My Left Foot (My Experience Of Gout)

Member Name: Peter2670

Product:	My Experience Of Gout
Date:	10/03/01 (1898 review reads)
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My Left Foot

This has got absolutely nothing at all to do with the acclaimed 1989 film of the same name in which Daniel Day Lewis portrays an Irish poets fight against cerebral palsy but a personal experience about a condition known as ‘ Gout ‘

Having passed the half-century mark in the game of life I consider that I have been very fortunate up to now and have enjoyed a reasonably healthy life but I am always consciously aware of the misfortune of others who are not so lucky.

I do believe that as long as you have got your health then you should be very grateful and not complain to much as many other unfortunate people are undoubtedly a lot worse off than yourself.

As an individual grows older he or she will frequently begin to discover more aches and pains in various parts of the body that were perhaps not prevalent during their younger days.

Such a person may automatically suspect the worst by the very nature of who they are but on many occasions it may be something that really is not as serious as they thought it was.

Readers may be forgiven in thinking that I am a large portly and stately type of person who lives life to the full and indulges in all the lavish things in life that is associated with this condition.

The old wife’s tales of this type of aristocratic gentleman and his port swilling escapades will always be around but any person regardless of their gender or stature can in fact suffer this condition.

Early one morning not all that long ago I awoke and discovered that there was a dull aching sensation on the bridge of my left foot. It wasn’t a particularly painful type of ache but more of an uncomfortable feeling which caused a little concern.

Initially I thought that I may have caught my foot on something as I had been walking or whilst carrying out some type of work but this ache remained with me during the whole of the day and became progressive
ly worse.

This was during a period of time in a previous occupation where you did not receive any sympathy or concern from any of your work colleagues who treated any other person’s misfortunes as a complete joke.

Nevertheless by the end of the working day I was beginning to feel like the television science fiction character ‘The Incredible Hulk’ as the left foot had swollen considerably and it actually felt as though it was about to burst forth from out of my shoe. I may also have slightly resembled the creature due to the discomfort during the day and the fact that I had turned a lighter shade of puce.

One of the kinder work colleagues or so I thought asked me what the problem was and after I had told him he laughed raucously and told me that I had contracted gout.

The very next day I had no alternative but to visit our general practitioner and after pleading with the doctor not to touch the area of the left foot that had swollen to even larger proportions he confirmed that it was in fact gout.

The doctor prescribed the appropriate medication and I returned home feeling quite sorry for myself with the left foot throbbing away continuously until the pain killing tablets had taken their course.

I was able to examine the area of the foot more closely myself and noticed now that the bridge of the left foot had swollen intensely to twice it’s normal size and all the area around the big toe was inflamed, bright red in colour and very tender to touch.

The foot itself felt as though it had been placed into a vice and was being slowly and torturously tightened. The pain was excruciating and I can only describe it as ‘wanting to climb up the wall ‘ because of the agony and I have to say I was reduced to tears.

As the pain killing tablets started to take affect and the pain started to subside the very welcome feeling of contentment started to return until I drank a
glass of milk and once again I was looking for a wall to climb.

The medication that had been prescribed was Diclofenac Sodium E/C 50mg tablets (Voltorol) and it stated on the package not to take any indigestion medication at the same time but the drinking of the milk certainly had an adverse effect.

The tablets prescribed at three per day were taken religiously and the condition gradually improved over a one-week period but the placing of any bedclothes on the swollen area could not be tolerated until the inflammation had reduced and the pain subsided.

Eventually normality returned but it was one of the most painful experiences that I have ever had to contend with.

Gout is caused by an excess of uric acid in the body, by under elimination of uric acid by the kidneys or by an increased intake of foods containing purines (waste products) which are metabolised to uric acid in the body. Certain meats, seafood, dried peas and beans are particularly high in purines and alcoholic beverages may also increase uric acid levels and precipitate gout attacks.

With time, elevated levels of uric acid in the blood may lead to deposits around joints and eventually form needle like crystals in the joints which leads to gout attacks. Uric acid may also collect under the skin as ‘tophi’ or in the urinary tract as kidney stones.

Gout can affect an estimated eight hundred and forty out of one hundred thousand people and it can affect anyone at any age. However men over the age of forty are particularly susceptible and it is eight times more common in men than women.

Menstruating women are protected against gout because of naturally lower levels of uric acid but can develop the condition after the menopause.

Gout is strongly associated with obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes.

Gout is a type of arthritis and since several other kinds of arthritis can mimic a gout attack, treatment
is specific to gout and proper diagnosis is essential. The definitive diagnosis of gout is dependent on finding uric acid crystals in the joint fluid during an acute attack. However, uric acid levels in the blood alone are often misleading and may be transiently normal or even low. Additionally uric acid levels are often elevated in individuals without gout.

For many years the standard treatment for acute gout has been ‘colchicine’ and whilst very affective it can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea but the side effects are uncommon if the drug is taken intravenously.

Because of the unpleasant side effects of ‘colchicine’, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have become the treatment of choice for most acute attacks of gout.

The NSAID that is most widely used to treat acute gout is ‘Indomethacin’ but may also have significant toxicity but if used in the short term is generally well tolerated.

Aspirin and aspirin-containing products should be avoided during acute gout attacks.

Therapy directed at normalising uric acid levels in the blood are normally considered for people who have had multiple gout attacks or who have developed tophi or kidney stones.

Several drugs that help the kidneys eliminate uric acid are available such as
‘Probenecid ‘ and a drug that blocks production of uric acid by the body such as
‘ Alopurinol’. The choices between the two drugs largely depend on the amount of uric acid in the urine. With correct treatment, gout is normally well controlled in most cases.

Since the first attack of gout I have occasionally experienced similar less intense attacks of gout but nevertheless still very painful indeed and find that the Diclofenac Sodium E/C 50mg tablets can be an effective cure for the pain at least.

My own personal observations of these attacks may be contributed to the lifestyle that I lead du
ring a previous occupation.

It would not be uncommon to start work early in the morning and continue working until quite late in the evening.

Invariably meals were not taken when they perhaps should have been or sometimes not even taken at all. This combined with a more than an adequate intake of alcohol during the many evenings after work may also have been a significant factor.

Even now, when a normally higher than average intake of alcoholic drink over a period of time is consumed the left foot will once again tighten and become very painful for a period of time. It is during these occasions that alcohol remains untouched.

Useful web sites for information on this topic is:

Http//www.arthritis.org/answers/diseasecenter/ gout.asp
Http//easyweb.easynet.co.uk
Http//www.rheumatology.org/patients/factsheet/ gout.html

I hope that this information will prove useful to any person who may be suffering from this condition.


Best Wishes,
Peter2670

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