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What is a high uric acid blood level?

I went to the urgent care dept of Kaiser Permanente on 4/20/12 with pain in my left foot, again, between the top of the arch and bottom of the ankle.  The Dr immediately concluded that it was a Gout episode and ordered blood tests and an x-ray to make sure no bones were broken or fractured.  The blood tests came back with a uric acid level of 7.5; normal readngs for Kaiser are 4.0 to 7.0;  I don't remember what the unit of measure these readings refer to though.  The other blood results were all normal as was the x-ray.  So I was given Colchicine for the next attack along with Prednisone (sp?) to reduce the swelling and Vicodin (5mg)/Acetominiphin (500mg) for the pain.  I have a follow-up with my regular MD on 5/9/12 to review these results.  Now that I've said all this, is "7.5" considered really really high or just slightly above normal?  This is the fifth episode I've had in the past year and third visit to the urgent care dept and the ONLY time that blood tests and x-rays were ordered; seems kinda odd to me.  Need your input on this please, TJ.  
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Avatar universal
Once you start having frequent gout flairs the only sure way to prevent them is get and keep your uric acid level below 6.0.  Tophi or crystals cannot form with a uric acid level below 6.  My gout flaired at 7.2 this last time and I finally caved in and started taking allopurinal 100mg and it dropped to 5.2.  This medication will dissolve the crystals over months but will cause flairs while doing so. Good Luck
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Avatar universal
After my appointment with the GP, 5/9/12, I was very disappointed.  Not only was he 15 min's late for my 9:00am appointment (I was the first one of the day), I am also of the opinion that he had not reviewed my chart until the moment he entered the room and looked at the file in the computer.   The bulk of his comments were in reference to my lack of regular visits for "health maintenance" in the past and only a brief review of the low purine diet and use of meds for the next episode.  My physical exams in the past have all been in the range of "normal" and I'm not seeing how this can change dramatically in a 2-3 year span.  So, he ordered up about nine blood tests related to Kaiser's S.O.P's, a bone scan and the ever so popular colonoscopy.  For cryin' out loud.....I only went in for a follow-up not to get put through the ringer again!!  I've voiced these concerns and objections with the GP and member services.  At this time I'm disappointed in Kaiser's treatment.  Will post more in the futurre as things develop.  
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1711789 tn?1361308007
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi there!

Even though 7.5mg/ dl is just slightly high, with positive symptoms it would be considered high and the likely cause of the foot pain. Since the issue seems to be recurrent, you may need to be stated on regular medications for sometime to bring the uric acid levels down, in addition to medication to reduce the inflammation and pain. I would suggest discussing the situation and the appropriate management plan in detail with your regular MD.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!
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