What a day...

What a day yesterday was. I stayed home from work on Wednesday because I had some stomach issues the night before. It was nice to have a day off because I did pretty well most of Wednesday. On Thursday, I sat down to lunch feeling fine. I was told just before lunch to go get some cake if I was interested in dessert with my lunch. The Librarian had taught a class at her lunch time for the AHS teachers and had served cake to make it a little more worth their time. As I got up after I ate my cake and soup, I had an incredible pain in my foot. The pain was somewhat better while I sat the rest of the afternoon, but I don't just sit at my job. For the first 45 minutes afterward I do. I go and relieve the circulation desk person so she can go to lunch. Anyway, as I was leaving AHS at 3:40 p.m. I could barely get to my car. I used the stairs which I should have never done. My thinking was if I kept using it I might work the pain out. I did have a gentlemen offer to carry something for me, but I said I was fine. Daniel had a Basketball game that would start at around 5:15 p.m. and we had not decided exactly how Nathan was going to get to the game yet. I called Nathan and told him I needed to come pick him up because I could barely drive. The pain was in my right foot. When Nathan got in the vehicle I told him I thought I needed to go to Minor Emergency. My thought was that if we did it now I would not be in the waiting room with the 5:00 p.m. crowd and hopefully get out of there pretty fast. The wait was not too bad, but we did miss the first half of Daniel's game. (DRATS!)

Anyway the P.A. was pretty sure I was having a side effect of Gout. They took x-rays and there was not a fracture. They gave me a shot, a prescription, lab paperwork, and told me to go and prop my foot up and put ice on it. David brought me his crutches at the clinic and then Nathan and I went to Daniel's game where I propped it up. After his game we came home and I did everything else the P.A. ordered.

I was not sure what Gout was. The P.A. shared information with us. I have had a friend that had it but I wanted to know more so with my foot propped up I went to www.gout.com. If you are interested here is what I found out:

An estimated 5.1 million people in the United States live with gout, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, 1988-1994. Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in men over 40 and affects approximately 3 times as many men as women. The number of newly diagnosed cases has increased over the past 40 years. (So what am I doing with this? I am definitely female.)

Gout is a kind of arthritis that has been known since ancient times. In reality, there are a number of factors that can lead to gout, and diet is part of this larger picture.

The pain of gout (called attacks or flares) is caused by inflammation when needle-like crystals are deposited in connective tissue and/or in the fluid that cushions a joint (the synovial fluid). These crystals are made up of uric acid, a substance produced when the body breaks down purines found in human tissue and many foods we eat. Most uric acid is carried through the bloodstream to the kidneys, which eliminate it from the body in the urine. However, if the body produces too much uric acid or if the kidneys don't eliminate enough of it, uric acid can build up in the blood. This condition is called hyperuricemia and can lead to gout attacks in some cases. However, in most cases, hyperuricemia does not lead to gout. (The blood work I went to get this morning is checking the uric acid in my body. It will also check my kidneys and blood sugar.)

An attack usually starts with sudden, severe pain, tenderness, redness, warmth, and swelling in the large joint of the big toe. (Mine was just in the top part of my foot, not my toes.) Other joints may include the instep, ankles, heels, knees, wrists, fingers, and elbows. Rarely, the shoulders, hips, or spine may be affected. After about 3-10 days, the attack usually subsides, and the next one may not happen for months or even years. But over time, the gout attacks can become more severe, last longer, affect more than one joint, and occur more often. (Praise God for good P.A.'s, shots, and God's healing touch. I am fine this morning. No need for crutches. Praise God, too much of those and my arm pits would be hurting almost as bad as my foot.)

Gout can progress, eventually causing damage to joints, potentially leading to disability. However, with proper treatment, most people with gout are able to control their symptoms. Treatment may include different kinds of medication to ease the painful attacks, to prevent future attacks, and to help prevent long-term damage to the joints and related disability.

I also read: "In fact, gout is one of the most painful medical conditions. It's been compared with childbirth (Not sure I agree with that. A man must have wrote this article. It was painful, but at least I could move my foot around and give it some relief) and bone fractures. Gout attacks usually last from 3 to 10 days and can cause knife-like pain, tenderness, redness, heat, and swelling in an affected joint. These are all signs of “inflammation,” so gout is sometimes called an inflammatory arthritis.

By the way Daniel's team was undefeated, but they did loose their first game yesterday. He was pretty brokenhearted. They had beat this team before though, so I am pretty sure we are still in first place.