I was a little depressed recently. Was this a symptom of age catching up, an old injury flaring up, something malignant and deadly and now manifesting itself by rearing its ugly head or what?
It all started off innocently enough with a pain somewhere in the heel of my foot a few days ago. It was not an unfamiliar feeling because a few months ago I had the same nagging pain in the same general area. I had hobbled around for two days or so in my ‘Crocs’, those insanely ugly wannabes clogs that are at the same time soooooooo (emphasis intentional) comfortable, unable to wear closed shoes or sleep without pain at night whenever the bedclothes cQame into contact with the offending place forcing me to take the drastic step to visit a doctor to diagnose what was the matter with me.
The doctor who examined me, one of those young ladies fresh out of university or so it would seem and young enough to be my daughter, found no apparent reason for the pain and prescribed me some pain killers and a spray and told me to revert within a week if the pain did not go away for some tests to be carried out and sure enough by the next day, the pain was gone, for good I hoped!
But no, it was back recently and though not with a vengeance, it was there sitting, waiting to pounce when I was most vulnerable. I decided that I would grin and bear it like the Kenyan African man that I am. After all, African men withstand pain all the time often till it is too late to do anything about it, so what was a little nagging pain going to do to me? That night was a night spent in agony with paroxysms of pain every time I tossed and turned and my heel came into contact with the bedclothes, and so the next morning it was back to my ‘Crocs’ as I prepared to go to the office…........….and to see a doctor! But first, I needed to find out from Mr. Google what was likely affecting me!
A quick check on the internet indicated that the pain could be one of several issues and the results to say the least were depressing, and thus the reason for my depression. The advantage with internet research is that so long as you have a reasonable understanding of English 9or any other language that you are fluent in) you will be able to isolate what may be wrong with you simply by indicating the symptoms that you have on your search criteria. I was fairly certain that the symptoms I had were those of gout caused by an excess of uric acid in the blood which then crystalizes in the joints and surrounding tissue and mostly afflicting men and often manifesting in the big toe but equally in other joints including the heel of the foot where my pain was.
But me having gout, how? I am not particularly fond of ‘nyama choma’ that much loved delicacy of roast meat loved by Kenyan men and considered the number one cause of gout. I will probably have it maybe once a week at the most. However my daily meals have to have some meat in whatever form or substance. By the same token, I don’t consider myself a heavy drinker limiting my consumption of alcohol to 6 or 7 beers over the weekend so again from the second myth about the origins of gout, I was home and dry. A visit to the doctor would sort this out once and for all because according to me I was a low risk candidate for gout!!
However, the visit to the doctor and the test that followed are conclusive that I suffer from high uric acid content in my blood hence I have gout and I have to suffer the ignominy of taking some medication to reduce the pain over the next seven days and other medication to reduce the uric acid content in my blood gradually over the next 30 days while at the same time controlling my intake of red meat. I have also been advised to substitute beer with red wine if I must have some alcohol!!
The flare up of the gout must have come about due to the excessive consumption of meat over the Easter period when all caution is thrown to the wind and one over indulges with no care in the world for tomorrow…..or so the doctor said, again one of those young ladies straight from university and who could be my daughter. But again, it is my health that is supposed to come first so white meat (and again as per Mr. Google there are differing views on what constitutes white meat) it will have to be for me in future with red meat and ‘nyama choma’ in moderation.
So, and this is nothing to be proud of but just a straight fact, next time you see me just buy me a plate of gizzards or chicken wings and a glass of wine to wash it all down with as I am now afflicted with a life style disease called gout……………….and get me out of my depression!! Now it's time for my medication as I feel a tingle in my toes......just in case.
No comments:
Post a Comment