My husband Grizzly lives every day with severe gout, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic kidney disease from having only one kidney. Even simple daily tasks can become a struggle, yet he still pushes himself to work because bills don’t stop and disability can take months to start. Some days he can barely move, but he keeps going.
He currently has a tophus on his toe that popped, became infected, and started draining. Tophi don’t truly heal once they open — they may scab, but the scab often lifts off with medical honey, leaving the wound exposed again. Wound care was supposed to see him, but that never happened, so we’ve been cleaning it ourselves. It looks better than when he was hospitalized, when it was purple and black, but it’s still a constant concern.
Because his kidney can’t filter uric acid properly, the crystals build up in his body. When there’s enough, they rise through the skin and form visible white bumps. They can appear on toes, fingers, elbows, knees — anywhere gout decides to attack. And when they pop, they drain and can easily get infected.
Gout is brutal. One day he’s okay, and the next he’s in so much pain he can’t walk, move, or even get out of bed. It can hit any joint — toes, knees, ankles, hands, ribs, back, shoulders — and when it flares, it puts him down for days or even weeks. His flare‑ups come every month or two, and when they hit, he needs help with everything: eating, getting up, using a urinal, cleaning wounds, and managing pain.
Medications barely help. They increased his allopurinol to 300 mg and it made everything worse. He’s on daily colchicine, prednisone, and other meds, but the relief is limited. The only treatment that could truly change his life is Krystexxa, an infusion that breaks down uric acid — but insurance keeps denying it. Every approval attempt is a fight.
We’ve learned what triggers him: fish, seafood, and certain foods. Tart cherry helps some people, and black walnut or cayenne tinctures may offer relief. A heating pad, elevation, wide‑toe shoes, easy‑on footwear, and staying hydrated all help him get through flare days. Ice makes the pain worse.
Gout is not “just joint pain.” It’s life‑altering, exhausting, and unpredictable. Watching him suffer through it is heartbreaking, but he keeps fighting, and I keep supporting him however I can.
