Bossing Around My Servant

 Bright and sunny, already 60 degrees and I am itching to be outside. The weekend was the same and I spent a little time in my She Shed Saturday afternoon. Wasn't feeling great and couldn't seem to concentrate on what I wanted to get done. I attributed that to the man and his saw and hammer.

HeWho thinks himself to be wise in all matters of stairs and ladders did not approve of my "steps" along the back wall of my She Shed. I will confess that they do look a little cobbled together with all the various materials I used. But they are sturdy! Not only that, they also serve as storage. He ordered me NOT to be using them to get up into the loft. (Go ahead and laugh at this "order", I did)

Saturday morning he went to the lumber store and came back with the materials to build a ladder, well, two ladders. One for each loft. They will be hinged and a pulley will lift them overhead and out of the way when not in use. Then (wonder of wonders) he built the first one. Of course it involved another trip to the hardware store. Ladder #1 is done, just not hinged yet!

I am unsure if he cleaned up and got all of his tools out of my shed since I left before he finished. I was feeling just blah and achy. I didn't even attempt to cook and HeWho was hungry went to Ingles and picked up fried chicken and salad. My big toe on my right foot was aching, but so were my thumb joints, so I just thought it was arhritis and rubbed some dicloflenac on the offending joints.

When I woke to find Mr. BoJangles whiskers tickling my cheek Sunday morning, I sat up and let my feet dangle off the side of the bed, getting ready to help Charming Eddie down to the floor to join Toni Louise and Bo doing their morning dance ritual in a frenzy to go outside. Pain shot up from that big toe, a pain I had never experienced before. It always surprises me to discover a brand new pain, thinking I should have met them all by now, after living for 70 years.

I hobbled to the door and let the canines out to do their business, then hobbled to the bathroom to take care of my own business accompanied by my throbbing toe. I continued hobbling to get my coffee ready and let my furry companions back inside to join me for our morning ritual of sipping coffee and reading emails.

Upon sitting down, the pain increased and I inspected the toe. It was hot and swollen and throbbing all the while jabs of pain like a corkscrew trying to enter the joint were attacking it. I knew immediately that arthritis was not the correct diagnosis and I knew what it was. Gout. I have gout. 

Gout has been described as the rich man's disease. I am not a rich man, I am not even a poor man. The reference to rich man is more about the diet of the man than how much money he has. Rich foods cause gout. Fried food, rare beef, shell fish, creamy sauces, gravies and such cause the body to have an increase in uric acid and that uric acid will choose a joint and attack you! 

There is usually one food or food group that will trigger an attack. HeWho has had many gout attacks in various joints, the first was his toe. I was sympathetic to the first few attacks, but became indifferent after he refused to change his diet. His big trigger is shell fish. Being the good wife that I am, I do not buy shell fish even for me. I will only eat shellfish when dining out and even then I feel a twinge of guilt knowing how much he loves shellfish. Beef cooked rare and delicious is a secondary trigger for him. He takes daily medicine to help prevent attacks.

I have no idea what triggered mine, other than eating out too much, because I won't have a proper stove for 10 more days. I generally opt for salads when we eat out. I like salads, so it is not a big sacrifice, but I also like vegetables. I did eat fish and shrimp Friday night, and even though it was all you can eat, I didn't even finish the first serving. I did eat all of my slaw and baked sweet potato, so I don't know what would have triggered gout. The biggest change in my diet recently is iced tea. I remember reading articles about gout when HeWho is not rich was under attack and one suggested that copious amounts of iced tea could irritate (not cause) gout.

The pain is hard to escape. I have my foot propped up on pillows and the pain is bearable right now, but if I need to get up for any reason and put that foot down ...... The nerve that serves your big toe is the longest nerve in the body and sometimes there is a delay in pain, but when it does hit, you will appreciate the power of pain meds!!

It wasn't until this morning after the agony of arising that I remembered the leftover hydrocodone from my broken tooth removal. Joy flooded my heart in anticipation of the pain relief! I am planning to have a nice shower while under the influence of the pain pill! With HeWho builds ladders perched close by in case I need assistance.

That is the only plan for the day. A shower and research on gout remedies that won't involve a prescription or visit to the clinic. That and bossing HeWho is my servant around.