That sounds like an incredibly frustrating experience to go through
@Jamie01 . Glad to hear that you were finally able to get it sorted out. Unfortunately, it seems like there’s a lot of that kind of thing going on. I’m reminded of a memoir that I listened to as an audiobook, The Body is a Doorway, by Sophie Strand - it’s an expansive, heart wrenching account of her journey through chronic illness, which is worth checking out.
The pain in my toe has lessened and I’m able to bear more weight on my foot, both of which are a relief. While it was gratifying to see that the rue and psilocybin appeared to be helpful yesterday, I took more ibuprofen at night, which has seemed to have the biggest impact. I plan to continue with this combination today and tomorrow, before hopefully returning to work on Monday, and limiting myself to the ibuprofen, from there.
I’ve decided to stop being stubborn/willful and go see a doctor for this thing (I’ve been meaning to schedule a physical exam for a while, and now seems like a good time). I’m in my early 40’s and haven’t had a physical since my early 20’s, so it’s been around two decades haha Up until recently, I would have “no complaints” for the doctor (the plethora of complaints that I bring to my therapist, notwithstanding), but now have a very specific thing I could use some clarity with (I’m also interested in my hormone levels and hope to get some bloodwork done).
While everything that I’ve been experiencing matches what I’ve read about gout, it will be helpful to (hopefully) get an accurate, medical diagnosis about what’s going on. From what I’ve read about gout, it seems to be associated with unhealthy lifestyle habits, most of which don’t apply to me. Yet, the symptoms that I’ve been experiencing perfectly match that condition, as it’s described. If I was to narrow it down, my best guess would be that a combination of genetic predisposition, stress, and dehydration led to this flare up. I typically drink lots of water, but haven’t been doing so these last few weeks, while dealing with some heightened stress, and drinking lots of (sugary) kombucha, so those factors, alone, could explain it.
I’m reminded of the words of Thich Nhat Hanh who spoke about the lack of appreciation that humans typically have for the absence of a toothache. Similarly, I have definitely had a lack of appreciation for a lack of toe pain, and the ability to walk and stand without any issues. In this sense, I would say this experience has been something of a “mindfulness bell” for me, waking me up to things I normally take for granted, which are, in fact, very much worth being grateful for.
