I believe it’s more physiological than psychological.
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I think your capillaries dilate, lowering your blood pressure. That’s the physiological effect. But I’m not that type of doctor either!
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Woke up in the middle of the night around a week ago to excruciating pain in my large toe joint. After several consultations it appears to be…gout. James Gillray is spot on with his illustration (you can see it at the Met in NYC)–that’s pretty much how it feels.
It has all sorts of connotations with royalty, rich diets, etc but according to the latest research it’s primarily genetic–you’re dealt a bad hand in how your body handles uric acid. As someone who exercises pretty seriously 6-7 days a week, abstains from processed foods and sweets, but does enjoy the full spectrum of food and drink, it’s upsetting.
There are foods that are high in purines (which your body converts to uric acid)–red meat (particularly offal), seafood, beer–which are said to be triggering. Even my favourite vegetables like asparagus are high in these substances.
I won’t be giving up clams and the odd steak anytime soon, so upping my hydration regimen and getting on meds, stat. Cheers to any other TP folk who have to deal with this… 
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gout does not look like fun.
a (persian) guy i used to work for had it, and blamed it on persian food, but the genetic element sounds more realistic. i remember being worried he was going to stop his mom from cooking for us - those were some of the most delicious meals i’ve ever had.
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Cherry juice is extremely good at nullifying uric acid mate.
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I have it. Get your GP to prescribe Allopurinol (daily tablet) and you should never have to suffer or think about it again. Zero side-effects for me and most people. Only had one flare-up since taking it 4-5 years ago and that was from a ridiculous okra binge 
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Said nobody ever! 
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Same! Watching your diet, exercise and allopurinol is the way to go.
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oh come on, southern fried okra is delightful.
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I’ll take your word for it! 
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it’s delicious but not healthy and apparently can trigger episodes of gout, so we can certainly agree that it violates the spirit of this thread.
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Yeah my old man’s on this. I don’t think he particularly watches his diet or exercises (unless you count golf, I certainly don’t) and hasn’t had any bouts or other issues.
In two weeks time I’ll be back on the start line of the Brighton marathon, I’ll be raising funds for Breast Cancer Now as usual. I’m sharing this as a hopefully reassuring message that even as an older bloke I’ve been lucky enough to be able to maintain an active lifestyle for the last 12 months, with an unbroken streak of 50 weeks training including 250+ runs, bike rides, rowing and gym sessions. It’s been a great process and I’m looking forward to sharing the streets of Brighton with all the other runners. Good luck in all your health and fitness challenges. If you’re able to share or support the fund raising many thanks 
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Good luck Matt!
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In a couple of weeks I’ll be walking up Ben Lomond for charity (Munros for Menopause). Apparently it’s still covered in snow, so should be an adventure. There’s about 50 of us doing it.
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I’m back trying to wear my NHS Phonak hearing aids for bastard Tinnitus again. Had them since 2019. I never wear them but my T has spiked quite a bit in the past few months.
Recently had a hearing test at Boots (one year waiting list for NHS) and they tried the hard sell on me but she did let me try a pair of Phonak Audeo Infinio Sphere i90, and they seemed really good. Much more advanced tech than my NHS ones, it was really like I didn’t have them in, wheras the ones I have really make everything sound so tinny.
Boots charge just shy of £4K for those. £2350 online 
My T is keeping me awake most of the night, when I do sleep I don’t feel it’s very deep. I’m listening to audio books or YouTube all night. Insomnia caused by chronic tinnitus, and subsequent anxiety. Fuck this absolute bullshit. I’m wondering about medication for sleeping but haven’t a clue what they could prescribe and worry about long term effects anyway…
I could probably get medical Cannabis for it in all honesty, although that actually makes it louder. Although I care less 
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How do the aids help with the tinnitus? Mine isn’t that bad but it comes and goes and some days is worse than others.
I gave up on the NHS as the consultant I saw didn’t really care and to be honest they have bigger things to deal with than my level of tinnitus.
Often wondered about paying for a private session but never got round to it.
In self diagnosis mode I wonder if mine is linked to poor sleeping posture as it’s often worse first thing in the morning with associated tension across the base of my neck. Wondering if a good shoulder massage/osteopath may sort that
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i would suggest looking into gabapentin as a sleep aid. Gabapentin - Wikipedia
it was prescribed to me a while back, is non-habit forming, has no oddball side effects (for me anyway). i find it’s most effective at helping me remain asleep - i’m one of those “high alert” sleepers, any perceived noise or disruption would wake me up and i couldn’t get back in to the deep sleep.
anyway, it’s probably easy to get prescribed, once i was on it and talking about it, it seemed like everyone i knew also had a bottle as well.
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I do have slight hearing loss in my left ear, the aids are supposed to help the brain try and fill in the frequency of your Tinnitus. Can’t really say that it does that, but I do struggle in crowded spaces like bars and restaurants hearing the person right next to me 
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I’ve seen someone on the Tinnitus sub-Reddit mention Gabapentin. Very interesting!