Yes, gout is very, very painful. I have had two children, gall bladder surgery, and this hip replacement surgery. None of those things even compare to the pain of gout. Even the bone on bone pain of an arthritic hip isn't quite as painful. I guess that comes the closest though. Gout is another form of arthritis. It's caused by having too much uric acid in your blood stream. This uric acid forms crystals that end up in a joint, usually a big toe joint, and they start to push the joint apart. The joint swells and becomes inflamed and the pain is excruciating. Sometimes, as in my case, a gout attack can affect larger areas of the body. It really is just horrible. There are maintance drugs that can be taken to clean the uric acid from your blood, but they are very hard on your liver. I hadn't had an attack for over 3 years so wasn't taking the maintance drugs. Also, I probably wouldn't have had the attack if I hadn't let myself get dehydrated and hadn't went so long without flushing my kidneys and bladder. That's why it's so important for everyone to learn a lesson by what happened to me. Drink plenty of fluids and don't go long periods without voiding your bladder. Believe me, no one wants to go through what I have in the past several days. You can have your uric acid level checked by a simple blood test if anyone is curious about what their level might be. This is usually included in a regular blood panel test too. Ok I'm getting off my lecture now.
I was having a hard time coming up with the word to discribe my surgeon, but you nailed it exactly. He is very arrogant. I sure have the highest respect for him though.
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