OK, 19 posts in, and we've got 17 posts about "regular" gout and none (other than the OP's original question and explanation) about pseudogout. I was recently diagnosed with pseudogout, so would be interested to hear from others that are managing w/ pseudogout.
Despite the helpful intent, comments about normal gout aren't really relevant to the thread topic. As the OP tried to explain, although the symptoms can be similar and they both involve crystal formation, the origins of the two are totally different. Urea is a direct causal factor in normal gout, and there are a variety of diet and medication treatments that can reduce urea to treat the problem. In contrast, pseudogout, or CPDD, generally has no diet or medication treatment (other than symptomatic relief via NSAIDS or corticosteroids).
One of my frustrations, other than the knee pain, is that I can't seem to identify any consistent context for "flare-ups." I rode 35 days on the Baja Divide and the symptoms were manageable. Then I'll go do a 90 minute local ride, and for some reason my knee will ache for two days. So I get apprehensive if I'm considering a big commitment like the AZT750.
Seems like problems just keep accumulating since passing 50. I'm a bit afraid that this may be the proverbial "beginning of the end" of my cycling days, but I'm hoping it eases off, or at least doesn't worsen. My doc says that there is no statistical pattern of increasing crystal deposits / symptoms; some folks get better, some stay the same, some get worse and they don't know why. Hopefully I'll find myself among the former.