Do low uric acid results mean no gout?

[Kymberly Ponegalek]

Hi, It’s Kymberly again.

I just got my uric acid results: 2.9mg/dL. My understanding is that the result is normal. It has been 4 weeks since my attack. Could the number have been high at the time of the attack and fallen to this level after removing high purine foods and supplementing with cherry juice extract? Or, should I go with the assumption that my uric acid was normal at the time of the attack? Considering that result, do I need to continue on with the cherry juice? Is it doing much of anything, do you think? I will continue to keep away from the high purine foods in any case.

If it was not high uric acid that caused my attack, what are the other possible causes that I should be aware of? My Grandpa had gout. If controlling my uric acid is not main concern, where does that leave me in terms of prevention/lifestyle choices. I did pick up the colchicine and indomethacin that I never used with the first attack so that I would have them here at home.

Thank you so much, whoever is listening…

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Do you have gout? Or, a different type of arthritis.

[nobody]

Best double-check that value and the units in particular. Ideally, you’d have that printed on a paper or something. Because there’s more than one unit in common use, even professionals sometimes misread test results and you don’t want to confuse 2.9 mg/dL with 0.29 mmol/l for instance.
You’ll also need to repeat that test in a few weeks or months to make sure this result wasn’t a fluke. It would be best if you could do it it different circumstances. I don’t know how menopause works but that could have a significant effect on uric acid so if you can guess what your hormonal situation is, best take the second test when it doesn’t feel the same as when you had your uric acid tested the first time.
But taking that 2.9 mg/dL at face value, that’s not just “normal” (which is irrelevant to gout) but quite low… low enough that it would rule out gout if that result was confirmed in different circumstances. Someone who has gout would normally get a much higher test result, even if they were watching their diet and taking cherry extract. But it’s too early to jump to conclusions, especially considering your menopause. First double-check the result and schedule another test later this year.

If you don’t have gout, there are a number of diseases which could cause similar symptoms. There’s even one which has been confused with gout often enough that it’s called pseudogout.
The type of doctor which specializes in diagnosing and treating this type of disease is called a rheumatologist. There’s a bunch of blood tests you can do on top of uric acid to rule out less common diseases but of course it helps to visit an expert in person. They may recommend a more expensive test than a blood test which you may have to get on a day when you are in pain.

[Author]

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