Peter X

Age at interview: 75

Brief Outline: Peter was diagnosed with gout in 1993. He was prescribed allopurinol which he still takes every day. Peter believes that gout has not affected his life at all, and has experienced no symptoms in the last 20 years.

Background: Peter lives with his wife. They had three children together, but sadly one child died. He is retired, and previously worked as a Quantity Surveyor. Ethnic background/nationality: White English.

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In 1993, Peter was offered a medical examination through his private health insurance. After the examination, he was told that he had very high uric acid levels, and that it was likely he would have gout within a few weeks. Within two weeks of the examination, Peter’s fingers and toes started aching so he went to see his GP who diagnosed him with gout.
 
Peter was shocked when he was told he had high uric acid levels. He has always been physically fit – even winning ½ mile and 1 mile races while he was in the Army. He stays active by maintaining his garden.
 
Peter’s GP prescribed allopurinol tablets which Peter started to take. After a while the pain went away, so he stopped taking the tablets. A few weeks later the aching in his fingers and toes returned, so he went back to his GP. He was told that he would need to take the allopurinol tablets every day for the rest of his life in order to lower his uric acid levels and remove the symptoms of gout that he was experiencing.
 
Peter has now been taking allopurinol for 20 years. He believes that gout has not affected his life at all up to the present time, and has experienced no further symptoms of gout. 

Peter X had been for a medical examination through his health insurance. He was advised that he might develop gout because his uric acid levels were high.

When I was working in 1992, ’93 under my terms of employment I did have private health insurance and we got notification that we could have a medical examination. So I said, “Yes.” And in January ‘93 I went for a medical examination down in [hospital name]. There, it was, it lasted a few hours, and when it was all over I went to the final room and sat down and they talked to you and they said, “Right there’s two things we should tell you about. One, you have a heart murmur, so yes get somebody to check that for you, and two, how long have you had gout?” 
I said, “I haven’t got gout.” He says, “Well you will have within two weeks, your uric acid level is very high.” So I said, “Ok, but everything else is alright is it?” “Yes you’re perfect.” So that was the end of the medical examination and we came home and yes, within two weeks, my fingers and toes started aching, and so I knew what it was. But I went to see my local doctor and he said, “Yes you’ve got gout”.

Peter was prescribed allopurinol straight away by his GP. At first he did not realise that he needed to take it every day for the rest of his life.

I came away, started taking my allopurinol, and yes it went away, so I stopped taking my allopurinol, and, after a week or so, my fingers and toes started aching again, hurting, so I went back to the doctor and told him and he said, “Oh yes, you mustn’t do that, you are going to take allopurinol now for the rest of your life. You will take a tablet a day and that will cancel out the uric acid.” So I came away, and, for the next 20 years no problem, I just carry on and don’t know I’ve got high uric acid levels and I carry on living.

Peter leads an active life and is not affected by gout. He’s had no problems with allopurinol.

It was a shock when the doctor told me I was, “How long have you had gout?”, and I said, “I haven’t”, but no, no problem. You take the tablets, so when I got the tablets right, and knew I had to take one every day there’s no problem. I’ve had no problem with gout, I carry on and as you see outside I’ve got a large garden, I’ve got a log burner so I do a lot of sawing, I am physically fit, I’ve always been a physical person. So yes, I’ve never had my uric acid level test, checked lately, but I do go, we do have a review every six months at our doctors so I’m sure they check it all out.