DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I read your article regarding pseudogout. My husband has suffered from gout for more than 25 years. I thought you would like to know that the medicine you mentioned, colchicine, is no longer available. The Food and Drug Administration took it off the market. Colchicine was a godsend for my husband. It worked well for him, without any side effects. I don’t need to tell you that colchicine is one of the oldest known medicines. — Anon.

ANSWER: Colchicine is only one of many gout medicines. It is still available, although many have been led to believe it’s unobtainable. What happened is this: Many drug manufacturers marketed colchicine, and its price was not exorbitant. Now there is only one manufacturer, and the price has steeply risen.

The FDA, in its mandated role of protecting drug purity, safety and effectiveness, told the many colchicine manufacturers to stop dispensing their versions of colchicine. The reason why is that they conducted no studies showing that their varieties of this drug were safe and effective.

That has left only one maker of colchicine. The name of this colchicine is Colcrys. The company that makes Colcrys has supplied proof to the FDA that its product fulfills all the requirements demanded.

Your husband can obtain this medicine, but it’s pricey now. It might not be covered by insurers. And it hasn’t found its way into all pharmacies, but it is obtainable.

Colchicine users are up in arms about this situation, and understandably so.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I had such a terrific pain under my right ribcage that I thought I was having a gallbladder attack. And the emergency-room personnel thought the same thing. After the ultrasound showed the gallbladder to be fine, they gave me a CT scan. They then announced that I had an omental infarction.

I was given something for pain and was told to go home.

What can you tell me about omental infarction? What does the future look like with this affliction? — M.P.

ANSWER: Chances are that 99.9 percent of the nonmedical population never heard the word “omentum.” It’s a covering layer in the abdominal cavity that hangs down like an apron. It contains a good deal of fat and has many blood vessels.

Should the omentum twist, its blood supply is cut off. That results in the death of the portion of the omentum no longer receiving blood. That tissue dies, and that is the definition of an infarction (in-FARK-shun). (The medical name for a heart attack is myocardial infarction.) When it happens, pain, usually on the right side of the abdomen, occurs. It’s quite difficult to distinguish this pain from the pain of a gallbladder attack, appendicitis, diverticulitis or a peptic ulcer. A CT scan provides information that makes the diagnosis possible.

Your future isn’t bleak. The odds of you never having a second such attack are greatly in your favor.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Our grandma is crazy about oranges. She is 5 feet 3 inches, weighs 165 pounds and is 63 years old. She started eating oranges, nine a week. Will she be OK? — O.N.

ANSWER: I don’t know why not. Oranges are a good source of vitamins A and C, calcium, folic acid (a B vitamin) and fruit sugar. They have no fat or cholesterol. They have a modest number of calories. They also contain potassium, a mineral that keeps blood pressure down.

In addition, they taste good. You don’t often find nutritious food that tastes good. Nine oranges a week is not too many.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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