Not to sound like a massive drama queen, but for the last few days I have been suffering from a massive bout of gout.  And it FREAKING HURTS!

Look at the difference in my feet (which, I know, are ugly to begin with)!

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I have had gout before.  But, like once . . . over ten years ago.  However, since my kidney stone surgery in July I have it three different times.  It would seem there's some sort of correlation, but I'm not a physician and have no idea if that's the case.  What I do know is that, since last Wednesday, my right big toe has been beet-red, swollen and burning like the flames of Hell.  So, I sent out an S.O.S to my Facebook friends (because I figured I'm not rowing this big old gout boat alone, to see if they have recommendations on how to alleviate the pain.   Here's what they had to say . . .

My friend Dawn, who works in healthcare, offered a sound professional (which everyone should get, by the way)- Concentrated black cherry juice from the health food store. Dilute it in water and drink it. Also go see a physician or a nurse practitioner (I bet you know one or two) and get a prescription for allopurinol.

Meghan Schwartz agreed- PROFESSIONAL HELP! After effects are awful. Possible surgery to repair joint damage . Swelling with the change of the weather. Gout is no joke!

My buddy Danny Thompson, who clearly speaks from experience recommended the same thing-  Indomethacin or a shot of allopurinol works really well for me!

Lisa Aull's husband gets it routinely.  They recommend this- Black cherry juice drink the whole bottle!

My longtime friend Anne Ferguson DeBecker's husband is a fellow sufferer- My husband has Gout and when he starts to twinge he loads up on Motrin. take four every 4-6 hours until you feel some relief, but if it's a bad flare up..go see a doc and nuke it from orbit with Prednisone. Oh! and you probably aren't getting enough vitamin D. Get a bottle of D3 about 5000iu and take one daily

Jennifer Cruz made the recommendation of getting Tumeric Whole Raw Root- Get some of these at a Walmart or Myers even Kroger’s carry it. You want to throw about 8 in a sauce pan of water and boil for about 10 minutes. Pour you a cup and drink it hot to warm. It may taste nasty but wipes the pain away. Oh and don’t drive after the cup....it powerful. Hope this helps.

My buddy DeWayne Jackson suggested- Diet modifications (Apparently, red meat can trigger flares.  That one's gonna be tough for this carnivore!)

My friend Bill Egeler had the best suggestion- Amputation sounds like a good plan to me!

And Shelia Hayden offered up some not-so-sound advice too.  LOL!- If you smash your other toe it will help this one feel better.

Luckily, this morning, the swelling has gone down considerably.  My flares usually only last a few days.  I can actually wiggle my toe this morning without expletives taking over my thought bubbles!

At any rate, if YOU have a home remedy that you'd like to share, hit me up.  But, remember, what I (and everyone should do) is consult a physician.  I just knew I wasn't going to be able to over the weekend and I was desperate for relief that didn't involve a hacksaw.

 

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