What if you couldn\'t eat game meat....

[colorado russ]

Okay, this isn\'t entirely a hypothetical question and those that know me know this isn\'t a trolling type question either.

If you were unable to eat game meat, would you still hunt? What if, say, you\'re limited to 1 steak/burger a week? Roughly 50 pounds a year.

Here\'s my situation. I\'ve had a few gout flare-ups this past year and can honestly say the pain associated with it easily goes into the \'top 3 most excrutiating pain\' ever felt in my life. Possibly #1! One of the medications I was taking for the flare-ups is very hard on your stomach much like extended use of Ibuprofen.

Mid-December I had a bleeding ulcer that required surgery. After the surgery, the trauma caused another severe attack of gout and the doctor suggested a low purine diet which helps reduce the amount of uric acid built up in your body which triggers the gout flare up. Top items to avoid that are high in purine include: beer, wild game, halibut - pretty much my entire diet(in that order too)!

I feel I could bend the rules a little by mixing with pork when making sausage or summer sausage/snack sticks along with an occassional steak.

Thus the reason for my question. While I don\'t plan to stop hunting and don\'t plan to switch to only trophy hunting, I\'m on the fence on if I take an elk then what to do rest of season. Still hunt and just donate meat is an option I\'m considering.

 

[Baby Huey]

Russ, I have gout as well, and that is the worst damn pain ever! I also tried gout diets and cookbooks for low purine meals, but those were just making me fat with all the carbohydrates and I still had flare ups. I finally saw a rheumatologist. She indicated that each person has food or foods that affect their uric acid count. Some people, its mushrooms, or wine, some it may be pork, etc. For me, when I cut out beer, my uric acid level went down 4 points and I have never had a flare up again. You may want to try and cut out a certain foods or wine/beer, one at a time for a couple of weeks and see if you can find which food(s) or drink(s) cause your flare ups. If I don\'t drink enough water, I can feel some tingling starting, so I always try to drink plenty of water as well.

Your suggestion of donating the meat is what I was going to suggest - it won\'t go to waste.

 

[bowhunter]

I understand your situation. My father has the same medical problem and the same diet. He seems to do ok with his meds and eats what he wants. If I had to limit my wild game intake I would still hunt. I would hold out for a bigger animal sometimes and just enjoy the hunt other times. I would find someone who wanted the meat and donate it. That would be the easy part plus it might gain access to some new hunting areas.

 

[colorado russ]

Why couldn\'t it be wine or Cosmopolitans that cause the flareups instead of beer?!?!

That\'s just cruel and downright WRONG!

I\'ve greatly reduced my beer intake first along with drinking more water plus I\'d heard from several sources that cherry extract helps so taking 2 capsules a day. My problem is the gout flareups are usually 3-4 months apart so difficult to isolate a specific food or beverage. I\'m going with this approach for a few more months and see if I have any more flareups.

 

[iccyman001]

I\'ll buy the elk off of you :upthumb:


You shoot it, I\'ll give you a high five and pay you for it

 

[bnsafe]

i dont eat alot of wild game cause i just dont like the taste, there are plenty of folks to give it to

 

[WW]

Probably just that damn chilli you make. ! You say it\'s the worse pain ever? It\'s pretty obvious you never passed a kidney stone. :lol:

Just yank\'n you chain a little bit. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

 

[cnelk]

I would still hunt if I couldnt eat game meat.
My table fare is only part of the equation.

The license I buy help with management funds

The money I spend to go hunting helps small communities

The animal I harvest helps herd management

There are plenty of needy families / agencies / friends that will take the meat.

And most of all, I consider fall hunting a family tradition that started many, many years ago with my granddad on his homestead.

 

[elky McElkerson]

You\'re gonna make me spell rheumatologist huh?

Get one. I got gout early in life. My docs gave me regular meds to treat the attacks. \"Flare up\" sounds too nice.

Finally they gave up and sent me to a pro. He prescribed allopurinol. I was bummed to be on meds and suggested I change my diet. He said I would need to go full vegan. (Don\'t know if he was being sacastic) I didn\'t believe him. So he took blood and I went on my diet. No beer, beans, very little meat, zero gravy. I did this for a month. Funny thing. I got a gout attack in my knee at the time. ( if you never had it in your right knee and right toe at the same time - GOOD TIMES!!!). I went back and he took blood again. It dropped very little (Uric level)

I decided to listen to him. Allopurinol for me. It\'s been years since an attack.

Here is what he told me:
1. The attacks are not gout. They are a symptom of gout. Pain free you still have gout. You can have it for years before first attack.
2. Gout sufferers need to keep Uric levels near 5. Regular folks can handle way more.
3. Diet affect Uric levels some but not as much as you hope.
4. Veggies high in purines affect levels much less than meat high in purines.
5. Gout is an auto immune disease.

6. Gout blows.


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

 

[elky McElkerson]

Sorry. I would still hunt if I couldn\'t eat meat. I would give up beer first


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

 

[colorado russ]

Forgot to mention I\'m taking Allopurinol too. Greatly reduced my beer intake. I\'ll still hunt - just likely be more selective or sell it to Dan! LOL!

 

[colorado russ]

WW, other than the path the kidney stone takes, I honestly can\'t see it being worse. That said, my buddy\'s son had a kidney stone 2 years ago at hunt camp. He\'s 6\'6\" and 265. Took him down and had him whimpering on the couch like a 2 year old!

 

[elky McElkerson]

Forgot to mention I\'m taking Allopurinol too. Greatly reduced my beer intake. I\'ll still hunt - just likely be more selective or sell it to Dan! LOL!

is it working?

me and my friend, it\'s been years!!

sucky thing for me, if i ever get an ache in my foot, my thoughts immediately go to gout. sucks living while waiting for the other foot to drop. (no pun intended).

good luck. push your doc for regular blood work. my Uric levels are hovering right at 5 (forget the units)..right where Dr Jamison said to target..he said 5 is perfect for gout sufferers.

 

[Zpd307]

well, dan wrecked it..... I was going to say that I would take it, for shipping charges

 

[Ol' Arky]

I would still hunt if I couldnt eat game meat.
My table fare is only part of the equation.

The license I buy help with management funds

The money I spend to go hunting helps small communities

The animal I harvest helps herd management

There are plenty of needy families / agencies / friends that will take the meat.

And most of all, I consider fall hunting a family tradition that started many, many years ago with my granddad on his homestead.

Brad said it.... I would most likely like would be like Terry and \"hold out for a bigger animal sometimes and just enjoy the hunt other times\"...