Can I self medicate or not?

[Irma Reitz]

I suspect I have gout and have had it for a number of years. Uric acid level is 0.38mmol/L. I am unable to get an appointment with a rheumatologist for 4 weeks. I have really painful feet and I am going on vacation for 2 weeks and do not want to be in pain whilst I am away. My question is :- Is it ok to self-medicate. I have bought some allopurinol 100 mg and colchicine tablets and I am tempted to start taking the allopurinol to try to bring my Uric acid level down. How dangerous is it to take control of treatment on my own?

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Self Help for Gout

[Patrick]

Hi Irma. Your question is an interesting one. Who prescribed you Allopurinol and Colchicine in the first place? Maybe not Colchicine, but for sure Allopuinol, you should have had blood work done before that medication was prescibed to you. I realize you are from South Africa and I’m not versed on how they do things medically over there, but Allopurinol is usually prescribed after a liver function and kidney function blood test was done. This is to insure your body will be able to handle the medication, and the 100mg starting dose is pretty normal.

I started they same way as you. 100MG of Allopurinol and 0.6MG of Colchicine taken for 60 days, then a blood retest. So if you have had blood work done, and were prescribed Allopurinol, I guess my question is why haven’t you been taking those medications already?

If you haven’t had blood work done prior, I’d be hesitant to start a medication without doctor oversight. I don’t know you’re medical history (diabetes, renal issues, hepatitus, etc.) so answering that question is nearly impossible. Your doctor should have that info. Be careful.

[Irma Reitz]

Hi Keith
I was just getting impatient to get my pain under control and after reading about how you and other gout sufferers are managing your gout, I decided I would try to sort myself out. I have little faith in some of the doctors who just fob you off without getting to the cause of the problem. I have never been prescribed either colchicine or allopurinol, but asked my pharmacist what I could take and he gave me the Meds. When I asked if I needed a script he said no, but now that I have them I am a bit apprehensive and don’t want to take unnecessary risks. Your answer is very clear regarding the need to have blood work done first, so I guess it would be better to wait until I can get to see the rheumatologist. I have used colchicine together with paracetamol previously and it definitely helped with pain, which is sometimes worse than at other other times. (I have always thought it had something to do with what I ate or drank). I have learned so much from this site, which will help me to ask and expect answers from my doc. Thank you for that. Knowledge is definitely power!!

[Keith Taylor]

That was Patrick, not me.

But, I agree with all he says.

Allopurinol should be supervised with blood tests. Pain control is different. You’ve taken colchicine in the past, and I believe you have a prescription for an anti-inflammatory, and paracetamol. That is all the ingredients for a great gout pain control plan. But, have you got the right recipe?

The fundamentals are in How do I stop Gout Pain?

Block inflammation, reduce inflammation, block residual pain.

It’s dose dependent, and everyone has there own pain threshold. But, bad gout pain always needs maximum safe dose. As ever, you should check with your doctor, or pharmacist, that the doses for each component are safe, and the meds are all compatible with each other.

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