Diabetes Talking

Question:

Um, if I were you — and if your GP is less than helpful — I’d go to an A&E. This doesn’t sound *good*.  I mean, I went the other night because my uterus hurt — but at least I was fairly mobile… Please let us/me know what happens. A. — "And you find magic from your God, and we find magic everywhere."      –Dar Williams, "The Christians and the Pagans"

Response:

Um, if I were you — and if your GP is less than helpful — I’d go to an A&E.

My GP is on holiday, and  I can’t walk to the car. I must say that although I’m still hors de combat, it’s nowhere near as painful as it was three days ago. Bilbo

Response:

On Sunday I woke with a pain in my foot. We had accepted an invitation for lunch and tea with my daughter and her family so, like the brave soldier I am, I drove down the A1 and back again in the evening. All through the day the pain got worse, but through the night and on the Monday morning it was indescribable. I kid you not, I was feeling very sorry for myself. At about 5 a.m. I phoned NHS Direct. The nurse concurred with my diagnosis of gout and said I should talk to my doctor. Well, my doctor was off sunning himself somewhere, and being a bank holiday not a lot of help was available. Eventually I managed to speak to an emergency doctor who said the treatment of choice was an anti-inflammatory drug like Ibuprofen – but as I take Warfarin I could not take anti-inflammatories. He told me I’d just have to put up with it and take paracetemol although it didn’t do much good. Monday morning my foot was about twice its normal size and was so tender the weight of the bed clothes was excrutiating. I have been unable to walk ever since. Last night after much effort I crawled into the bathroom. As I was sure the neighbours could smell me through the window, I decided to have a shower. I climbed into the bath and nearly killed myself. In the end I just hung on while the love of my life washed me. I daren’t sit down in the bath as I felt I’d never be able to stand up. This afternoon it took me twenty minutes to crawl into the next room and climb into a chair in front of my computer. On the internet I discovered that gout was caused by diuretics (which I take) and by diabetes (which I’ve got). Has anyone else suffered from this? What did you do? Were you prescribed anything? Bilbo

Response: