27 March 2010 - It's amazing the difference that one day can make

Yesterday I woke up and could barely get out of bed.  When I did manage to pull myself in to a standing position, I found walking to be quite problematic.  My knee was swollen, warm and I experiencing a fair amount of pain.  If I wasn't careful, just a bit too much weight on the knee at the wrong time would cause it to give out from under me.  On top of the knee hurting, my elbow was giving me fits also.  To try to rememdy this situation, I went to the doctor and was able to procure the drugs I needed, hoping that they would work their normal magic in getting me back on my feet.  I've received some negative feedback from other gout sufferers regarding this course of action, but it has almost always worked for me - prednisone and percocet.  These are definitely not the first drugs that come to mind when one thinks of treating an acute flare-up of gout.  I think I have proven to myself enough times now, however, that this combination does work and works much better than the normal indomethacin or colchicine route.

This morning, less than 24 hours after starting the perc/pred pill regime, all gouty pain in my knee is gone.  My elbow is still sore, but it feels MUCH better than it did yesterday.  I still do have the non-gouty tendon/ligament pain in my knee and it feels a bit weak, but this is entirely due to other injuries to that joint.  I feel good enough today in fact, that I will be going with my wife to Nurnberg where we will be meeting some friends, hanging out in the Altstadt, taking some photos and just enjoying a leisurely day of  being out.  To me, this is any absolutely amazing turnaround considering how bad I felt yesterday.

I had an interesting chat about this with my brother back in the States this morning.  He thinks that the overall change in my diet over the last five to six months is probably a big factor in limiting the amount of time a gout attack takes hold.  My body is just fighting the attacks better since I'm eating so much healthier and am abstaining from alcohol.  I think he's got a very valid point.

I know that a lot of people may frown upon my taking a narcotic to deal with these attacks.  I know that some people may not be able to get a prescription for percocet as easy as I can.  When I 'walk' in to the clinic, obviously in a lot of pain and obviously having very limited mobility, the doctors get an idea of what I'm dealing with.  To seal the deal, I just show them my knee that usually balloons up to two or three times it's normal size.  I believe, and thankfully they do too, that pain management is just as important sometimes as getting the swelling to go down in a rapid manner. 

Time to get ready for the day.  I'll be taking it easy, but it will feel good to be out and about rather than stuck inside laying on the couch with painful joints!