Not knowing if you have been diagnosed with gout in the past, but if so, then you know that usually the big toe is affected and becomes extremely painful, red and swollen. However, other joints can also be affected, especially if you have had known attacks before. A gout attack can come on quite suddenly and often is especially painful at night. The one way to determine if it is a gout attack is by getting a uric acid blood test. If it is high, then there would be urate crystals in the blood. There is also a condition called pseudogout which acts in a similar way, but is caused instead by a different kind of crystals that build up in the cartilage. I have recently in the past two years been evaluated for these two conditions. I’m a PV patient and a nurse.