I don't think this is related to gluten sensitivity at all, but since you are such medical savvy people I thought I'd let ya'll take a whack at it.

I mentioned that I was dx'd with gout. Well the gout has not gone away completely and it's been almost 8 weeks. After 4 weeks, the doc gave me prednisone which didn't really change things. I started a 2nd round of it and then she decided she'd try colchicine which also didn't really change anything.

A few days after stopping the prednisone, I started getting pains in my arms that would move around and appear to be centered on veins. She said she thought it was because she took me off the prednisone too quickly. The pain has persisted and now I have some lipomas on my arms that I don't think were there before.

She's run some blood work and everything is pretty much normal (or the same as it was before--I have a kidney disease and about 50% kidney function), including my sed rate. So she's basically throwing up her hands and saying she'll give me pain meds and refer me to a rheumatologist. The earlier the rheumatologist can see me is Jan 18th.

The pain in my arms isn't moving around any more, but the veins feel tender and any pressure on my arms is painful. I can't even wear my coat that has elastic on the cuffs. The same is true of my calves and ankles now, too. Any pressure is painful--including socks are sometimes painful around my ankles.

I did discover the other day that keeping warm helps. I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping because of the leg pain and I wore long underwear to bed for the last two nights and the pain has been much better. So, even though I haven't *felt* cold, I've been trying to stay bundled which does seem to help some.

I feel concerned about waiting until Jan 18th. I feel like maybe the doc hasn't been as thorough as she needs to be. The veins in my lower arms and lower legs appear bluer than I remember them being.

So I'm toying with the idea of trying to get in to see my nephrologist and see if he has any ideas.

Anyone here have any advice?

Thanks,

Rachel (who's sick and tired of feeling rotten and being in pain)