most gout sufferers, uric acid in the blood remains high and the crystals remain in the
joint. The truth is gout hasn’t gone away and the low levels of inflammation between
attacks may be causing you joint damage even if you do not feel any symptoms or pain.
In addition, a low level of inflammation could be associated with the risk of developing
heart disease or even a stroke! These delayed attacks can be far more threatening than
the initial attack and will move to different joint areas such as the Achilles area. It is
essential to seek proper medical treatment for the disease and change your lifestyle
through proper diet and exercise to avoid and/or prevent any future gout attacks.
Finally, we end it with the final and fourth stage, what they call Chronic Gout or Chronic
Tophaceous Gout which is the stage you definitely want to avoid at all costs. At this
stage gout becomes disabling and occurs after many years of suffering that can be
associated with irreversible damage to the affected joints, damage to your kidneys and
even death! Over time gout attacks become longer and more frequent. This is the worst
and most destructive stage due to the fact that you can develop tophi causing the
destruction of the affected bone and cartilage to occur. This stage usually occurs after
10 years if the disease hasn’t been treated properly and no lifestyle changes were
implemented. With proper treatment most gout sufferers do not progress to this stage
and thank goodness for that! It is critical that you treat gout in the earlier stages.