobuy new golf shoes and new tennis shoes. Of course my regular shoeshad to be replaced too. I think you are correct about the uric acidbeing deposited there, in our feet, and as I continue to takeallopurinol and I continue with what I have to call mini attacks, Iam sure that old, previously stored, uric acid is probably going backinto solution, hopefully to be swept out with the kidneys in theurine. From the e-mail I have received, most people besides mealready understood the shoe size change but I find it strange that nophysician, including a rumatologist I sometimes play golf with,mentioned that the foot size change might be a precursor to gout. Noone had heard of feet growing during a persons 55th year and theyteased me that perhaps it was my eyesight in not being able to readthe sizes any more.
Allie Belletto on June 13th, 2007
What coincidental timing. I bought a new pair of shoes this weekend. My traditional size had always been 9.5. Over the past three years my size has gradually edged up to 11. When I was younger, I found it very difficult to find a pair of shoes narrow enough to fit my feet comfortably. When I was shoe shopping this weekend, I found it difficult to find a pair of shoes wide enough. Interesting, isn’t it?
Sabina Shamel on June 14th, 2007
Yes, it is interesting and should be part of the overall goutliterature.
A mechanism for why the feet and toe are affected is easily broughtto mind if you think about urate accumulating in your feet for yearsbefore you have an attack. If you have a solid that forms in asolution that is constantly being agitated and circulated, and ifthat soolid is non-reactive with the overall system but it flowsaround with the solvent-water in this case for us- eventually, overtime, that solid will accumulate at the lowest place in the systemand build up there, in the passages and locations, where solvent flowis most restricted, and at the lowest point, i.e. your feet.
We may be getting urate build up in our feet for years in and aroundthe joints of our feet and then-again for a reason not known atpresent- that urate begins to crystallize. If you have watched acrystallization of a solid from a supersaturated solution, it is bothinteresting, and frightening, to realize it is probably happening inour feet.
One last note, I can readily understand that my feet would get widerbut why longer? My feet measure out now at 10 to 10.5 when they were9 for 35 years. A lengthing of the foot can only happen if somethinghappens to either the actual bone or the joints. I assume, for now atleast, that each joint in my foot is contaminated with a layer ofurate, probably not crystalline but there is probably enough tostretch out, if you will, the bone placement in my feet.
Allie Belletto on June 15th, 2007
I have another anecdotal foot related personal experience and am wondering if others have had similar experiences. TOENAILS:Over the past 3-4 years my toenails had become pitted, brittle, ridged, discoloured and separated from the skin slightly. They were so unsightly that I refused to expose them. I would not wear sandals and would not enter a swimming area. Since taking Allopurinol, they have begun to grow back healthy and normal. They have lost their discolouration, are attached to the skin and look strong and healthy. I now speculate the toenail issues were a reflection of the deposits in my lower extremeties. Is there any literature or research that supports that speculation?Has anyone else experienced this?
Julius Lucca on June 17th, 2007
Was the rate of growth uniform and same for both feet? How manyinches in how many years? Just curious if this is really a resultof gout.