If you have gout, these are the classic stages.
1) Asymptomatic Hyperuricemia In this stage you will not experience any symptoms, however the building blocks of the Gout puzzle are already beginning to come together. At this stage a persons uric acid levels are high and necessary steps need to be taken to ensure that uric acid doesn't precipitate out of blood and crystallize in the joints or kidneys.
2) Acute Gout (acute gouty arthritis) By this stage, some of the damaging effects of gout are beginning to occur. The excess levels of uric acid have gotten to the point where the blood cannot keep it in a dissolved form and uric acid begins to crystallize and deposit in joint spaces. This leads to a sudden onset of intense pain and swelling in the joints. Acute attacks commonly occur at night and without treatment can last for several weeks. Over time attacks occur more frequently, are more severe and last longer.
3) Intercritical Gout (interval gout) This is the period after a gout attack has subsided. While there are no symptoms during this stage, notice how gout progresses into the third stage. Many consider this the most vulnerable stage since the person is under the wrong impression that the danger has passed. Wherein fact the body's immune system is gearing for the next round of attacks on the uric acid crystals that form as a result of high concentration in blood. If treatment is not received by this stage, gout can become extremely hard to control.
4) Chronic Gout (tophaceous gout) This is the most disabling and destructive stage of gout. By this stage the disease has caused permanent damage to the affected joints and sometimes to the kidneys. In this advanced stage, the deterioration of the joint can cause severe crippling and excruciating pain. What's worse is that uric crystals in the kidney can cause blockage of the filtering tubules to such an extent that kidney function is compromised which can potentially lead to kidney failure and even death.
You'll realise that for some people, take Allupurinol and Cholcocine does not work over time, the doses keep increasing and the attacks become longer and more acute each time, as much as 6 attacks a year each attack possibly lasting 7- 14 days.
If the conventional allupurinol is not working for you, you may want to try others such as Uricinex™
I've since started taking it, if you'd like to try for yourself, here's the link. Its called Uricinex™
