Those of you who've read Three Men in a Boat will know just what I mean. As he said to his medical man:
"I will not take up your time, dear boy, with telling you what is the matter with me. Life is brief, and you might pass away before I had finished. But I will tell you what is not the matter with me. I have not got housemaid's knee. Why I have not got housemaid's knee, I cannot tell you; butthe fact remains that I have not got it. Everything else, however, I have got.

Well, that's me now, too. The major difference between J.K. Jerome's illnesses and mine is that I tend to blame everything on PD, and failing that, on PD meds side effects.

Now I've had bleeding gums for the last year or so. I have never neglected my oral hygiene and yet, here it is, gum disease. I would love to blame Stalevo, since it alters the taste of food and dies my saliva brown, but I can't find any proof or studies to that effect.

Have any of you experienced gum disease in the last few years and if so, do you know why?

Periodontal disease is primarily an inflammatory response to the bacterial invasion. PD is also an inflammatory response in large part. Connection? Don't know/ Need more coffee

Dear Teresa, I asked myself why I no longer have bleeding gums, I used to have bright pink foam in sink and on toothbrush morning and night - extra dark pink when I'd eaten sweets and sugary things. And I am absolutely sure that it is taking vitamin C that has done the trick. Even the little start of 'pockets' I had by two molars have healed.
Not only do I take Vitamin C, but for the past five, six years I have absolutely craved oranges and orange juice - can't get enough of orange juice.
Lucky you who live in 'orange land' where Seville oranges grow.
In my mother's book from the 1920s, on nutritious cooking, is a sweet poem about the effects of the different vitamins, and it is spot on.
Lars and little Ping are visiting, so I will wait with the poem. I just wanted to hurry and say that I think I know why I don't have bleeding gums any longer.
About housemaid's knee, I'm not going to go to the library, like Jerome K. J. to look up why I don't have it.
Vitamin C is anti inflammatory, isn't it?

Skaal to you, in orange juice,

birte

Hey Birte - maybe I have scurvy like the old sailors and pirates!
Naw, seriously, you could very well be right about a vitamin C deficiency here. I used to drink orange juice by the gallon, because I'm too lazy to peel oranges, but then I startet getting canker sores in my mouth and a friend of mine who's a pediatrician ( !!) said it could be the excessive acidity of the juice. So I quit altogether, but never bothered to replace that loss of daily vitamin C. I'm definitely going back to oranges and I'll get vitamin C tablets from the pharmacy tomorrow.
If your mother's poem is not too long and difficult to translate, I would sure love to read it.

Hugs
Teresa

Here is the 'poem', Teresa, from the yellow brown pages of my mother's Rational economy cooking, protective diet, winter section
By Johanne Christiansen M.D. 1940.

A little impish child said ’Ugh’ to milk and cod liver oil
So his eyes got spots, and his sight grew weak
for lack of vitamin A.

Do your legs feel sore, is your tummy slow,
do skin and heart hurt? You don’t eat enough of the whole grain bread,
You’re in need of vitamin B.

Tell me, do your teeth bleed? Do your joints tend to swell,
Blue bruises on your skin? You’re in need of vitamin C.

A stomach so fat, a back so bent, and bowlegs as well.
Alas, this child’s mother did not know that sunshine and fish oil
Supply us with vitamin D.

Without A B C and D there is sickness and pain,
But no bride will there be, and the family dies out
If there’s also no vitamin E.

So read this book if you wish to be wise
If you eat the right foods you’ll be healthy and happy
And life will be easy as play.

Quite a promise!!!!!

Hugs and good mending,

birte

P.S. Peanuts and Cashew nuts give me ulcers in the mouth and on the lips. Orange and Grapefruit juice have not. But allergies can start and stop without any discoverable or rational reason.

I used to have bleeding gums, but flossing makes a big difference. A dental specialist years ago told me to floss with baby yarn in the gaps that are wide enough. My teeth have never been anywhere near perfect and I give them less attention now than I would like. But for some reason they are holding up well. Just another of those things that doesn't make any sense in our lives. My best friend is a dental hygienist and she gave me one of those super deluxe rechargeable toothbrushes and it cleans my teeth really well. I also get canker sores from too much orange juice. Try a supplement of ester C. I take 3000 mg daily. (spread out through the day). No cankers. Also calcium and magnesium for the underlying bone structure, and there is a herb called Goldenseal that destroys the bacteria that causes peiodontal disease.... Carry on and let us know if any of this free advice helps.

There is much wisdom here. Birte thank you so much for reminding us of what we all SHOULD know but tend to forget.
You can get a "double whammy" by taking Calcium ascorbate (an even better product would have a small amount of Potassium ascorbate in it) because the product is neutral, low on sodium and containing instead calcium and/or potassium; not ascorbate acid (vitamin C), which is acidic and may cause the mouth/ stomach sores.
It is as easy as "don't forget to take your vitamins" but we knowledgeable adults often forget to get a balanced diet which creates deficiencies in our RDA of vitamins and co-factors. IF you don't follow these simple intakes, then in one way or another, you are going to suffer from it.
By the way those little "floss picks" which contain a small piece of floss in a plastic "cradle, I find are a lot better to get the job of flossing done for us PWP (so much easier to manipulate).
And Birte, I got myself a red cane, but it doesn't "speak" to anybody. Maybe it needs some sort of red spikes projecting out of it to really "Say something" . And don't forget the flax seed oil, it's done my bowels a world of good. Thank you Birte! cs

You have got yourself a red cane, cs!
Yippee hoodah and hurrah, that is absolutely splendid news to me - makes me VERY happy. When the other millions of PD'ers decide to do the same, the red canes will speak, they will shout loud and clear, "This is why PD research needs your support, and yours, and yours!" We will be all over the place, spreading knowledge and creating acceptance.
And I'm so glad that flax also helps you as it does me. Without it I think five years of Requip would have burnt great gaping holes in my insides.
Thank you for such a nice thanks.
All the very best,

birte

By Jove, Birte, you were so right! I've been drinking orange juice and eating oranges all through the weekend and yesterday I got me a bottle of multivitamins at the pharmacy and - voilà - my gums are much better already and I haven't bled since yesterday!
Your grandmother's basic wisdom is incredibly useful. Just a few rules, but absolutely fundamental to good health. Thanks for the poem, I'm going to print it out.

Rosebud, I'll try that baby floss, too and I sure will look for Goldenseal when I find out what it is in Spanish (not sure we have it here). Here they say that chewing licorice root is great for gums. It used to be available at all fruit stands and farmer's markets, but now with the industrialization of the food sector it's almost impossible to find. I loved that delicious licorice taste that filled your mouth when you chewed that woody little stick.

CS, thanks for the "double whammy" tip, I'll do that too.
Ain't this forum great, though? Here we are passing on everything from little tricks and to serious advice that so often make a big difference in someone else's life.
You guys can't even imagine how grateful I am for all this pool of wisdom that you all represent!

And now to the red cane...I don't need one yet, but should I ever need one, it will be RED! Hey CS, the version with spikes is something only you could come up with!

Hugs to all
Teresa
And

I heard somewhere ,I cannot remember where, but it was a reliable source that Q10 was good protection for gums.Seeing that it is supposed to be good for the heart and is undergoing research regarding P.D it seems a good idea to take it.Only drawback is that is so expensive