Frank, you probably know that an excess of uric acid in the bloodstream causes gout; a very memorable and PAINFUL experience. You will absolutely know if you have gout in your foot; it will be red, swollen, and extremely tender... and feel "feverish" around the affected joint. The pain is the type that is relentless; no way to position the foot that will give any relief. I have had two gout attacks in the last 9 years and that is not something I'd wish on my worst enemy. When I say I could have sawed my foot off with a dull hacksaw at the ankle, I'm not kidding. It is a horrible pain. Gout is actually just another of the wonderful types of arthritis. It is a particularly nasty one, though. I keep a bottle of Naproxin and a steroid dose pack in my bathroom cabinet. When I feel a twinge in the big toe joint on that foot, I take a Naproxin, drink gallons of water, and it usually calms down. Thankfully, that does not happen often. The steroid dose pack is an absolute miracle when in a full-blown gout attack; it relieves the symptoms within a day, at least for me.
Isn't that the truth? And did you have the extreme sensitivity to warm water? I remember getting into bath water and my foot felt like it had been severely burned, though the water was tepid. Very weird how those nerves were affected.