Image: billcasselman.com
Sometime last month I went to see my doctor...my new doctor, as I had a bad case of gout flare up in my big toe on my right foot. Treatment with Indomethicin, tablets I had left from my previous attack, proved futile - it just wouldn't shift. So, my new doc, new because my old doctor's surgery is about 15 miles away, prescribed me Colchicine.
A new regimen was started. I have cut out butter, opting for pro-active Flora, cut out full fat milk, opting instead for the semi-skimmed variety. I drink alcohol once every two weeks, when my dad comes to see me, I have about 5 cans of beer.
Alas, despite this strict regimen, the gout returned with a vengeance last Saturday. This time, in my left foot, this time in not just the bog toe, it attacked three toes plus my ankle.
I assumed it would be okay to ride the storm until Monday as my doctor's surgery is only open Monday to Friday. The pain became really unbearable Sunday evening, so bad that I even considered phoning an ambulance.
Luckily, my neighbour was on hand to drive me to casualty. On arrival the place was full of couples with babies, young men suffering from too much booze and many who seemed to have been sitting in the sun for too long. The obligatory tracksuit wearing couples were outside the entrance smoking and complaining to third parties down their mobiles phones.
"There's a wait of about 4 hours", I was told. "But you could just visit the walk-in clinic where you will be assessed and prescribed medication", the desk clerk added.
So, off I went. Within an hour I was seen to and prescribed Colchicine, a pretty toxic drug that is usually prescribed in small doses [because of the toxicity]
I asked [no, told] the locum to give me more pills [I think I only had between 10-12 on my last prescription. He gave me 50.
As soon as I arrived home I started the course. It's not been 48 hours yet but the throbbing pain has subsided a little. I still cannot put a shoe on as that has me screaming like a small girl at a Bay City Rollers concert.
Not much is known about gout, it's all theory - eat this, don't eat that, drink this, don't drink that.
This is my worst attack by far - Gout is something I never used to get before I took Seroxat. I've been Seroxat free for roughly 4 years [I think] so I don't think my attacks can be attributed to Glaxo's wonder drug. I did, however, have my first attack whilst taking Seroxat some years ago.
It feels like you have broken your toe and, at the same time, feels like someone keeps stubbing cigarettes out on the infected area.
It's all to do with the level of uric acid being too high - the acid escapes [overflows] from the liver then finds the nearest joint to settle, uric acid settles in the 'cooler joints' of the body [toes] - once there it crystallises - a close-up of these crystals shows an image like shards of glass.
Ouch.
I'm at a loss as to why I have had this attack as it has come so close to my last attack. I have cut down on high purine intake and have even been drinking plenty of water.
Typical that I should get an attack when we have some of the finest weather we have seen in the UK for years.
Ah well, such is life.
Fid
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'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
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