Recovery & a hard picture to look at, just warning you

yesterday's walk was so much harder than it should have been.  The good news is that my recovery was faster.  I got up this morning to only a little soreness and was able to get a mile done.  Not striving for more than a mile a day this week.  My ankle still feels fragile.

I have made a collage of rather icky photos to remind myself of what CAN happen if I don't keep my gout in check.  I have a tendency to forget the pain when the pain is gone.  Sometimes the bacon wins the battle - stomach overwhelms brain.

I keep a copy of this on my phone and am printing out one on for my fridge.

Those are tophi.  I consequence to having high uric acid levels for an extended period of time.  They don't just form where the gout attacks are.  You can get them on your ear, elbow...all sorts of places.

I work with my hands, so these are the most terrifying photos I could find.  no hands = no work.

I'm working hard to keep my diet in check and my exercise up.  This attack lasted so much longer than any in the past.  Gout isn't fatal.  I got it much younger than most women do.  I am only 47 and my grandparents all lived into their late 80s.  I do not want 40 years of attacks, actually I want ZERO years of further attacks, so it's something I have to get a handle on.

Useless

I had my worst gout attack EVER and have been pretty much useless for nearly 3 weeks.  This one was in my right ankle - where it started and I hate ankle flare ups so much.  When it's the toe I can put on a slipper and still get around.  No way to avoid putting pressure on the ankle when walking, so like I said - useless.

I admire people who live with daily pain and manage to get through it and still have a life.  I don't know if I can be that tough!

This attack was brought on by the change in the weather. That's a common trigger for me and I didn't help by eating a couple of food triggers around the same time.

My workouts were not a bust though.  While I did have a day where I only walked 550 steps, I did do some upper body workouts and a few one legged squats.  If that's what you call them.  My left leg got quite a workout since it was supporting my weight.  The workout felt good and helped loosen it up.

Tomorrow I think I will be recovered enough to get a mile in.  I started wearing shoes yesterday, so that's a good sign!

Raw Milk Fast - Day 5

Yesterday was my first work day while doing this fast.  It went well up until about 8pm.  Started to feel tired and draggy.  Likely it was a combination of not bringing enough milk with me for 6 hours of work and the fact that the work was in the sun.  Today I am going to plan better.  Especially since today I will be working for about 12 hours.  If I count what I do as fishing while sitting (I use a stool sometimes) I will burn a couple of thousand calories at work today.  Fishing while sitting or standing is as close as I could come up with for the motions of balloon making.

Got to listen to Marvin play while I worked.  That was nice.

Dan was out too.  He's heading off to CO soon.  Going to miss him for the rest of the summer.

b/p:  117/73
allergies:  bouts of being totally clear followed by bouts of being very congested
energy - pretty good all day.  Was exhausted when I got home, but that's normal for a work day
exercise - see above.  I worked at my job and that is my workout for the day.

I have noticed a decrease in at least one of my tophi.  The one on my finger is still about the same, but there is a very clear size reduction in the one on my thumb.  Not sure if I can credit the milk fast though.  Whatever the reason, I am happy.

Raw Milk - Day 0

Raw Milk Fast - Day 1

Raw Milk Fast - Day 2

Raw Milk Fast - Day 3

Raw Milk Fast - Day 4

Raw Milk Fast - Day 5

Raw Milk Fast - Day 6

Raw Milk Fast - Day 7

Raw Milk Fast - Day 8

Raw Milk Fast - Day 9

Raw Milk Fast - Days 10/11

Raw Milk Fast - Day 12

Raw Milk Fast - Days 13 - 14

A run

This image represents gout better than almost any I've seen.  Walking on a foot that's going through a flare up is a LOT like walking on cactus.  You know, only more painful.

I've held off on running since my last bout.  Wanted to feel 100% because as much as I love to run, I don't want to end up on the injured list for longer than I have to.

It went ok.  I walked the first mile to get good and warmed up and then did a walk/run for the second.  No tenderness really.  The biggest issue is that I have not run in months and need to get back on other fronts - not just the foot.  Slow and stead works for me though - so I'll give it another go and then again and then again...until I'm ready for my  next race.

Gout update

So far, mostly go good

the thophi have not gotten any smaller, nor have they grown.  I took a new photo, this one angled to emphasize the one on my thumb.  It's not quite as huge as the photo suggests, but it's the biggest of the two.  It bothers me the most.  Not because it hurts, but because I know it's there.

My pain and swelling are under control.  I'm back to walking and running like normal. I did have a twinge of pain like an attack was coming on the other day - a few hours after I cheated and gave into the temptation of a brat.  I took some extra cherry and drank a lot of water.  That seemed to help because it didn't turn into an attack.  

It might have been in my mind.  There are few things I fear more than a gout flare up.  Unless you've been there it's hard to describe the pain.  

I have been looking into wheat allergy and gout.  There is some anecdotal correlation, but no studies.  It came to mind because I am very young for a woman who has gout.  The obesity didn't help, but even most obese women don't' get it in their 40s.  Especially one who never drank more than once or twice a year and didn't live off of organ meats.  Not that I need a why, it is already here.  Curiosity mostly.  

I'm determined to stay off of medication for as long as possible.  Right now diet and exercise with some cherry extract daily seem to be working for me.  I was taking capsules, but lately I bought a bottle of liquid extract and have been making my kombucha with it.  And putting it my lemon water.  A tastier alternative to pills.

I'm either going to die in the next 5 seconds or live forever.

I'm a vegetarian who drinks raw milk and home brewed kombucha.   Depending on who you ask - government or over zealous health food advocate I'm done for...or I will live forever.  I suspect neither is terribly accurate.

I was looking up something on Kombucha.  According to WebMd (the webs leading source on why you are about to die)

Did some research (I googled stuff) and while anthrax does live in the wild you are more likely to catch it FROM ANY INTERACTION WITH COWS AND OTHER FARM TYPE CRITTERS.  The spores can come inside on shoes/feet and they can get into your kombucha, or fridge, or plate of food on the counter.  So should farmers quit farming because of the high risk of anthrax??  Or is the risk simply not that high and people only use it to illustrate why you should buy into big business?  Guess where my money is.

But obviously it's poison!  People have died from it.  In the case cited most often two women were made very sick - 19 years ago.  One died. One didn't.  Both had been drinking stuff made with the same scoby.  In the ensuing 19 years lots and lots and lots of people have died from big pharma or "food" that the government is all for us consuming.  We can eat the heck out of twinkies and guzzle gallons of corn syrup goodness in the form of soda, but this drink that's been around thousands of years is probably unsafe for most adults.  I know WebMd isn't officially the government, but I have long suspected a relationship between them, the fda & big pharma.  Too much pushing of too many chemicals and all the natural stuff is called suspect.

No, drinking kombucha hasn't fixed any and all of my medical issues.  I still struggle with my weight, I still have gout, I still need reading glasses.  But I enjoy drinking it and making it, so I do.

Then there is raw milk.  I choose to spend a bit more on milk so that I can

1)buy from a small family who is trying to make a living by doing things the right way without hormones, chemicals of gmo feed

2)drink milk from cows that ate GRASS.  Not corn, not anything unnatural for a cow to eat.

3)have no growth hormones in my milk

4) drink milk I can actually enjoy.  Until raw milk I had not had a glass since I was 5.  I detest the stuff sold at grocery stores.  This tastes different.

Again, I should be dead according to the fda.  But I can math.  The risk is low.  Chris maths better than I do and he did all the numbers.  Check out his article here.

http://chriskresser.com/raw-milk-reality-is-raw-milk-dangerous

My reasons for starting to use raw milk were a bit different from most.  I did because they said I shouldn't.  I'm just a rebel that way. I found that I really enjoy the taste and I have continued to buy it.

I do find that having a glass of milk before my workout really gives me extra energy.  Might work with conventional milk too, but I hate the stuff so I'll never test it to find out.

The whole vegetarian thing was in response to gout.  There are few things I fear more than another gout flare up, so I am trying this whole eat super healthy thing.  I apparently don't fear being obese and unhealthy as much as I fear gout, since in the past staying on the clean eating path has been hard.  Intense pain is a great motivator so I eat much better these days.  I've not had a flare up since - but it's only been a couple of months, so time will tell if I can avoid medication with diet.

Where the diet is

It's been a little while since I went vegetarian and it's not always easy.  I do still have the occasional craving for meat and at first I was eating too much cheese.

Actually at first I was just plain eating too much.  As the weeks have progressed I have noticed that I need to cut back on the amount of produce I am buying.  We simply are not eating it all.  I'm spending less and we're wanting to eat less.  This is NOT true if we've had junk food or eaten out.  Then cravings start and the overall food consumption goes up.

I'm sure my family missed the meat and I do cook them some - just not a lot.  I'm not a fan of cooking two meals for the same dinner.  They don't cook - therefore we eat vegetarian.  If one of them wants to learn, then I'll have to find a way to make do with what they cook.  (never ever going to happen - not in a million years )

I've started making/growing my own

yogurt
butter
ice cream
sprouts
kombucha
beet greens

Next up is tofu and as soon as i get a crock - sauerkraut  mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

raw milk in my fridge

I've been drinking raw milk (what the butter was made with but not the yogurt)  which comes from grass fed cows and eggs from truly free range chickens.  Saw them all over the farm, no cages for these girls.  Overall I feel pretty good.  The changes have been very positive for me.

I've also discovered foods I didn't know I liked.  I didn't know I liked milk until I drank raw milk.  Tried a new way to cook beet greens and I am in love.  I am now attempting to grow some more from the tops of beets.  Sprouts really fill out a salad.  I already made my own tortillas (corn) but have found new and wonderful ways to fill them with tarziki sauce and veggies, or peppers and spices.  The change has made me very creative

Beet greens in the making - I hope

The gout flare up that triggered this diet change has never 100% gone away, it's not painful, just twingy and it does get much worse after I cheat or eat processed food.  It's under control enough that I don't want to cut my own foot off.  I don't need pain meds and I can wear actual shoes.  Most of the time I just feel a twinge and think "Oh yeah, I have gout in that joint"

freshly made butter

Hopefully diet changes will help, so will exercise and weight loss.  My goal is to control this without taking medications.  pain or otherwise.

I miss meat, but I don't regret giving it up.  I like where I am headed.

alfalfa sprouts

Kombucha scoby

My Tophi

I decided to post a photo of my tophi, however mild, because I didn't see many photos of mild tophi on the web.  The advanced photos are horrific.  I'm determined to get things under control and keep them there, so I never reach that stage.  I'll add a photo, you'll see why.

Barely visible yellow bumps.  They are much more lumpy than they photographed.  Like having small peas under the skin.  Nobody except me would notice them, but I did and I obsess about them.  They are not painful, but left untreated (and likely without diet modification) they can become this

Nope Nope Nope Nope - don't want that.  

This is what I think about whenever I decide to eat something not on my diet.  This is why I am a vegetarian.  I do NOT want to go there.  I work with my hands, so it's terrifying to face the loss - especially in such a painful way.  I can't imagine the hand in the second photo could make a balloon animal.  at least not without terrifying a child!

So, now I'm a vegetarian, making even more careful choices about my diet.  As soon as my insurance kicks in next month I will see a doctor for medical treatment, though I would prefer natural therapies if they work.

4 slow slow miles - Training for Jane

This gout flare up is slow to totally subside.  It's not the OMG cut it off pain of an acute attack, but it's still sore.  I thought some exercise might help and it was a beautiful day here.  With that in mind I decided to make a 4 mile (round trip) walk to the store.  It was SLOW, but I was going, so no real complaints.

(shirt is from onemoremile.net)

Miles 1&2 were pretty uneventful.  Enjoyed the day, took some pics of violets.  Did some shopping, saw a friend and chatted, then headed back.  Mile 3 was ok, but by the end of it I could feel soreness in my toe.  Not the stabbing, cutting pain of gout, but sore like I was healing from a break or sprain.  By mile 3.75 I was in a lot of pain and really wanted to call someone for a ride - even though I knew how close I was.  Nobody to call, and if I've gone that far, I couldn't let a quarter mile stop me - so I pressed one.  The hardest part was actually the stairs into my house.  Stairs and gout are NOT friends.  

I said that tomorrow is a bike day - but I suspect that I will sneak in at least a mile in the morning.

Tophi, Gout and OMG! Why did I Google That???

I have gout.  It is hands down the most painful thing I have ever experienced.  If I had to list the 5 most painful things I've ever experienced this is how it would go

5. broke my wrist
4. 4 C-sections
3. 24 hours of labor with contractions starting at a minute long and coming 1 1/2 minutes apart.
2. 2nd degree burns from finger tip to elbow on both arms when a pressure cooker exploded
1. Gout  - about twice as painful as the burns.  I never considered having my hands amputated, but the thought crossed my mind with my ankle a few days into the first attack.  Sleep was out of the question and Vicodin didn't even dull the pain a tiny bit.

My first flareup a couple of years ago in my right ankle.  I've had two more flare-ups in that same ankle, often coinciding with either a bacon binge or the change of the seasons.  This year I had my first flare-up in my toe on the same foot.  It was mild and taking cherry extract + drinking lots of extra water seemed to take it out before I hit the worst stages.

Tophi are related to gout but I didn't have them so I didn't worry a lot.

But now I do.  Because one formed on my left thumb.  They don't show up just where you have gout.  They go where they want to go.  Knew what it was so I googled it it.  My eyes are still hurting from what I saw.

I'll spare you any links to the photos.  Mine is like this - still mild.  On my thumb, not my ear.  Google worse ones at your own risk.

Ok, so now what?  I already don't drink, and I do exercise, so the only things left are diet and medication.  I want to avoid medication if I can.  I have read much about the benefits of a vegetarian diet and gout.  So now I am a vegetarian and will transition to vegan soon.  I do love meat, but not as much as I fear gout.  I picked a good season to switch.  Spring is coming and I can stock up at the farmer's market.  

It's not easy at times.  The family is not vegetarian yet and that chicken I cooked yesterday smelled so good.  I resisted though.  Vegan will be harder to achieve.  I do love cheese.  So much so that I have to keep block cheese out of the house because it's a trigger food for me.  If I have it, I will eat it.  Chocolate and chips can hang around for weeks without me going on a binge.  Cheese has hours if it's lucky.  

So it's veggies and veggies and more veggies.  Not mushrooms though.  I hate them.  In any form.  Same goes with celery.  I wish people didn't think portbella was the go to substitute for main dishes when dealing with a vegetarian.   ewww  Eggplant people, think eggplant.  It's tasty.

Weeks 1 & 2 have passed in my new life as a vegetarian.  Not always easy, but doable.  My goal is to be vegan by week 6.  Give myself time to transition.

wish me luck!