…and the holidays are no time to get gout…
I felt like I needed to do this all important post before this next week is upon us, and you suddenly find yourself in tears, whimpering and writhing on the floor, holding your big toe, sidelined for the holidays with a gout attack – hence: Gout is no holiday…
Gout newbies and veterans alike, are easily ambushed by gout. If you have been livin’ large for a number of years and suddenly find yourself the newest member of The Gout Club, or if you’re one of those folks who have been doing so well for the last year or two and now you’ve been rudely reminded you’re NOT impervious to gout, this post is for you.
So what were your plans for the holidays?
Gout has a nasty habit of ruining your plans, and it really doesn’t care if it’s the holidays or not. There are a lot of telltale signs and symptoms of gout that, had you known what to look for and pay attention to, you could still be right there, in the game, having a good time with all your family and friends. Instead, the worse thing, is having them snickering and laughing while you’re hobbling around, drinking tea.
. . .
Bert,
First of all, sorry that I don’t communicate with you more often, I’m pretty bad about that sort of thing. Wanted to give you my thoughts on the 1.28.13 remarks – the pain (like no other), loss of work time, interfere with relations. I have another ”side effect”. Embarrassment!
When I must go to work with all the pain hobbling around hallways, stairs, etc coworkers will always ask ”what’s wrong”. It’s embarrassing to me to say I have gout (since the average person assumes you do something wrong to get gout). I used to come up with the ”sprained my ankle or knee” excuse.
Anyway, thanks to your advice and guidance my attacks have become much less frequent and less severe when they do happen. Thanks and keep up the great work!!!
Your Gout Buddy,
Casey
. . .
The fact of the matter is, between watching what you’ve been doing for the last few days and weeks, as well as paying attention to those little twinges of pain in your feet, ankles, and hands, you could easily make the correct adjustments to how you are going about things that could have helped you avoid another messy gout attack.
Gout is trying to tell me something?
Yes, gout is trying to tell you that there are worse things around the corner if you don’t tidy up your act now. Gout is sort of whispering that you are headed for being diabetic, or headed for a heart attack, or cancer or stroke…the time is now – LISTEN to your gout!
So what can you do about it? Here are few things to get you started:
- Slow down on your alcohol consumption. Your poor old liver is screaming for some relief. If you really have to drink, drink red wine.
- Get to bed. I know, I know…all the parties! All the good times! Yeah well, how good are the times going to be if you’re down for the count, blubbering and slobbering due to the merciless pain of a gout attack? I rest my case – go home, get to bed.
- What ARE you eating? All those party foods are full of sugar, low quality refined carbohydrates, and all sorts of other nasty chemicalized crap. Only eat the fresh foods that are basically fruits and vegetables in their natural form. (no, the apple pie doesn’t count) Fruits and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants – seek them out and steer clear of gout!
Those three points; quantity of alcohol, volume of sleep, and the foods you’re eating – if you are paying attention, you know you’re headed for gout if you’ve been drinking enough to get drunk every night, (yeah I know, you have a real “high tolerance” to alcohol – sure gout boy, whatever you want to tell yourself) not getting good, deep sleep, and predominantly what you’ve been eating is processed foods…if all that is happening, you’re all teed up for a gout attack this holiday season.
And, if you’ve been on that path, and you’re starting to get those scary little aches and twinges of pain in your feet or hands, especially in the morning when you wake up, don’t ignore them! That could very well be the start of uric acid crystallizing and rolling into a gout attack. If you are getting that kind of communication, you need to get busy with the Kill Gout FORMULA!
Otherwise, here are three things you can be doing to prevent getting a visit from gout this holiday season:
- Breathe. Keeping your blood oxygen saturation up is the first step toward keeping gout at bay. A practice of full, complete, deep breathing several times a day is your starting point.
- Water. Our bodies are more water than anything else – too bad we all drink WAY more alcohol, coffee, soda, and “energy” drinks than water. Which incidentally, those drinks are diuretics and cause us to become even more dehydrated! Drink half you body weight in ounces every 24 hours.
- KCCO – “keep calm and chive on”…not like I am a big chiver or anything, but the saying does have merit when it comes to killing gout. Stress – especially around the holidays – is a very real cause of gout. Stress hormones alter our biochemistry and not always in good ways. Taking time to breathe, get to bed, and stay out of physiologically and psychologically stressful situations, can be a very important step toward staying gout free this holiday season.
☆ Remember: Gout is no holiday…but if you pay attention, it just might save your life.
“I know your pain. Let me help you kill your gout for good! And teach you to advocate for yourself and take ownership of your gout recovery, by showing you how to live the gout-free lifestyle.” Two decades ago, Bert Middleton found himself diagnosed with gout. Like 8.3 million other people in the United States (approximately 4% of the population), he struggled helplessly with the physical, emotional, social, and financial impact that gout left unchecked can have on your life. Prescription drugs were of limited help… And the terrible pain of regular gout attacks left him unable to enjoy even the simplest daily pleasures. His marriage was suffering. His finances were spiraling due to the impact gout had on his ability to work. And maintaining a social life was often nearly impossible. Tophi surgeries left him in terrible pain. And he found himself depressed … and angry … that gout was stealing years of his life.
Until one day, after hundreds of hours of research and self-experimentation, Bert finally had a breakthrough and created a blueprint for a way of living that would prove to be “the answer” to living gout-free for nearly a decade now. Today, Bert and his “Gout Wife” Sharon devote their evenings and weekends to educating other gout sufferers on how to live the gout-free lifestyle. Showing others his 911 Emergency Response Gout Recovery Plan for getting PAINFUL gout attacks under control in as little as 4 hours. And then, how to make daily choices that keep gout under control for GOOD! So you can finally start LIVING again!
