I Got Gout

I Got Gout
This is a story of my experience with gout. It all started about seven years ago when I hit my mid 40’s. One day I woke up with this throbbing pain in my big toe. I thought for sure that I had broken it, but had no idea how. After about two days I decided to go to a foot doctor to have it checked out. The doctor asked about 3 questions performed a brief examination he then informed me I had gout. He said that he wanted to be sure so he ordered a blood test and sure enough it came back positive for high levels of uric acid. So begins my new life with my dear friend gout.
Over the next several weeks I learned about the gout diet, the super food that helps you avoid gout, and the large number of people I knew who have gout. I was surprised to find that many people I knew have had gout. Gout has a tendency to run in families, in fact my father, a brother and mother has all suffered with gout. What a pain – ha ha.
Gout, as many of you know is a form of arthritis caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood. This uric acid forms small crystals that deposit in the joints (Acts like sandpaper). The joint that is most favorite is the large joint in the big toe, however I have had gout in my knees, ankles, elbows, and wrist. Gout doesn’t care; it just gets in one of your joints, pitches a tent and camps for several days.
The pain associated with gout can be, and in many cases is the worst pain of any that is caused by arthritis. In fact I believe that it’s as bad as child birth and maybe worse in some cases. I believe this because with child birth the pain lasts for several hours and then you have a child to show for it, but with gout the pain can go on for days, even a bed sheet on your foot can cause excruciating pain. And when it’s finally gone you have nothing to show for it.
I have several other stories about my gout but I’ll save those for future articles. Anyway, what about you?
• Do you have gout?
• Do you know someone who has gout?
• Are there foods that work for you to prevent gout?
• Are there foods that you avoid that have caused gout in the past?
• What else helps?
Post you experience on this blog. Tell everyone about the pain how long it lasted, what helped, what didn’t and maybe between us we can prevent this wicked beast called gout from attacking us or someone we love. Or we can just whine and get it out of our system.
Best wishes
Kevin H.