My pain is gout as well. It entered my life last fall (and really struck right as I was starting my bar studies. A bit distracting). It is no joke and is the second most excruciating pain I've felt (#1 is a gallstone attack. Imagine tightly gripping shards of glass and nails in a hand covered with poison ivy.). I tried the dietary approach (cherry juice; massive doses of turmeric; avoidance of foods high in purines, etc.) but the results were unreliable. Yes, it's like a million tiny shards of glass in the joint. So, now I take 300mg of allopurinol, but as this past week's attack in a new part of my body proves, it's not a cure. My advice is to get on top of it as soon as you can as the crystals can cause permanent damage. My right big toe joint has been degraded. It's annoying, but not as much as what Pete's going through right now.
I had thought gout was a distant anachronism of the 18th century, but I was wrong. I didn't even maintain the classic gout lifestyle (alcohol, meat, and other rich foods), so it's a bit unfair, but life is just that way.
Take care of yourselves, people!