I suppose I have a couple of things in
common with W.S. Gilbert -- writing and humor for one, love of the G&S
operettas (did he love them?) for another. But last night I was thinking
that maybe we had something else in common.
I was sitting here at my desk peacefully
doing whatever it is that I do here, and when I got up, I had this terrible
pain in my big toe. I frequently get cramps in my feet, which are
easily walked out, but this was a stubborn pain that would not be walked
out.
I couldn't walk without holding on to
something. It was excruciating.
It was better when I sat down and I was able
to get into a comfortable position and sleep for an hour or two. All I
could think of was reading about what problems W.S. Gilbert had with gout.
At least, I thought, I was in good company.
I discovered it was more bearable if I wore
my Birkenstocks with the firm sole that gave more support to my toe.
I finally took an Advil and fell asleep in
the recliner, sometime around 4. I hoped that I would feel better in
the morning, and I did...sort of. I could at least walk, though held
on to anything available to hold on to.
I did what everybody does--I went to Google
to find out more about gout and found out more than I wanted to know.
While some of my life style factors are risks
for gout (especially inactivity and unhealthy eating!) most of the pages I
checked talked about drinking too much and i don't drink at all. I
don't smoke. I don't have heart disease or previous stroke. I
don't take hormones or contraceptives. I am unaware of any gout history in
the family.
So I convinced myself that this is not gout,
especially when I looked at all of the photos of people who had all sorts of
degrees of gout. And as the day progressed, the toe got better and
better to where it is about back to normal again. In fact, I am thrilled to
realize how bad gout really is and how this probably is not it, but just one
of my normal foot cramps, just a little worse than usual.
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