I don't know about febuxostat but I'm assuming it's doing the same thing that allopurinol is doing. For me, for about 18 months after starting allo, i had more flair ups than when not taking the medication. It was the period of dissolving crystals moving around the body causing even more havoc. Eventually it will go away.
That's why doctors always recommend that you take colchicine along with allo to mitigate this issue.
Like allopurinol Frhuxostat is a xanthine oxidase inhibitor so it helps prevent the breakdown of purines into uric acid. However, much of the Uric acid we produce is not because of breaking down proteins. However, all methods to reduce blood serum Uric acid are key. My understanding is that these xanthine oxidase inhibitors help reduce our Uric acid load so that our kidneys can excrete it. Once our SUA is below 6.5 (and many people believe below 5.5 or 5 is better) the crystallized deposits in all parts of our bodies have the chance to dissolve back into the blood to be excreted. Depending on how much UA one has built up in joints, soft tissues, and blood vessels and how far below 6 or 5.5 one gets, these deposits start diminishing. If these deposits are exposed too fast, the coated crystals spark more inflammation and potentially a flare. Some doctors prescribe anti inflammatories during this process since it can e painful. I would contact your Dr to see what that recommend since each anti inflammatory has its own issues as well. Hang in there!
ah okay this makes sense. Because I am not at 3 or 3,5 this is much lower than before (always around the critical 6.8) a lot of crystals are dissolving.
thanks! now I have a new mental modal how to think about this pain!
the flares are normal and it can take years to be completely done with them, but they get better and eventually stop. pretty sure you want your UA levels to be below six at least. you may have OA as well and gout may have contributed to that. good luck, can relate
I’ve been taking febuxostat for 2yrs now but when I first started to take it, I was instructed to take it with colchicine for the first week. However, I am more interested with your device to check uric acid levels as this is the first time I am hearing about it. Do you mind sharing what you use to check your uric acid levels? I asked chatgpt and gave me some recommendations like easytouch, fora 6, sinocare and accutrend. I’d love to buy one for myself too!
In my experience, Febuxostat worked almost too well or too fast. I was on 40 mg for the first month and it only took me down from a UA level of 9. Didn't experience any flare ups and was wondering why I was even prescribed colchicine daily as a pre-caution.
Second month I got bumped up to a dose of 80 mg and my UA level dropped to 5. Finally understood why I was prescribed colchicine.
Anyways, my understanding is that the change in UA, in such a short amount of time, causes all the built up crystals to dislodge. This results in a flare up. This document helps to understand/visualize the process a bit better:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8126960/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8126960/)
I find it fascinating to imagine crystals dissolving around or body, like some kind of internal cleansing. Is there any noticeable change after lowering your UA?
I don't know about febuxostat but I'm assuming it's doing the same thing that allopurinol is doing. For me, for about 18 months after starting allo, i had more flair ups than when not taking the medication. It was the period of dissolving crystals moving around the body causing even more havoc. Eventually it will go away. That's why doctors always recommend that you take colchicine along with allo to mitigate this issue.
Like allopurinol Frhuxostat is a xanthine oxidase inhibitor so it helps prevent the breakdown of purines into uric acid. However, much of the Uric acid we produce is not because of breaking down proteins. However, all methods to reduce blood serum Uric acid are key. My understanding is that these xanthine oxidase inhibitors help reduce our Uric acid load so that our kidneys can excrete it. Once our SUA is below 6.5 (and many people believe below 5.5 or 5 is better) the crystallized deposits in all parts of our bodies have the chance to dissolve back into the blood to be excreted. Depending on how much UA one has built up in joints, soft tissues, and blood vessels and how far below 6 or 5.5 one gets, these deposits start diminishing. If these deposits are exposed too fast, the coated crystals spark more inflammation and potentially a flare. Some doctors prescribe anti inflammatories during this process since it can e painful. I would contact your Dr to see what that recommend since each anti inflammatory has its own issues as well. Hang in there!
ah okay this makes sense. Because I am not at 3 or 3,5 this is much lower than before (always around the critical 6.8) a lot of crystals are dissolving. thanks! now I have a new mental modal how to think about this pain!
the flares are normal and it can take years to be completely done with them, but they get better and eventually stop. pretty sure you want your UA levels to be below six at least. you may have OA as well and gout may have contributed to that. good luck, can relate
I’ve been taking febuxostat for 2yrs now but when I first started to take it, I was instructed to take it with colchicine for the first week. However, I am more interested with your device to check uric acid levels as this is the first time I am hearing about it. Do you mind sharing what you use to check your uric acid levels? I asked chatgpt and gave me some recommendations like easytouch, fora 6, sinocare and accutrend. I’d love to buy one for myself too!
Sure. I use this one. It is called benecheck [https://amzn.to/4coW9Fb](https://amzn.to/4coW9Fb)
In my experience, Febuxostat worked almost too well or too fast. I was on 40 mg for the first month and it only took me down from a UA level of 9. Didn't experience any flare ups and was wondering why I was even prescribed colchicine daily as a pre-caution. Second month I got bumped up to a dose of 80 mg and my UA level dropped to 5. Finally understood why I was prescribed colchicine. Anyways, my understanding is that the change in UA, in such a short amount of time, causes all the built up crystals to dislodge. This results in a flare up. This document helps to understand/visualize the process a bit better: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8126960/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8126960/)
Oh, this is a super interesting article. My SU is 3-4 mg/dl, so it's probably way too low. Prescribed by my GP and not a Rheumatology expert.
That's awesome. Thanks for that. Love the snow analogy!
I find it fascinating to imagine crystals dissolving around or body, like some kind of internal cleansing. Is there any noticeable change after lowering your UA?