Will I need to take gout medication forever?
Will I need to take gout medication forever?
That depends on the type and severity of your gout and how your doctor is treating it. Some patients just have one or two gout attacks; they may be treated only when attacks occur and take no medications when they are doing well. However, many patients need long-term medications, which work only while you are taking them. For example, if your doctor has prescribed colchicine to prevent gout attacks, the attacks will return if you stop the drug. If you are given allopurinol to reduce the uric acid in the blood (to reduce gout attacks) or to reduce the uric acid in the urine (to reduce the risk of uric acid-related kidney stones), the risk returns if you stop the drug. So many patients need to take gout treatments for the rest of their lives. For more information on the different drugs prescribed for gout and how they work, send us your query by filling our form.