Numbness and swelling i've been having an on-going battle with random gout flair ups in my feet, ankles, hands, shoulders and wrists for the past 10 years. i've been taking aleve to help with the pain and swelling. recently, i have experienced swelling, n

The : The longer a patient has gout, the disease typically will involve more joints. It generally startes in the lower extremities (feet, ankles, knees), but can involve the upper extremities (hands, wrists, elbows). Shoulder symptoms are less common, but can be related to gout in some cases. I would recommend a thorough rheumatologic evaluation. If your symptoms are all related to gout, you may need to be on long-term gout medications such as allopurinol. On the other hand, the symptoms could be related to another type of arthritis (and possible muscle/tendon problems in the shoulder) and should be evaluated by an expert to make this distinction. Hope this is helpful.

Joints and swelling: Your pattern of arthritis seems atypical of gout. Aleve (naproxen) can induce kidney injury and fluid retention. Please get a thorough evaluation from your PCP or rheumatologist.