About 5 yrs ago, I had what I believe to be my first gout attack. It occurred after a 10 - 12 day period of jogging. It wasn t too painful and I chalked it up to age (53-54 at the time) and/or wear and tear on my feet (I was an active soccer player for 40 yrs). Near the end of the episode (4 or 5 days) I made an appt with my doctor. A PA looked at my toe and said That s probably gout . Sent me for an x-ray and judged it to be a bunion or arthritis. No blood work done. In the 5 years since that, I had not modified diet or drinking habits. During those 5 yrs, had probably 2 or 3 low grade attacks a year. After a recent physical 3 weeks ago, my doctor put me on 100mg of allopurinol because uric acid level was 10.5. During those 5 yrs without a diagnosis, all of my episodes seem to be related to jogging or hiking. I don t think I ve had an attack related to food or drink (I d have 2 or 3 beers 3 or 4 times a week). I ve never had a really excruciating episode similar to many of the accounts I ve read about. Is this odd (lucky) or is this a typical scenario? Did I start treatment in the nick of time or can I expect trouble head? Have stopped drinking, now drink 3 liters of water a day and have modified my diet. Also, have been taking medication for hypertension and chlorestorol for about 6 year.