[Erin524]

Something weird has been happening the past few days since I had dental work last week. (removed and replaced some amalgam fillings with composite fillings)

I feel better!

It's a really weird feeling. I didnt think feeling better would feel strange to me, but it does.

I'm not sure how long it's been since I felt good...maybe 3 or 4 years?

I feel better, but I still have weird numb places on my feet. (side of my right foot near the heel is kind of numb, and the bottom of my heel on the left foot feels a little numb too.)

Gosh, I hope this lasts for a few or maybe five decades.

I think I know what was causing some of my MS symptoms, and why I feel better. I think it's the dental work that I've been having done that's making me feel better.

That doesnt mean that I think my problems were being caused by the mercury in the amalgam fillings. I think it was the INFECTIONS that my dentist has found in every tooth she's put a new filling in.

She told me last thursday that she thought it was possible that the infections in my teeth could have been having an influence on the MS symptoms. Told my neuro what she said when I saw him yesterday. He said that it was possible, and that it makes a really good argument for keeping your teeth healthy and happy.

I'm guessing that a lot of the people with MS who have had their amalgam fillings removed and felt better, might have been feeling better because of possible infections that were taken care of when the fillings were replaced. Still, there could be some merit to the theory that mercury in the amalgam causes some of the problems, but maybe infection under the fillings could play a large part in some MSer's exacerbations too.

I feel so much better than I did, but I still dont feel 100% better. I still have 6 teeth (3 on each side of the lower jaw) that need to be fixed up. 5 of the teeth have amalgams, and one has a composite filling that's at least from my mid-teens.

I actually am kind of excited about having that root canal on one of those teeth...(terrified, but still excited) hopefully once I recover from the trauma of that future root canal, I'll feel even better than I do now. I'm going to ask the dentist if she'll do that root canal next, because I want it to be done before november. (hoping to feel good for Christmas) I'm going to make sure I do it before my next neuro appointment, so that if something does go neurologically haywire, I'll already have an appointment to be seen by the neuro.

Here's to hoping that my insomnia will start to get better now. (please?! I want to sleep normally again!) I'm actually about to attempt to get to sleep before 4am...just have to shovel all the crochet and knitting stuff I've been working on tonight off my bed, so I can sleep without getting strangled by runaway balls of yarn.

[Twinkletoes]

That's really great news, Erin!

So happy you are feeling better.

But whoever thought you could get excited about a root canal?

Keep smiling!

[Erin524]

I'm just hoping that I'll start to feel good enough, so that I can start back to school and not worry so much about a flare or exacerbation screwing that up.

I'm hoping that once my teeth are healthier, maybe I wont have as many exacerbations as I've been getting. Infections are bad juju, and if I can get rid of any nasty goo that's brewing inside my teeth maybe that will help my immune system get stronger and keep me from being so susceptible to every germ that wanders by.

I've felt like I was dragging a 100 pound weight chained to my body for the past couple of years...it kind of feels like I'm dragging a little less weight now...like someone took a couple of the weights off the chain. You know, the little ones that go on the outside of the big weights that body builders use...the little 5 and 10 pound ones.

I should mention, I've had the best improvement in the vision in my right eye just in the past week. I still have Uhthoff's (worsening of symptoms from heat) in it, since my vision got fuzzy again when I was outside today in the 94 degree heat...but I can actually read my computer screen without my glasses on with that eye now. I couldnt do that a month ago.

[jprinz99]

So happy to hear you are feeling better Erin! Crossing my fingers that it continues.


*I also never thought I would hear someone say they are looking forward to a root canal

[sugarboo]

Glad to hear things are turning better for you Erin!!!

[Kitty]

Don't question it........just enjoy it!!

[starfish]

I am glad you are feeling better with your new dental work. You bring up an interesting idea about infections and dental work.

How can a dentist tell if you have an infection in your old fillings? Is it determined by x-rays? Did your teeth hurt?

[Erin524]

well, yeah, my teeth hurt. I think when they do X-rays, they can tell from how the tooth root looks sometimes that there's infection. I think.

But, I guess the big kicker that shows there's infection in a tooth is when they drill inside a tooth and find the black goo. She took a picture of my tooth before she cleaned out the goo and showed it to me. (I have a copy actually)

Last week, I didnt know till after she was done that those 3 teeth had infection in them. I wasnt surprised to find out tho. She said the infection wasnt as bad as the first group of teeth she did a few months back.

Back in March, when she did the first 3 teeth, I could tell as soon as she got the old filling out that there was infection in there. The smell after she broke thru the tooth gagged me. (yes, I know..too much information. gross!) I had an exacerbation after having that dental work. (some of the infection in the teeth got into my system before she could clean out the teeth. Upper teeth, gravity kind of helped some of the infection get out...yuck!)


I can feel my toes a little better this morning. My heels are still numb tho. I hope the numbness and tinglies go away soon. If I'm feeling better, I'd really like to not be numb in places so I can enjoy feeling better more.

I'd also really like it if the Charlie Horses from Hell would stop waking me up too. Got woken up at 630 this morning because my left leg decided to try to kick me in the butt with the back of my foot. I hate how much it hurts when the muscles get all tight like that.

At least my brain feels clearer and I feel like I have more energy and am not so groggy the past few mornings. Usually that groggy feeling doesnt go away until I've been up a few hours.

I usually sleep till almost 1pm, but this morning I got up at 1130, and while I'm still being a lazy butt and havent bothered to show my face upstairs so my mom will know I'm still alive, I havent been awake this early in the day for several weeks.

I think I'll go get my air conditioning and brakes fixed in my car. (I need the a/c more than the brakes! I really dont like it when I have warm air coming from the a/c)