Yes, Leslie, my enforced time off is a factor and I would be happy to be your part-time research assistant.
In addition, I have gout which after a long period of denial and stubborness on my own part was diagnosed and successfully treated by my wife some years ago. So I have a personal interest in all of this...
As David points out, colchicine recently went from being a super cheap drug to a super expensive one. There are ways to get it cheaper but the paperwork can be a pain in the butt.
Speaking as a gout sufferer and as a gastroenterologist, I am often surprised by the reluctance of many docs to prescribe allopurinol (or Uloric, for that matter). I assume this reluctance is due to potential hepatotoxicity which in fact is relatively uncommon, and is easy to spot with blood work. Colchicine (even when cheap) is much better for an attack than it is for prevention, so why not put the patient on allopurinol, prevent the attacks, and obviate the need for colchicine?
Personally (since Leslie likes anecdotes) once I got my uric acid level down with allopurinol, I have had no need for colchicine.
