Anne Trent - G4m3r W1feling of D00m!

Lo, a Puffy Big Toe
Such pain I could forgo
Sharp crystals spear me
Sad, no meat it be

Sob! Sniff! Goodbye beer!
Time for a diet, so very austere
Cry! Weep! Ta-tah fine sherries!
Too many black cherries

Few Pills of Colchicine
Ready on the scene
Ick! Bleh. Darn Allopurinol
Makes my tummy turn & toll

I’m so very Pouty with Gouty
Pain wail like a banshee
Mom, dad, & bro do agree
That this is my family legacy

Gout is known since antiquity and historically called “the king of diseases and the disease of kings” or “rich man’s disease”. Documentation of gout can be found as early as 2,600 BC in Egyptian writings. The Greek physician Hippocrates around 400 BC commented on it in his Aphorisms, noting its absence in eunuchs and premenopausal women.  Aulus Cornelius Celsus (30 AD) described the linkage with alcohol, later onset in women, and associated kidney problems.

So yes, my family breeding has finally gotten hold of me and I have gout. This time around the pain got so bad I had to ask my doctor for Colchicine to reduce the swelling and acute pain in my big toe. I was also put on Allopurinol, but the side effects were so severe I had to stop taking it. This is what I’ve been suffering from this week and a half: it’s a pretty awful pill that causes all sorts of stomach and bowl problems to a select few, including myself.

I’m now on rather strict diet, that’s very similar to the South Beach Diet.  I really can’t drink any more, and I have to work very hard to improve my diet and weight. Once my toe is better, I have to *REALLY* start exercising regularly, something I’m not looking forward to since I find it dull and boaring.

Cherry juice works really well for gout. And I love juicesin general, so we got a heavy duty juicer which can also make flour, nut butters, sorbets and ice creams. Kitchen technology is pretty awesome.