Gout brother with Jared Leto

Well, I have new respect for Jared Leto.

Why? I am sympatico. I hear for his latest film he had to gain 65 pounds to play Mark David Chapman, the killer of John Lennon. Then, he took the weight off. And developed gout.

As someone who has confronted this crippling pain since I started losing weight, I understand what he is going through. Usually it strikes the big toe. For me, it hits the second and third toes of my left foot, feeling like a sharp piece of glass is being driven through them with every step or flex of the toes. A doctor told me I had three options: Put the weight back on (screw that), live with the pain or go on a prescription medicine that, I am told, once you start you are on for life.

I'll deal with the pain. If you see me limping, don't feel too sorry for me. It's just pain. I have pushed through pain before. Poets are supposed to live with pain, it is ennobling.

So, Jared, hang in there.

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