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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think gout at 31 is unusual

28 replies

Ohmygoditsgout · 29/12/2025 09:57

Posting on here for traffic I’m sorry.
I am a 31 year old woman and have symptoms of gout. On Boxing Day I started with really bad pain underneath my right big toe to the side, it was hot, red, swollen and sore. My father in law joked that it looked the same as his gout attacks, I laughed that off. Been to the GP this morning and my lord, she thinks it’s gout!
I am not a drinker, I don’t eat rich food, I am overweight and I won’t lie, I drink a can of coke a day which i have now stopped.
Have any other women on here had gout and it’s turned out not to be an underlying medical condition? Feel quite worried now! Off for my X-ray and waiting for blood tests in 4 weeks, something to do with uric acid levels.

OP posts:
temperedolive · 29/12/2025 10:00

Gout is caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood. You mentioned that you are overweight; have you recently lost some? We store uric acid in fat, so when losing fat UA levels can rise temporarily.

Original poster
Ohmygoditsgout · 29/12/2025 10:01

temperedolive · 29/12/2025 10:00

Gout is caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood. You mentioned that you are overweight; have you recently lost some? We store uric acid in fat, so when losing fat UA levels can rise temporarily.

No I haven’t, I’ve actually gained a little recently. I really am trying and have just been referred to the weight loss service too, im not hugely over weight or the largest I’ve ever been but definitely need to loose weight

OP posts:
Tink3rbell30 · 29/12/2025 10:03

My dad had it terrible in his 30s. Most common cause is alcohol or being overweight. He was started on uric acid tablets which he now takes daily and has never had it since.

MujeresLibres · 29/12/2025 10:04

One of my colleagues has it at 31. He is not overweight and doesn't drink to excess. He just seems to be unlucky. Hope you can sort it out soon.

Hibernatingtilspring · 29/12/2025 10:06

Gout has a strong genetic link, in that sense it isn't unusual to have it when you're younger. It is exacerbated by diet but not necessarily caused by a bad diet.

temperedolive · 29/12/2025 10:08

Do you eat a lot of red meat or shellfish? Especially organ meats like pate? Or a ot of fruit? Fructose can cause a uric acid rise in some people.

I had elevated uric acid when I had a kidney injury. It didn't lead to gout, and as my kidneys recovered, my uric acid levels returned to normal. I also went vegetarian, which helped with both issues. Could youbhave kidney troubles? Do you know what your eGFR is?

Mumofteenandtween · 29/12/2025 10:08

I so want to say “Maybe it is a fungal infection”! (Keeping Up Appearances joke - Richard had a fungal infection but Hyacinth thought gout sounded more appropriate.)

randomchap · 29/12/2025 10:12

I got my first attack in my mid 30s so it's not that unusual

I've found keeping well hydrated helps

Original poster
Ohmygoditsgout · 29/12/2025 10:12

temperedolive · 29/12/2025 10:08

Do you eat a lot of red meat or shellfish? Especially organ meats like pate? Or a ot of fruit? Fructose can cause a uric acid rise in some people.

I had elevated uric acid when I had a kidney injury. It didn't lead to gout, and as my kidneys recovered, my uric acid levels returned to normal. I also went vegetarian, which helped with both issues. Could youbhave kidney troubles? Do you know what your eGFR is?

No I don’t, i don’t eat any of the foods it states can cause gout but I do drink coke which contains high sugar, I’ve obviously stopped this now! Gosh I feel so stupid 😭 no known kidney issues. Awaiting kidney blood tests when I have the uric acid ones

OP posts:
IllAdvised · 29/12/2025 10:15

My MIL has it, and she’s a tiny, thin woman who eats like a bird, doesn’t drink and eats no red meat.

temperedolive · 29/12/2025 10:29

It could just be one of those things then. Hopefully, not kidney issues. My understanding is that allopurinol is pretty well tolerated unless you have Han Chinese ancestry.

l3tsdanc3 · 29/12/2025 10:36

I had it in my 20s but I have kidney issues which explains it. My DH also gets it - his is definitely more linked to being overweight, and although he eats good healthy food (too much of it) he does enjoy meat and wine. He recently set off an attack by drinking too much non alcoholic beer!

Original poster
Ohmygoditsgout · 29/12/2025 10:53

I hope it’s not kidney issues. I don’t want to google, can anyone say what these issues may be without scaring me too much!
Just had my X-ray and bloods are booked in for exactly 4 weeks time

OP posts:
KungFuDancing · 29/12/2025 11:00

Turkey is high in purines and can trigger a gout attack. DH avoids it as it and has chicken at Christmas this year after several years in agony post-Christmas.

tedlassoforprimeminister · 29/12/2025 11:18

I was diagnosed with it in my 40s, only risk factor is my grandma and my dad have it. No dietary triggers. The only thing that makes it worse is not being hydrated.
my dads gets worse if he had a cold but I think that is likely dehydration too.
most of the time it’s not a problem but I just have to be careful of certain movements of my foot. I have been told I have arthritis of the big toe joint.
i am mindful of my footwear, the angle of a seam or strap can make a lot of difference.
hope you’re not in too much pain, it can be agonising

handmademitlove · 29/12/2025 11:25

Gout is a form of arthritis - it is largely genetic, which is a much bigger factor than diet. This is the NHS site for gout - helpful and fact based if you don't want to google!

www.nhs.uk/conditions/gout/

temperedolive · 29/12/2025 13:03

Ohmygoditsgout · 29/12/2025 10:53

I hope it’s not kidney issues. I don’t want to google, can anyone say what these issues may be without scaring me too much!
Just had my X-ray and bloods are booked in for exactly 4 weeks time

What happened to me was that I had an acute kidney injury from a poor medication choice. My eGFR fell to the 30s and I was unable to urinate for about 14 hours. With such a low rate of filtration, my body was unable to successfully eliminate uric acid, and so my UA count rose to 10.7. This is dangerously high, especially for someone with already damaged kidneys, as the acid crystals can damage the kidneys during attempted filtration. And because my kidneys were in such a state, my blood sodium was also too low which meant the doctors had to restrict my fluids for a while. Hydration is a powerful factor in UA control, so I was at very high risk.

I am now fine. My kidneys pulled off a miracle recovery (eGFR was 96.4 last test). UA was 6.5 at last count, and the goal is less than six for a menstruating woman and less than 7 for a man or menopausal woman. I'm menopausal, so in the safe zone.

Which is to say, this could be a temporary issue. I'll be hoping for that for you!

turkeyboots · 29/12/2025 13:06

My Dad and brother suffer with gout, both started in their 30s. Both tall, skinny men too. As others have said its a genetic thing.

SamphiretheTervosaur · 29/12/2025 13:10

Our GPs did. DH has had symptoms for about 30 years. Only when his elbow grew a spur and he was bed ridden for over a month, aged 58, did any GP decide to treat him for gout. The relief was immediate... keep on asking the questions

BeautifulSongsofLove · 29/12/2025 13:16

handmademitlove · 29/12/2025 11:25

Gout is a form of arthritis - it is largely genetic, which is a much bigger factor than diet. This is the NHS site for gout - helpful and fact based if you don't want to google!

www.nhs.uk/conditions/gout/

& this is also informative

https://www.ukgoutsociety.org/docs/goutsociety-allaboutgoutanddiet-0113.pdf

https://www.ukgoutsociety.org/docs/goutsociety-allaboutgoutanddiet-0113.pdf

BillieWiper · 29/12/2025 13:17

It can happen to anyone. I think I had it a couple years back on my big toe. Really horrible.

Cutting down or quitting coca cola is a good idea. I also used to drink it pretty much daily so maybe it is a factor in gout. If you try and eat cleanly without too much fat, dairy or alcohol and drink loads of water it should ease off.

You can get this really expensive but delicious fancy cherry juice that's meant to help gout. I did try one bottle but couldn't afford anymore. So not sure if it worked or not?

Alpacajigsaw · 29/12/2025 13:25

I don’t know what you mean by “Have any other women on here had gout and it’s turned out not to be an underlying medical condition”?

Gout is caused by high uric acid levels in the blood so if you have high uric acid it will need to be kept under control or it can cause repeated gout attacks and other symptoms, can damage organs etc. The reason you need to wait for the uric acid test is because UA levels can be artificially reduced during a flare so waiting til the flare passes gives a more accurate reading.

Some foods do have high purines which can increase uric acid levels but the GP told me it’s largely genetic. My dad developed gout after bladder cancer treatment and I got it after a foot injury so I expect we had high uric acid and the gout was triggered by those episodes.

I don’t drink alcohol at all and do watch my purines. I’m rubbish at drinking lots of water so do try and do that. I don’t drink fizzy drinks at all. The only thing that’s going to work to reduce levels is UA lowering meds, not tart cherry capsules or anything else.

Go for the blood test and if it reveals high levels you will likely be offered uric acid lowering meds which I would recommend. I am on allopurinol and it’s been a long time since I had a flare, thankfully. If your GP hadn’t already given you colchicine to manage the flare ask for that and you should also take a small dose prophylactically whilst starting on UA lowering meds as they can increase the risk of a flare until the allopurinol is controlling your UA sufficiently.

I’m older than you but when I was diagnosed I read it was unlikely to happen in pre menopausal women but I’m on a fb group and there seem to be quite a lot of young women with it.

it’s a truly horrible, excruciatingly painful and debilitating condition but it can be well controlled and managed.

I’m on a fb group which is called Gout Suuport Group (UK and Ireland only) which is brilliant.

dominoeffecting · 29/12/2025 13:41

I had gout in my 20s… it was a one off and has never happened again since.
I was a social drinker - maybe more heavy than I realised but I didn’t think at a level to warrant gout.
I was pretty stressed at the time from memory, I don’t know if that was a factor.
it was agony! Hope you get some answers from blood tests.
i wasn’t offered any tests at the time but my kidney function has always been fine since...

saraclara · 29/12/2025 14:04

My friend has suffered with it on and off since he was 29. He's not overweight, he likes a beer or two, but not in excess, and he's been told that it's just a hereditary thing in his case.

There are a couple of things that seem to trigger it (if he stubs his toe, it's really bad news as it's almost always followed by a flare up) but in general he's able to keep it at bay most of the time,

Boododedoop · 29/12/2025 14:14

Some of my children had it in their 30’s, one even had it in his knee. They were all very fit and healthy. I think it’s just a family thing.

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