Mr. Gout McGouty struck again, as hinted upon in the last paragraph of my previous entry. If I recall correctly it started with a bowl of green bean soup that my mom made, which I tried to stay away from. But, at the end of the day, I gave in and had a very small portion of it. Like... Half a small bowl. And then... I had another helping. :( It was too good!

Gout sufferers need to stay away from high-protein and high-purine food, if you don't know. Gout is caused by the build up of uric acid in the body, with the uric acid crystals being deposited around the joints, especially, for my case, the heels and ankles. And purines are the among the factors that cause elevated uric acid in the body, as purines metabolise to uric acid.

From Wikipedia :

Purines are found in high concentration in meat and meat products, especially internal organs such as liver and kidney. Plant based diet is generally low in purines.

Examples of high purine sources include: sweetbreads, anchovies, sardines, liver, beef, kidneys, brains, meat extracts, herring, mackerel, scallops, game meats, and gravy.

A moderate amount of purine is also contained in beef, pork, poultry, fish and seafood, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms, green peas, lentils, dried peas, beans, oatmeal, wheat bran and wheat germ.

Unless I totally turn vegan (and even then, as seen above, there are quite a number of non-meat products that I have to stay away from), I foresee myself sufferring from gout again and again in the future. I had just found out from this list of high or low-purine food sources that chicken meat (not even the liver or the heart - which I can't stand) is high in purine. I've already actively stayed away from red meat products, and I am somewhat allergic to seafood... What the hell do I eat then? :(

It's weird that I didn't get gout even when I pretty much eat chicken daily... And last week I only got it because/when I ate green bean soup, which is only about doubly high in purine. I'm not sure if the portions were much more, though. So, does that mean 130+ mg of purine per 100 g of food is acceptable for my body? And going above, an addition of 200+ mg of purine per 100 g of food, is too much?

Anyway, as mentioned above, this happened last week. I started feeling some pain in my left foot (as it usually happens when I get gout), so I pre-empted the full-blown gout by limping to the doctor. Got some medications and thought that the pain was lessening, but some days later (after the medications were finished), it started again. Quite suddenly, at night. The next morning, excruciating pain all over my left foot.

I woke up at about 11 am, but I finally went to the doctor at about 3 pm since the clinic closes for lunch at noon, and re-opens at 2. This occured on the day of my weird guilt-inducing dream, and by the time I left for the clinic, I basically couldn't rest on my left foot at all without sharp body-numbing pain.

The journey from my house to the clinic usually takes 10 minutes maximum, but this time it took me nearly an hour. It was that bad. I was on my crutches, but it was still really painful. What was worst was having to endure the weird looks from passers-by.

By the time I reached the clinic, I was exhausted and heavy with perspiration like I had just finished one of my walks with A.A. And of course, I was in a lot of pain. I had previously realised that the main medication, Voltaren, given to me wasn't actually that effective. In fact, I recalled that there was once some time ago that it didn't work at all. And the visit before, that was the medication given to me again. By the same doctor. -.-"

He gave me different medications after my visit; this time inclusive of several combinations of very potent drugs (with many possible side effects), in fact, Indomethacin, Colchicine and Prednisolone. Follow those links, if you'd like to know more... Suffice to say, I worry for my internal organs now. :(

The pain had increased during my visit to the clinic, and my right foot was starting to hurt too, what with all the extra dependency on it, even with the help of my crutches. I struggled to get back home after that, and even had to stop and rest at one of the benches opposite my house. All this while, during my journey to and from the clinic, I had my ears plugged in with Jason Mraz's 3 albums and was in a total escapist mode. I just kept on going and focused on the songs instead of the pain, and I think that kept me from breaking down like a little girl.

Got home, lied flat on my back on the bed, lifted my left foot carefully and slowly, but still incurring sharp pains over and over, placed it on the bed. And rested. Jason Mraz still singing, and I shed a couple of tears. Super fucking pain.

I'm not trying to elicit sympathy or anything here. Just blogging for posterity.

A song later, I knew I had to get up and eat my medications before I went crazy. So I forced myself up. Ow. Touch the floor. Ow ow ow. Hobbled to the kitchen. Holy... Took some food to eat with the meds. Damn...

The pain subsided slightly by nightfall. Was much better the next day. The day's night got me walking almost without a limp to get a haircut in a neighbourhood barbershop. The next day I was feeling like I never had gout at all.

Definitely strictly staying away from all these terrible food from now on (except for chicken - the only meat left that I eat) and going to restart some exercises. It's been far too long since I last did anything healthy.

Motivation : No more attacks of immeasurable pains. No more.