h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When I began having problems of that during my late twenties (angrily red toes that felt like there were minute shards of glass embedded in them), researching the condition and finding that it was caused by problems metabolizing especially red meat, and especially glandular meats, I simply went to a carefully balanced* all vegetarian diet for six months. That brought it under control, but I found afterward that if I took no red meat at all, even the tiniest wounds and scratches wouldn't heal, so I resumed taking occasional red meat, reserving it for conditions like that, or conditions of extreme physical stress. I didn't have a flareup again till I passed a kidney stone some twenty five years later (pains in toes before a rain, in the fingers before a freeze). This persisted over only one winter.

*with rare exceptions (like soy beans or Canadian triticale cereal), grains and legumes do not supply all of your essential protein factors separately. If you take one each together, the combination almost always will. Or, alternatively, you can supplement with milk.

Similarly, I've just had the first re-flare in 26 years. I'm usually careful to balance diet and go heavy on the good veggies. However, a sale on smoked sausage a couple weeks ago led me off the deep end, and I'm paying for it with an evil take-no-prisoners reminder not to do that again.

The downside is that this flare lasted seven days, whereas the previous one lasted only about two.

Also, my joints can predict a pressure change two days out with remarkable accuracy. Cold weather is just too painful to mention, hence the current residential location. After last winter, I may need to move further south.

No actual gout pains yet, but I'm on edge and thinking of them almost every day. Weather has been unusually cool, no rains for several weeks nor any forecast over the upcoming week and no freezes so far.