Gout im himmel

How lucky am I?

Since returning from Ireland I have been struck down with an acute case of gout, an ailment often associated with Henry VIII but increasingly common, apparently, among ordinary mortals like me.

I suspected gout was the cause of the severe pain in the big toe of my left foot but I thought I’d better check with my GP, and I was right.

Inspecting the red and swollen digit after I limped into his surgery, he commented, rather too cheerfully, “Ah, yes, the classic symptoms.”

“What could have caused it?” I asked. “Luck,” he replied.

I imagine there’s a bit more to it than that but because I’m reluctant to cut down on red meat and booze - the traditional explanation for gout - I’ll take the good doctor’s word for it.

As it happens, I think this is probably my second attack. Two years ago, within days of starting a course of statins, I experienced a similar stabbing pain in my foot and put it down to that because I had been warned that statins could result in swollen ankles.

I stopped taking the statins and after a week or so the swelling - and the pain - gradually ebbed away but that may have been coincidence.

This time the pain was so severe that when I woke up on Sunday I struggled to walk the short distance from bedroom to bathroom.

Anyway, my GP has prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug that is so strong it is guaranteed, apparently, to reduce the pain and swelling within days.

The downside is that it could leave me light-headed and/or cause stomach ‘problems’. I’m not sure I like the sound of that but I’ll give it a go.

Anyway, I genuinely think I have been lucky because, having spent the past few weeks travelling to Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands for meetings and such-like, I could not have gone anywhere had this happened a few weeks ago.

It’s not all good news, though. My present incapacity caused me to miss two events last night - the first drinks party of the season and the Cigar Smoker of the Year Awards at Boisdale.

For the record, the latter was won by Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren. I bet he’s never suffered from gout.

Comments

[Misty]

"I bet he’s never suffered from gout."

Almost certainly not. Gout is one of those ailments - though it's never publicly acknowledged, of course - that seems mainly (possibly only - we'll almost certainly never know!) to afflict non-smokers. No wonder it's on the increase - supposedly "inexplicably." Inexplicably, my foot (excuse the pun!). Never mind all those nasty powerful prescription drugs, Simon - indulge in a few anti-inflammatory ciggies instead!

Seriously, though, get well soon. My OH (never-smoker) suffers with gout from time to time and says it's agonisingly painful when it flares up.

[Pat Nurse]

You have my sympathy. My ex smoking husband gets gout and was told it was too much protein in his diet and too much sugar that caused it. He cut sugar out of tea and cut down on sugar in other things, without the Nanny State's help, and he drinks more water which seems to keep it away.

He gets it in his big toe and the ball of his foot. Ice also helps during very painful bouts.