Today is the second day of my gout attack... an intensely, excruciating, burning pain on my swollen, reddish and sore right foot. Imagine this, even the slightest touch such as the draping of a blanket in the affected area could cause extreme instantenous PAIN!
I have had my first experience of gouty arthritis attack a couple of years ago while assigned in Davao City working for a telecommunications firm. Root cause: Elevated levels of uric acid in the blood due to consumption of too much alcohol (the one that is measured in PROOFS), mostly brandy and beer; too much red meat - pork, beef; too much internal organs - liver, gizzards, intestines; too much seafoods...yeah, all the good things/foods in life!
Nothing much have changed since then, I am now working in a faraway war torn country as an expat of still another telecommunications company. Brandy was replaced by vodka which is readily available and easier to "smuggle," as it looks exactly like water. Red meat is still there, though in the form of lamb and beef as pork is a forbidden ("haram") commodity in this place, and yes...chicken gizzard/liver is still very much available and edible.
I have been taking medicines galore for gout....alluporinol, colchicine, glucosamine sulfate, celebrex (for pain), and others. But the traditional way of soaking one's foot into a tub of hot water mixed with salt solution seems to work best in soothing the pain. Perhaps the hot water somehow "melts" the uric acid crystals forming in the "attack area," or perhaps it's just my mind trying to think that somehow doing something makes things better... than doing nothing at all.
But one thing is sure, if you keep on doing things against your doctor's advice, somehow what the physician predicts to happen will really happen. On the other hand, if you do follow your doc's advice to the "t," ...then you will be as healthy as can be and your doctor will lose his/her job. Of course, the doctor is clever enough to make sure that nobody can follow his/her instructions religiously and enjoy life to the fullest at the same time.
So what's the point of whining and grumbling about this painful gout? Like all things in life, this will come to pass. After another day or two...or perhaps a week, my foot will return to normal as if nothing happens... and life will continue to go on as before.
Pain is an inherent part of life and living. Pain is there when we are born, has always been part of living in this cruel world, and will surely be present when we move on to the next life. And yes, it is also worth noting that... "Painful experiences that does not kill you, will surely make you stronger."
