OK this thread is soooo close to home that I am going to share what I am going through right now. I've lived with my daughter and grandson for the last four years and it was time for her to face some of the world's greatness???harsh reality??

So i got in the car and drove to pittsburgh, where i grew up. it took me three days and I didn't even check the air in the tires until i got to PA from FL. Then, of course I thought wow - you actually did that. But of course, the reasons are slowly being revealed, and one of them is that my father, 84, fell and broke his hip since I got here, a few days ago. And i finally had to take care of an infection that i've had in my gums probably for years as i keep losing teeth. This last one was supposed to be pulled with a few others a year ago, but the dental surgeon didn't think so. That tooth has been going bad ever since.

its spring in PA and the first thing i got was a sinus infection. i went to the doctor's when over the counter didn't help and by then also had an abscess on my gums. he gave me antibiotics. THese didn't help the abscess tho. so i went to a dentist and he said - you have to have two teeth pulled today. i had to drive to the dental surgeon close to Pittsburgh with a very sore mouth. First he had to stick needles all around the abscess to numb it. Then he drained it - which can be exceeded in pain level only by childbirth. Then more needles and cutting out the teeth. We finished with stitches.

The right side of my head and face were screaming in pain, and i had to drive home, after a stop at the pharmacy for the pain medication. Entered the house with zero tolerance and wished for death.

They kept saying, there is so much infection. it was massive.

I have been feeling poorly for a very long time and mentioned dentures on this forum a while back. Lately, I have truly felt like i was dying - i had no energy at all. i was taking a sinemet an hour and going nuts.

For the first time, I feel better. I don't know how much I am going to gain back, but i realize now how much trouble my teeth and gums were causing, including pain. I believed I was approaching the end, seriously.

Don't ignore your teeth and gums. i have lost so much weight. So if I hadn't come up here, I wouldn't have gotten the sinus infection, that either started with or led to the abscess, which led to my feeling better and - best of all - i didn't need as much sinemet today.

i'm a happy and sad camper at the same time. extremely stressful with episodes of revelation.

perfect article Olsen....i guess you are part of my journey. My body has been in serious sickness behaviors for quite some time.

Also thankful for Ron's post about his teeth and Rick's about the dangers. Some things happen in mysterious ways.

paula