Colchicine (Colcrys) for Gout

Colchicine (recently approved by the FDA under the brand name Colcrys) is an ancient remedy for treating joint pain and swelling. It is derived from the poisonous plant Autumn Crocus, Colchicum autumnale.

Colchicine is used to treat acute flares of gouty arthritis and to prevent recurrent acute attacks. It is also used to treat the inflammation of pseudogout, and other uncommon diseases, such as familial Mediterranean fever, amyloidosis, and scleroderma.

People with gout have too much uric acid in their blood and joints. An attack of gout occurs when uric acid deposits cause inflammation (pain, redness, swelling, and heat) in a joint. Colchicine prevents or relieves gout attacks by reducing inflammation.

Although colchicine is highly effective for treating acute gout flareups, it will not relieve most other kinds of pain. Colchicine is not an ordinary pain reliever.

Colchicine

Description	Quantity	Pharmacy	Price	Buy
Colchicine 0.5 mg	60 tablets	4RX	$25.25
Colchicine 0.5 mg	120 tablets	4RX	$44.17
Colchicine 0.5 mg	180 tablets	4RX	$65.18

Toxicity: Colchicine poisoning has been compared to arsenic poisoning. Symptoms start 2 to 5 hours after the toxic dose has been ingested and include burning in the mouth, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and kidney failure. Death from respiratory failure can follow. There is no specific antidote for colchicine, although various treatments do exist (e.g. charcoal).

High doses of Colchicine can damage bone marrow and lead to anaemia.

How to take

• Colchicine can be toxic and must be used with extreme care.
• Limit the amount of alcohol. Stomach problems may be more likely to occur if you drink large amounts of alcoholic beverages while taking colchicine. Also, drinking too much alcohol may increase the amount of uric acid in your blood.
• Stop taking it if nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain occurs.

Colchicine dosage

Colchicine may be used in 2 ways. Most people take small amounts of it regularly for a long time (months or even years) to prevent severe attacks or other problems caused by inflammation.

Other people take large amounts of colchicine during a short period of time (several hours) only when it is needed to relieve an attack that is occurring.

The chance of serious side effects is much lower with the preventive treatment. Some side effects can be very serious. Therefore you should discuss with your doctor the potential risks of using colchicine before buying it.

For preventing gout attacks:
Most people start with one 0.5 or 0.6 mg tablet a day. If gout attacks continue to occur, the dose can be increased to one tablet two or even three times a day for a while. Some people with mild gout may need only one tablet every other day, or even less.

For treating a gout attack that has already started:
One or two 0.5 or 0.6 mg tablets for the first dose, then one tablet every one or two hours (up to a maximum dose of 6 mg).

Do not exceed 8 mg during the course for an acute attack. To minimize cumulative toxicity, wait for 3 days before starting the second intensive course.