Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Back in the saddle again....


Looks like I'm in good company at least. 

It seems the last few days I've been afflicted with the "Disease of Kings", aka gout.  My right foot / big toe started hurting like hell, as if I dropped a 50 pound weight on it, except without all the black and blue.  The doc diagnosed it and gave me some meds, and I'm much better now.

In the olden days it was usually royalty that had gout, mainly because they were the only ones who could afford red meat and alcohol, two of the prime culprits that cause gout.  But in my case, however, it seems the problem is Coca Cola's.  

My red meat and alcohol intake are very modest....a few beers or glasses of wine a week, depending on what is served for dinner, and the same for my red meat consumption....but I buy and drink Cokes by the case.  And a check on the World Wide Web says that "high fructose sweetened drinks" are bad, bad, bad for causing gout.  Looks like it's adios, my good canned buddies.  :(

Wonder if this means I'll have to stop wearing my crown, too?  (Just as well.  Most of the little rhinestones have already fallen out.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As you all know, I'm a news junkie.  Some of what I take away is very serious stuff, but some is just comical, to wit:


The NYT headline read:  "After Outside Pressure, Rebels in Congo Lay Down Their Arms".

Ummm....it looks to me like their arms decided to just lay down and surrender all by themselves.  I'm guessing the term "maintenance" doesn't translate into Congolese.

And the BBC is reporting a new warning put out by the UN that says our output of atmospheric clogging "stuff" is again setting records.  They go on to say much of this is due to the well known problem of cattle flatulence. (That's a $3 term for cow farts.)  

As anyone who has driven anywhere even close to a West Texas cattle feedlot will testify, it's a serious problem for sure.  So why hasn't someone thought of just producing a heavy-duty version of Beano for bovines?  


And the same article says that much of the global emission of greenhouse gasses is due to he way farmers in may parts of the world improperly plough their land, citing this photo ^ as an example.

Just thinking out loud here....instead of just throwing out billions of dollars in foreign aid money around the world to see it siphoned off by the corrupt dictators and generals, why don't we just start sending them boat loads of John Deere's and Massey Ferguson's?  Jobs for us, more food for them, cleaner air for us all.  DUH!  This ain't rocket surgery, people!

See, I've already fixed our global warming problem, and it isn't even noon yet.  (Note to Nobel committee:  That's Scott with two "T"s  :)

S




18 comments:

  1. I thought for sure this was going to be a Chubby Chatterbox post with that picture. Soda is bad sh*t, stay away!
    And watch it, stupid headlines is my thing...patent pending.

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    1. Dang....looks like I stepped on two friends with his post. Sorry guys. I'll be more careful. :)

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  2. Probably should switch over to the Diet Coke. I remember a "King of the Hill" episode where the kid got gout by eating too much liver spread and other deli meats, so you should probably watch out for those too.

    I doubt the Congolese can afford spare parts for old Russian tanks. That one there is probably a T-62 which is much older than I am.

    Cow Beano is a genius idea. Better go patent that.

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    1. I'm thinking the Beano folks have already thought of that. I wonder if there is such a thing and I just don't know of it?

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  3. Gave up on "cola" a long time ago. Might have a glass once in a very long while, and I didn't even give it up from any health concerns. I just began to realise that, it just ain't good fer ya.
    (all spelling and grammar mistakes are intentional)
    I wouldn't even go with the "diet" variety. Stick with water, you'll feel better for it.
    Good luck.

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    1. I'm going to cut back to one a day max for now, then see what else might satisfy me and then cut out that last cola, too.

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  4. Sorry you have a bout of gout.
    But you found what it's about without a doubt.
    Fizzy sodas should be cut out,
    (Is this a recognized rhyme scheme?)
    Thanks. Stay healthy.

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  5. I've had gout and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Years ago I had my uric acid checked and it was too high. I control it with Allopurinol and I haven't had an attack in ten years. Is this the medication your doctor gave you?

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    1. No Steve, he said that mine wasn't frequent enough to make it an ongoing maintenance thing. I'm taking Prednesone and something else short term, both anti-inflammatories.

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    2. Be careful with Prednesone and follow doctors orders. It works wonders and with a COX2 drug is amazing. Just do not use more than 5 days in a row. I would suspect you got orders for Prednisone 5Mg take 2 by mouth twice daily for 5 days and then 1 tab once daily to taper off the hormone. I know my body and that drug and took one tab twice daily for five days and quit with no withdrawal. The COX2 I was given was Indomethacin 25Mg 1 cap twice a day. The two work together to ease the pain and swelling. I could have has Celexia as my COX2, they work about the same. For the quickest recovery: Colchicine 0.6Mg or the newer Colcrys 0.6Mg once a day.

      A Doc that says it is not frequent enough to do something about, does not understand / know Gout. Schedule an appointment with a specialist, this will not go away and all those internet home cures are BS. They can only change a tiny 3% of the problem. Really you do need to get help and never have problems again. The crystals will turn into a crippling arthritis in later age, have you seen people with twisted toes or hands that can't open jars. That will be your future, if you do not get real professional help.

      Clueless Know It All. Have Been There and Done That

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  7. And Now For The Rest of The Story

    I was started on Uloric 40Mg a day and one Colcrys 0.6Mg a day for 8 months. Now that all the Gout Attacks are gone and have not come back, I still take Uloric 40 Mg which keeps my Uric Acid levels down. No other drugs are taken. I still keep the Colcrys handy, just in case. Nothing stops a gout attack faster. I chose not to take the other older cheaper drug, as I personally knew people who had Liver Failure and the Doc knew many more. Uloric is relativity new and slows the production of Uric Acid as opposed to Allopurinol which forces the Liver to get rid of more. The A drug has side effects also and Uloric has none, it is like taking an Advil. ( Long tern use may discover something bad about it also ).

    Yes I have had Gout for about 20 years and now live a normal life. I drink regular Coke like a fish, but have made Shrimp a once a year special meal. I allow 4 Beef Filets to be consumed each year, medium rare with blood running out, with mashed garlic potatoes and steamed Zucchini....Oh so Yummy!
    I do not drink Beer, only because I never acquired a taste for it. Wine and Whiskey do not spike Uric Acid levels. ( I have had 9 blood tests which I despise, so I tried drinking before one, just to see and it made no difference.) Get ready to have a lot of blood tests done to test for Uric Acid and Liver / Kidney function.

    Good luck and make sure to use a Doc who specializes in Gout.

    Been There and Done That

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    1. Good stuff here Tom. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

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  8. Mike gets the occasional bout of gout (he traced his problem to ham - alcohol apparently does NOT bother him). He takes dark cherry juice concentrate for a couple of weeks & it settles back down again...

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  9. Wow...Tom seems to know his stuff about gout! But I had to laugh about his "drink regular Coke like a fish..." Do fish drink Coke?

    Give it up - that stuff is evil. It leaches calcium from your body...just wait and see; another 20 years or so and the nursing homes will be filled with hip fractures from the Pepsi Generation.

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  10. Yep, you may have a real point there. I started like many, drinking soda as a 3rd grader and now at almost 54, still have 3 or 4 each day, with useless calories and excess sugars and other who knows whats. It is amazing I test neg for type 2 diabetes.
    I do like hot green tea and have a love for MSG. I never liked water, coffee or beer, although I drink water when thirsty.
    I had no plans for life after 50. Now I am in uncharted territory.

    Clueless Know it All

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  11. There are some sodas made with real honest to god sugar but you have to read the ingredients lists...

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