Anyone also on Goutonline dot net or additional forums?

[dcdude]

I hope I'm not out of line here, but as some of you may have read, I'm a new member here, and I've been doing frenzied research trying to learn as much as I can while I try to treat my current flare up with as few drugs as possible. In the process of this research, I've come across TONS of information from various websites. I'm convinced that GoutPal interactive is certainly the best forum for us, but it seems like goutonline dot net might be the second best.

Is anyone here a member over there as well? If so, why? What content or sections are better or worse? It doesn't seem as active and most of the threads are from the “Feeds From Other Forums” (?) I don't want to spend time over there if there is no incremental content that's missing here.

Thanks in advance for your input.

[azasadny]

This was the best forum I found when I was looking. None of the other sites had nearly the resources, posts, info, etc… That's why I'm here.

[odo]

azasadny said:

This was the best forum I found when I was looking. None of the other sites had nearly the resources, posts, info, etc… That's why I'm here.

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Ditto

[MyFootHurts]

I'd never heard of that place, but since you pointed it out, I just registered there.? It seems very slow.. both in terms of bandwidth and activity.

I'll keep an eye on that place, though.

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

dcdude said:

I hope I'm not out of line here, but as some of you may have read, I'm a new member here, and I've been doing frenzied research trying to learn as much as I can while I try to treat my current flare up with as few drugs as possible. In the process of this research, I've come across TONS of information from various websites. I'm convinced that GoutPal interactive is certainly the best forum for us, but it seems like goutonline dot net might be the second best.

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You're certainly not out of line in my opinion, but I would like the opportunity to re-emphasize the purpose of my mission here.

Though this forum is designed to provide a safe haven for gout sufferers seeking unbiased advice on various aspects of gouty arthritis, that is really secondary to my main aim of providing a comprehensive, accessible resource at GoutPal.com.

?

I want GoutPal.com to be easy to use at every level of gout care, so that total newbies can easily see what they need to do to best manage their gout, but also to back this up with good evidence so that medical professionals can understand why some approaches are better than others. I am much more in favor of providing facts and figures that can help doctors and patients understand each other, and improve their relationship, than providing exact step-by-step procedures for managing gout.

?

Gout varies considerably between different individuals. Though the basics of uric acid metabolism are true for everyone, the effects can differ greatly at all stages of gout management. Gout sufferers deserve a range of sources of information and advice so they can choose that which suits them best. I would love to be able to present the most complete gout support service on the Internet, but I realize I cannot be all things to all men.

Information sites continue to proliferate, and I'm happy to work with any gout information provider who can focus on specific niches, and therefore give the best support for that niche. For example, Nate has developed his active person blog, and he is much more capable than me of providing help to people who lead very active lifestyles (my own activities being completely sedentary, apart from the occasional headlong dive onto concrete).

Forum sites depend entirely on the contributions from members – and that means good questions, as well as good answers. But it also means that people have to be like-minded, or willing to listen to those with different views. I've been lucky to have some wonderful contributors to this forum, and so if it truly is the best on the Internet (which is what I want it to be), then that is down to the wonderful people who contribute here. Gout forums are good for people who want to discuss gout, but this is not the perfect platform for presenting comprehensive information that can be used for reference and research – in my opinion that type of resource is best served by a well structured knowledge-base, such as the one which I continue to develop at GoutPal.com.

?

So, to summarize, please feel free to discuss any gout resource available, but please also take time to advise me where good information is missing from GoutPal.com, or where that site is not presenting stuff in the best way. I've been spared from death to take that gout resource to the next level of ultimate help for gout sufferers and their carers. Some constructive criticism from every visitor here will help me fine-tune that resource and make it better for many more people.

[dcdude]

Hi, Keith

Nice to finally “meet” you electronically. Are you out of the hospital yet?

I've been on a few forums in the last several years, and I must say that I've never seen a single individual who has made so many valuable contributions to one topic or forum. It's simply amazing. Thank you so much in advance for all of your tireless efforts!

As you say, what's even more suprising is how little the “legitimate” medical community has published online. I wonder if it's equally sparse for “major” diseases like cancer or diabetes, etc.? Either way, the conspiracy theorist in me expects that there has to be a certain amount of ego involved for doctors, the AMA and the insurance and pharma industries to leave the institutions status quo (read: profitable) and prevent patients from self-mediacating and other sorts of meddling.

PS: How are your preparations going for Prince William's big day? The hearts of the whole country must be aflutter! 😉

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

dcdude said:

Hi, Keith

Nice to finally “meet” you electronically. Are you out of the hospital yet?

Yes, out of hospital, with a knee brace for 5 weeks – much better than a plaster cast. The head and back fractures will take care of themselves. I'm considering selling lucky handshakes

?

I've been on a few forums in the last several years, and I must say that I've never seen a single individual who has made so many valuable contributions to one topic or forum. It's simply amazing. Thank you so much in advance for all of your tireless efforts!

Thank you. I started looking for gout info around 9 or 10 years ago, and found it lacking in every respect. I knew I could do better. It is a topic that ignites my passion, so whilst other people are buggering about for a few bucks, I'm seriously trying to establish some core principles that all gout sufferers and their carers can use to help manage their gout. Exposing the widespread myths (that affect the medical profession as well as us laymen) is part of the task. I am not religious, so I put no spiritual meaning on my recent lucky escape from death. However, survival has given me the keenest sense of purpose – I simply must achieve what I set out to do, and make my gout resources the best they can ever be.

?

As you say, what's even more suprising is how little the “legitimate” medical community has published online. I wonder if it's equally sparse for “major” diseases like cancer or diabetes, etc.? Either way, the conspiracy theorist in me expects that there has to be a certain amount of ego involved for doctors, the AMA and the insurance and pharma industries to leave the institutions status quo (read: profitable) and prevent patients from self-mediacating and other sorts of meddling.

That's a pretty wide debate, but a part of it is very interesting to me. Takeda, who are marketing febuxostat as Uloric in the USA, are spending millions online promoting gout awareness. I presume this is supported offline with practitioner information packs. My mission is to tap into that awareness, so that gout sufferers and their advisers can distinguish the choices available for treatment, and hopefully realize that febuxostat is a useful, but secondary, option where other treatments have failed. Part of that is to show that most failure is not down to problems with allopurinol, but the way it is administered. And if the same level of ignorance is applied to Uloric management as it has been to allopurinol management, then I can soon see Uloric being branded as an expensive waste of time (probably when the next new cure becomes available, he added cynically).

?

PS: How are your preparations going for Prince William's big day? The hearts of the whole country must be aflutter! 😉

Not for me. I'd prefer to ignore this sort of tosh completely, but a part of me is angry that so much money can be spent on this trivia when so many people are without funds, and without hope.

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[trev]

Good to hear of your progress Keith!

On the royal wedding- nothing against the young couple, but ?12M for security [courtesy:Tax Payers], Well!! Quite right -there are many places this coulld do MUCH good!

[dcdude]

Another failed internet joke. I was being facetious about The Wedding. Your repsponses confirm that the “delight and wonder” is not as widespread as the media might convey.

[zip2play]

William who???

[Author]

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