How to stop reoccuring gout (gouty arthritis) attacks? does diet and weather affect the severity of attacks?

i have been suffering from gout (gouty arthritis) for a few years. my dr. in the states had me on a daily dose of allopurinol to control the uric (sp?) acid levels (which causes gout). for a year i didn't have an attack and now i m livin china. and i have had several attacks and each attack is worse than the previouse. i have researched several sources. most agree that less alcohol consumtion would prevent frequent gouty attacks. if i follow all the advice will i never have another attack?

i can usually tell when an attack is coming on. i buy the meds to try to stop it but everytime the attacks come on i can't stop them. i mean they always progress to a painful state and then go away with the meds already in my blood. is it just futile to try to stop an attack once it starts? i mean can an attack only be reversed once it reaches a certain state? also what about situations when meds arn't available? like, my recent attack occured at night and the pharmacies were closed. i tried drinking a gallon of H2O, elevated my foot and wraped it with a hot towel. these efforts didn't work and i think the hot towel made it worse.

I found a diet of no alcohol, sugar and carbohydrates will lower the PH of the body helping reduce gout. Eat lots of vegetables, especially green leafy ones, and protein, Tofu, meat, eggs, milk. No rice bread or grains untill you've been on the low carb diet for 30 days, and then only add 2 cups of whole grains a day. I guarantee you will feel better and see the difference. And don't forget the water, 2 quarts a day, pure and fresh. No soda or juice, too much sugar. Don't drink anything but water, no tea or coffee either. The cafien in the tea and coffee dehydrate the body and the uric acid levels rise when the body is dehydrated. feel better soon.

I haven't had an attack in three years: I've been off the allopurinol almost that long. I've tried to limit food containing purines, been taking it easy on red meat and shellfish. Acidic food such as tomatoes sometimes gave me problems. I had to make a decision about alcohol, because in my experience, it acted as a trigger to each gout attack. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but it seems to be working.

I'm not a doctor.

Diet and medication can REDUCE the frequency of attack, but no one can guaranty when will it occur.

Anyway, this is what you can do to reduce the pain during acute attack:
1. NSAIDs (non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs), or pain killer. Ask your doctor for the dosage and whether your are suitable for these medication (NSAIDs can impair renal function).
2. Corticosteroid injection.