Do you find you have any problems with footwear, because obviously at the moment round the house you can wear?

Yeah wearing flip flops, yeah.

Flip flops, but when you go to work

Yeah because we are using the safety shoes, protective shoes, quite because if I have an attack it’s really – the thing is I think if you’re only going to touch the part that – the part that affected it’s really worse, it’s really painful. So but the thing is I really have to force myself to – to put it on because you cannot go to work without those things, soit’s just a matter of sacrificing yourself to do that. Yeah.

So that’s very painful?

Yeah it is really, yeah. It was really painful, very, very painful. I don’t – I don’t even bother to – because sometimes they’re telling me, Why are you limping? I just only, you know, sometimes I’m telling them not really the reason why because sometimes if you really tell them they’re – that I have an – I have gout they will think that, you knowespecially with your boss, you know, they might you knowthey might think that you cannot do your job properly. But the thing is I still handle to reach what they required of me, so I really work hard. Yeah.

I find a lot of support with my rheumatologist but sometimes, you know, I cannot – I cannot take away from me that sometimes if I had an attack and go to the GP and ask for an off sick note, sometimes – which is I really don’t want because I really treasure my job as well – sometimes you’re a bit worried that they’re just thinking that you’re not really in pain, you know. Because theres people, I know that they know, but the thing is I’m not – I’m notit’s just like I’m quite worried as well that getting some, those kind of things that they consider me not fit to work, I really have to explain it to them always, every time I go to them, every time I went to them, I really need to explain them that, I can’t really handle to go to work so I need an off. I don’t know what they will think of me but the thing is, it’s the real thing, yeah, because I’m not only working – I’m not working at a table, in a – in a job that involves you only going to sit, but I need to work which I really have to do physical things inside a warehouse, soit’s quite – affecting me as well. Yeah.

So you worry that your GP doesn’t

Won’t believe me.

doesn’t believe you?

Yeah, yeah. I always think of that, that my GP won’t believe me, that I was really in pain, that I was only making an alibi or something like that.

First when I experienced this kind of illness I thought it was just a simple you know, muscle pain or joint pain, with my foot. That was a long time ago as well because I – I experienced this when I was single, I wasn’t married yet at the time. By the time that I felt this kind of pain that I suffered was really worse, but the thing is not really stay quite a long time and then there were – there were several attacks that happened to me as well, which I consider it’s really worse because l couldn’t even walk, I couldn’t even go to the toilet, I couldn’t even do anything that I usually do, then. But the thing is, I just only taking those kind of pain relievers because in our place – because back home (Philippines) we don’t really go to the specialist right away, I just only found out that this kind of illness is considered as gout when I was here (UK), since I – since I went to my GP and then the GP told me that that it was suspected that I have gout, so they told me to – give my – to have a blood test and then at the time they found out that my uric acid was really high.

I probably was a bit worried at the time because you know for loads of medicines that I was taking, I was thinking that there would be an effect on my body as well, so I asked them really that, For all these kind of medicines that I am taking is it still safe? then they told me that, Yeah, it’s still safe because we are giving you very safe medicines for your illness. And that’s why they just – every time that I went to – every time I go to them, they always check my – check my – my liver functions, my kidney functions, so that they will make sure that – because even the rheumatologist gave me a joke that, at the moment you’re still doing okay [laughs].

It really affects my life, not only my job but inside the house as well with my family, with my kids and with my wife. I can’t really perform the duties of a father and a husband, because I only lie down in the bed, I can’t even go to the toilet, I really have to ask my wife to assist me, and just a little bit things like – I’m quite irritable, or just like I – because of the pain that I can’t handle really.

I can’t do the usual way that I was doing it with my kids, I can’t – I can’t play with them, I can’t teach them, with their studies, you know. And with my wife I cannot do the usual husband what they are doing, you know what I’m saying, then you see you can really just only a useless person inside of the house, yeah. That’s what I can say if I have an attack. Yeah.

You feel like a useless person?

Yeah, yeah. A useless person really because you can’t do anything. Yeah. And you know all the people inside the house are really affected as well because they can’t – they can’t – what I mean they can’t do anything in their usual ways as well because they have a sick person inside the house. Yeah. Because the pain that you’re experiencing during the attack of gout is really, really worst