GOUT
0/5 stars. Would not recommend.
2 weeks ago I had a pain in my left foot. It felt a little like Plantar fasciitis, which I've experienced before. So I started with some stretches and ice. See if I could get ahead of it.
The pain got worse. I noticed my foot was swollen when I removed my socks & shoes. It got so bad I could only wear Josh's old Crocks, and was hobbling around.
Then I started losing sleep. Blankets touching my foot was painful. Stretching or touching it was painful. I took Tylenol (no effect), then switched to Advil, which did make a difference.
Friends and family started suggesting it could be Gout. Ridiculous. That's for old Dickensian characters, swigging Port and eating Roast Beef all day.
Off to the doctors and, 3 attempts at drawing blood later (it never goes well), I picked up a a prescription for Indomethacin.
This reduced the pain and the swelling. Labs came back and yes, Gout confirmed. So a different prescription, this time for Colchicine.
Stop one, start the other.
The pain is gone and I can start wearing shoes & socks again. But now another drug, Allopurinol. This is to help keep the levels of Uric Acid down which caused the Gout flare-up. But I shouldn't be taken with the Triamterene-Hydrochlorothiazid I use for my high blood pressure.
Ye Gods!
So I have to buy a blood pressure monitoring device so I can check at home.
Growing old sucks.