I'm hoping this is the end of the finger story. At this point in my life, I think what scares me the most about aging is the medical care. I am 100% sure there are places where medical care is good. Vince uses doctors in Kansas City, all of whom are associated with KU and the care/service he gets there is amazing.
It took visits to four different doctors in 2-1/2 weeks before I got a diagnosis that I feel is correct and got meds that have helped. The diagnosis is gout! It's certainly painful -- pretty sure some of you have experienced it but I feel like it's better than having rheumatoid arthritis. There are supplements that purport to reduce uric acid levels. I will not start taking those until after I'm done with the Rx med I'm taking to stop the current gout flare.
There are way worse things that can happen but for a few days, I was pretty sad thinking if this was rheumatoid arthritis, my cross stitching days may be over. I'm a bit more optimistic with the gout diagnosis - not happy about it but, again . . it could be way worse.
Today I'm able to type gently using the bad finger. I was able to use a fork/spoon/knife the way I usually do without the index finger poking out hoping not to be touched.
The good news is that this was painful enough for me to commit to reducing sugar/high fructose corn syrup intake and that means goodbye to my beloved Dr. Peppers. Stopping drinking those is something I've known I've needed to do but hoping to not repeat this painful experience again any time soon, the Dr. Peppers will sit and mock me but I will not give in! :)
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I also find myself dealing with inflammation pain when I have too much processed sugar. Have you heard of the Little Hill Homestead youtube channel? She just released a video on how to make Dr. Pepper concentrate using cleaner ingredients. This might be an option for you.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad has gout and has had it for many many years. He takes allopurinol and hasn’t had a flair up in 20 years. He also avoids yeast and sugar
ReplyDeleteJust a FYI about gout--Michael has gout. He was so dang sick in 2010 we all thought he was dying! He lost weight, couldn't do anything and both his wrists were so incredibly painful I had to help him dress. We finally found a rheumatologist who would listen to him and he would listen to her (a very important point!)-then she moved to New Hampshire :( But--and that's a big BUT--his gout is NOT related to food in any form--and he eats a LOT of beef. He does not drink alcohol much at all--maybe twice a month if out with friends he will have something. His gout is stress related. He takes a prescription med--Probenicid--and if he takes that pill every single morning, he never gets a gout attack--hasn't had one in 3 years. He tried several uric acid lowering meds before finding one he could tolerate--Probenicid is it.
ReplyDeleteGlad you have a diagnosis and an action plan that seems to be working. If cold turkey quitting your DP is rough have you thought about the mini cans? They cost more per ounce, but I'm usually happy with the lesser amount.
ReplyDeleteAndrea in MO
Thanks for the tip. I can do it. I've done it before. Just need to stick with it this time. Haven't had one since Monday so I'm doing good.
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