Customer Reviews

Getting Rid of Gout: A Guide to Management and Prevention

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This well written 148 pg. book has all the information that I wish my doctor had shared with me when he diagnosed me. There are a lot of books offering "homeopathic" based remedies. I got this because I wanted to get a clear medical perspective on the disease.

A few of the reviewers have complained that the book does not have enough dietary information, however, as the book points out, there really isn't a generic formula of what foods you can and can't eat. Matching notes with several other gout sufferers, I concur. As the book words it each individual will have his or her own "peculiarities" - - and there are factors besides diet as well. Of course, everyone I talk to has a different "time tested" answer, and they're willing to state it authoritively. All I can tell you is that I've suffered miserably enough from this disease not to want to play any more games. I got this book to hear about my medical options... how the disease is caused, treated, managed and cured - it does this in plain English then you can decide on your own about your course of treatment. I really wish I had this book several years ago. Initially my doctor told me, "Oh, just don't eat..." and gave me a list. I followed it and a few months later it came back with a vegence. I suffered miserably. The third time I saw an internist. He gave me an anti-inflammatory drug which within 20 minutes relieved the pain and enabled me not only to put on my socks and shoes, but walk. Was all the suffering from the time before necessary? Then came the issue of going onpermanant medication, its long term side effects (I'm barely 30 !) and adjusting it (I had another attack after I started on it.) The point is, I now have a better understanding of the disease and can make better informed decisions.

On a lighter note, the book also offers a fascinating history of the disease which actually goes back to the times of Hippocrates and while the book is light on "kiche" there are a few hillarious cartoons with the gout sufferer and the propt up foot that you will associate with if you are a sufferer or live with someone who is.

(P.S. Best of luck in your treatment, I hope this book will help you out ! ! ! )

This was the first book about gout I read; my doctor found and ordered it for me from Amazon.com 2 years ago. It goes over many of the common gout medicines thoroughly, telling their usefull properties and detailing their potentially bad side-effects. This helped me with informed choices. The photographs of gouty joints were sobering. One little tip, mentioned only once in this book, has been the most useful for me, for jumping on an oncoming gout attack before it becomes acute, and that is to take bicarbonate of soda, either as the plain soda in water, or in Alka-aid, or Alka-seltzer tablet forms. It really works for me, in limiting the number of attacks and minimizing them if they do slip by. It took a number of readings of the book for me to find and focus on this idea. I have also made a list of my now-known personal gout-triggering foods, using the information from this book. Wish there were no such thing as gout, but I'm grateful to doctors and writers who work to help us through it.

this book had the most complete information on gout causes and treatment that i have read to date. goes over all the do's and don'ts of diet and medication. gives you more knowledge that the family doctor. only thing keeping it from 5 stars is a lack of dietary information.

I agree with the previous reviewer's comments. Get this book, a list of Foods to Avoid (ie high purine foods) from your doctor or HMO, and maybe check the current edition of the Merck Manual, and you'll be well prepared to deal with your gout.

This is an excellent concise but comprehensive book on the gout for the lay reader. It would be better not to have gout, but if you do need to manage it, this is the best book I've seen. The size, title and the photo on the cover gave me the impression that the book was likely to be simplistic and wrong. In fact, it strikes a good balance between readability and detail. It also turns out that Dr Emmerson has published quite a few papers on gout in serious peer reviewed journals.

If you have gout then READ THIS BOOK ASAP - This is the only comprehensive guide to GOUT I could locate. Excellent reference if you want to understand all aspects and possible causes. I ask lots of questions and this book answered 99 percent of my concerns. Buy your doctor one also - I am new to this condition but now have a definitive plan of action to determine the cause and cure it - not just treat the symptoms. DR. Emmerson if you read these THANK YOU! My TOE wishes I would have found this book 9 months ago.

How can the authors write a book about gout without including a comprehensive section on diet?

This is a major shortcoming to this publication...otherwise it is fine.

this book gives a good background on the medical aspects of gout.

It fails to give detailed information about dietary limitations available more recently.

Recommend the Gout Haters Diet Book for more extensive food recommendations.

This book gets fairly technical yet remains accessible to the non-medical specialist. Very comprehensive, good evaluation of the existing alternatives. Plus, enough description of what's understood of the mechanism of gout for you to evaluate new treatments.

Highly recommended for those who want to learn more about how to treat their gout and understand the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative.

This book is written by a Professor Emeritus who has specialized in gout. He does an excellent job of presenting the underlying causes of gout and proceeds to explain the various things that can be done, presenting both lifestyle changes and the various drugs that can be used. The book is very readable in spite of the discussions of the biochemistry regarding gout and its treatment. Highly recommended if you or somebody you love suffers from gout.