Anyone else had this type of joint swelling?
Yes, I first had it whilst on holiday in Germany. It was in the joint where the thumb meets the hand. I couldn't use the gearstick in the car.
The doctor explained that it was a buildup of uric acid crystals which get deposited in the joints. These then inflame the surrounding tissue. Both the inflamation needs to be treated and the crystals need to be removed. 600mg ibuprofen is needed to reduce the inflamation and you need something like 7 large glasses of water per day to flush the crystals away. In this case the doctor just gave me an injection though and said it would be gone in 4 hours, which it was. He also gave me some tablets to counteract gout and a note to give to my GP in the UK.
600mg ibuprofen is prescription strength, you can't buy them. The reason is, is that ibuprofen at that strength can be dangerous for some people with heart conditions. At that strength, it does raise blood pressure for example, so don't go and swallow three 200 mg pills which are faster to release the dose than a single 600 mg pill. Yuo could do yourself some damage. Ask the GP.
The crystals build up when you eat a lot of protein and do not drink enough water, so you can see why some type 2 diabetics get it. I got mine many years before I was diagnosed with type 2 and I had been eating lots of german cheeses, sausage, eggs etc at hotel buffets and not drinking much water at all. I was also on furosomide, which is a diuretic, so I got somewhat dehydrated.
I have only had one other episode since but I took 600mg of ibuprofen to reduce the swelling and dranks lots of water and it subsided greatly by the time I got to see the doc. Never heard of anyone getting that wonderful injection that I got in germany though.
Just drink lots of water, even if you don't eat much protein. It's the best preventative there is. You've got to flush the crystals away if you have gout and better still, stop them forming in the first place. This is what they look like: