Anyone who has ever experienced a gout attack knows how painful a flare can be. Gout, a form of arthritis, causes joint pain that unfortunately, often results in repeated flare-ups. Thankfully, there is infusion therapy for gout that can help reduce painful symptoms.
What Causes Gout?
The intense pain from gout is caused by excess uric acid in the body that builds up and forms sharp crystals within the joints. These crystals irritate joints and tissue, which is what leads to the inflammation, heat, and intense pain associated with gout. Gout most frequently occurs in the big toe, ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, and fingers, but can affect any joint in the body.
Your liver produces uric acid as a byproduct of purine breakdown. Normally, uric acid is expelled when you urinate, but for those with gout, the kidneys don’t filter out enough of the acid into urine. Frequent consumption of foods with high purine levels, including red meats, seafood, alcohol, and sugary snacks and drinks, can often lead to a buildup of uric acid.
Anyone can develop gout, it’s most likely to occur in people with congestive heart failure, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, kidney disease, or those with a family history. Men and post-menopausal women are also at higher risk of experiencing gout symptoms.
Krystexxa Infusion Therapy for Gout
There are various options available to treat the symptoms of chronic gout, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to help with swelling and pain, as well as corticosteroids for when NSAIDs aren’t enough. There are also drugs on the market that can help lower the levels of uric acid in the body.
Dietary changes can also lessen your body’s excess uric acid levels, including increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. Talk with your doctor about how a gout reduction diet may help reduce attacks.
However, if you experience two or more gout attacks a year, you may need to do more to lower your uric acid level than can be accomplished with dietary changes or pain relievers alone.
Krystexxa is a proven infusion therapy for gout. This FDA-approved IV therapy is an option for patients who have not had success in treating their symptoms with other gout medications. In fact, many patients have been experiencing relief from Krytexxa gout infusions since the medication was approved over 10 years ago. Krystexxa is administered by IV infusion every other week, with most people completing their course of treatment after six months.
Where Can I Seek Treatment for Chronic Gout?
FlexCare Infusion Centers offers Krystexxa infusion therapy for gout. FlexCare is an industry leader in turnaround time between referral and treatment—patients experience shorter waits to receive treatment. Each of our locations is also specifically equipped with on-site uric acid lab testing for day-of infusion results. That means you won’t have to wait for another lab to run your tests and can be tested and treated during a single appointment. FlexCare Infusion Centers also prides itself on providing meticulous case management. Our patients can expect to receive a call within 24 hours of referral submission.
Our team of Krystexxa-trained nursing staff will help you navigate every step of your chronic gout treatment journey—from how to order Krystexxa to managing Krystexxa costs and even helping to mitigate any possible Krystexxa side effects.
If you’re interested in learning if Krystexxa infusion therapy for gout is right for you, talk to your doctor and have them submit a referral to FlexCare. Get the relief you need at one of our 18 conveniently located clinics.
For more information on how to prepare for your first infusion, visit our website at https://flexcareinfusion.com/patients/education/.
