Only 16 on the time, one other participant stepped on his foot, and whereas it was painful at that second, Matt continued to expertise ache for "weeks and weeks".

"Getting an actual diagnosis for my pain was quite a long process," stated Matt.

"Some of the doctors thought it was a blood clot, while others thought it might be tendonitis."

Two years later, nevertheless, Matt realized he had kidney illness and the medical doctors knowledgeable him that he additionally had gout.

"This was the stage of my life where I was finishing school and heading into university," Matt recalled.

"I didn’t know what would happen with my future," Matt shared. "At the time I was very sporty and I worried I wouldn’t be able to continue my football."

Gout, Matt stated, is an "invisible" incapacity, which means many individuals will not know that he has gout – a type of arthritis.

"For me, my arthritis is available in highly effective, acute flare-ups with little or no ache in between," stated Matt.

"I wish more people understood that at any moment, for any reason, a flare-up could begin and last between two and 10 weeks.

"When it occurs, it’s all-consuming. I’ve by no means skilled ache prefer it.

"It feels like someone’s tying a tight string around my ankle and pulling really tightly."

Matt stated when his gout flares up, he "can't do anything" because it "takes over" his life.

"Because of my kidney disease, I’m strictly only allowed specific kinds of medication, like paracetamol," Matt revealed.

"[This] means my ways of managing the pain during a flare-up are quite limited."

Yet, Matt – now in his 30s – has realized methods to handle his situation through weight-reduction plan and exercise.

Matt reduce out high-purine meals, resembling pink meat and fish and workouts often.

"I now haven’t had a flare-up for seven to eight years," Matt beamed.