i feel like bitchin'

i mean ... whoah! how come no one warned me about arthritis in the feet?

in my thirties i started to get arthritis in my hands, red swollen joints, painful as hell. did i complain - no sir - runs in my family, can't argue with your genetic inheritance. you learn to deal with it and one day it stops hurting and one is left with crooked, knobbly fingers. no big deal really, after all, i don't walk on my hands.

but the feet? ouch! about four years ago, in the summer, my feet became really painful, walking was a chore. so off to the nhs for relief. hah bloody hah! very nice doctor has me take off my shoes and socks and examines my feet.
"hmmm probably arthritis, no sign of damage as yet., i'll give you a scrip for ibuprofen, that should help."

okaaaay ...
how come nobody remembers that my gut really does not care for ibuprofen, in fact my body in general does not really care for ibuprofen. but, if that's all they have for me ...
 the pain wore off, i forgot about my sore feet and went cheerfully about my life. my feet skipped the next summer, no problems. year three and it is back, bearable though.

year four, this year - ouch. the pain is constant, the more i walk, the worse it becomes - oy! and i'm walking a lot. as we all know only too well, my car has given up the ghost. once more i take myself down to visit my gp. he looks at my feet, doesn't touch them, guess that might be asking a bit much!
"well, it's arthritis, see how your foot is twisting?"
i look down at my feet, nope, not actually, looks super duper fine to me. it just hurts like hell.
"anything you can do doc?" ...
after all, hips, knees and who the hell knows what else, are all replaceable.
the doc frowns, i can smell the anaesthetic already, i see the get well soon bouquets, my children gathered around my hospital bed. how do they manage to look at me both with concern and admiration?
the doc unpurses his lips, shakes his head ...
"no, nothing can be done, i'll   write you a scrip for ibuprofen."
no really! that is what he said.

so i feel like bitchin' !