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stuntman@pluspora.com
Stuntman

#health #gout
My Bout with Gout

Back in July of 2019, I was sitting at my desk at work when I felt a sharp pain develop on the back of my heel, right where my Achilles tendon is. The slightest touch there cause a sharp pain. Also, it was painful to walk. By the next day, I could not walk without a lot of pain. In fact, I had to use a cane to walk. I went to see the doctor and he ordered some blood tests at the medical lab. The pain lasted another day and it went away the next evening.

A few days later, the test results came in. I was diagnosed with gout. Gout is a condition that occurs when there is high levels of uric acid in the blood. The uric acid forms crystals and accumulates in joints in the foot causing pain and discomfort.

In order to treat this condition, I had to change my diet. Medication is an option, but I prefer to not take medication. My change in diet is avoiding foods that can lead to high uric acid levels. These include the following:

-- Red meat (beef, pork, duck).
-- Shellfish (crab, lobster, mussels).
-- Sugary drinks (pop).
-- Nuts, chips, potatoes.
-- Some vegetables like broccoli and mushrooms.
-- Alcohol.

There are a lot of foods that I liked eating that I have to avoid now. Steak, hamburgers, BBQ duck, many sea food dishes and various snack foods are what I ate a lot of. Broccoli and mushrooms happen to be my favourite vegetables. I don't drink alcohol, so that was not a problem for me, but I do drink a fair amount of pop.

The good news is that there are still a lot of foods that I like to eat that I can eat. I really like chicken and fish. Normally, when I go to a restaurant that offers steak, chicken and seafood, my first choice would be the steak. Now, I would choose chicken or fish that is not shellfish. I would choose a salad or something else instead of fries or just not have fries. I avoid hamburgers now, and actually tried out the beyond meat options which is good enough if I want a burger. I also have the chicken or fish burger option at burger places as well. Instead of pop I just drink water instead. I drink a lot of water at work and at home anyway, so now I'm just drinking more of it instead of pop.

The most difficult adjustment for me was avoiding chips and nuts. I tend to stack a lot. I would eat a hand full of nuts now and then when I start to feel a little bit hungry. It's easy to just walk into the kitchen to grab some. I initially substituted apples instead. The thing with eating an apple is that it doesn't fill me up as much as chips or nuts. Also, when I eat an apple, I usually don't want to eat another one if I'm not full yet. It made me feel hungrier more often.

After a while, I actually got used to not having to feel full all the time. It actually caused my appetite to decrease dramatically. Even regular meals, I started to eat a lot less just because I no longer felt the need to feel full at all. It was weird that I just suddenly was eating less than I used to.

After a few weeks, I was playing hockey and I noticed that I wasn't feeling as tired as I used to be. I had more energy. I could play harder. It was something that I really noticed. I then decided to weigh myself for the first time in probably a year. It turned out that I had lost about 15 lbs. in less than a month of changing my diet. I recall weighing over 170 lbs. the last time I weighed myself and at that time I found that I weighed only 155 lbs.

It turned out that having to deal with gout had made me feel a lot healthier. I'm enjoying hockey more because I'm not sucking wind as much as I used to. I feel as good as I felt about 15 years ago. I'm holding steady at 150 lbs. now.

I did have some knee issue about the time I lost a lot of weight. I had to take some glucosamine supplements for a few months. When my weight finally stabilised, I no longer need to take them.

I don't have to avoid red meat and those other foods on the list completely. It's not like having a severe allergy. The doctor said that I could for instance have a steak once every two weeks. I generally try to avoid those foods I need to avoid when I can. I don't count the days for my next opportunity to eat steak. It would only be special family gatherings where I would eat the foods I normally try to avoid. I ate a fair amount of steak and shellfish over the Xmas holidays as I had relatives over from out of town. Once in a while, I would drink some pop. Maybe once a week or so. I would buy chips for snacks if I have friends coming over to visit.

I actually don't miss any of the foods I try to avoid. As I said, there are still a lot of foods that I like to eat that I can still eat. It's been quite an easy transition for me. The doctor said that I have to ensure I don't have another attack of gout within 6 months. It's been a little past that, so I would say I have successfully made the transition. If not, then I would have to take medication to control the symptoms. Having to deal with gout is one of the best health issues I could possibly have. In fact, I'm much healthier as a result.