Dear Dr. Gott: I am a 73-year-old female on no regular medications. I recently noticed a burning sensation on my face near my right eye. Within a day or so, my eyelid started swelling and became red and painful. I immediately called my physician and was seen that same day. I was diagnosed with shingles of the eye. The doctor gave me eye drops and pills to take every day. She said because I had come in before the infection had taken a real hold, I should expect to get better within a few weeks. Thankfully, I did, but it was painful.

Dear Abby: I’m 32 and a “large girl.” I am also intelligent, witty and fun to be around. I make friends wherever I go.

Dear Dr. Gott: Will you please describe what happens to a person when he or she suffers from hypothermia? Then describe what happens to people when they eat hot peppers. I wonder why they don’t use hot peppers to rewarm a hypothermic person quickly.

Dear Abby: Is there anything wrong with having a lover solely for the purpose of sex? He is grieving for his late wife (my best friend), and I am separated from my husband. We’re both lonely and have supported each other through our pain.

Dear Dr. Gott: What do you know about carnitine deficiency? I have lived with he diagnosis of cerebral palsy all my life and now am told my symptoms were likely misdiagnosed. Instead, I have GA-1 subtype of carnitine deficiency. Now, my doctor wants me to take two levocarnitine pills, 330 milligram, a day for the rest of my life.

Dear Abby: When my husband and I married two years ago, we both wanted children. I am having second thoughts now. We recently discovered that there’s a genetic disorder on one side of the family, and it scares me to think we may not have a healthy child.

Dear Abby: In your response to the letter from “ ‘Cougar’ in New York” (Sept. 3), you invited your male readers to share their thoughts. Abby, cougars are nothing new. They’re simply out of the closet.

Dear Dr. Gott: I read your column about the 72-year-old man with ALS. My husband, also 72, was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The physicians were not positive but indicated he had the earmarks for it. His death certificate lists CJD as the cause. The family anticipated an autopsy after his death, but it was not allowed because the coroners refused to do it due to the seriousness of CJD. Without the autopsy we are not sure of the actual cause of death. The disease progressed rapidly, leaving no time to arrange things. He was not allowed to die with any degree of dignity. After his death it was even worse due to the seriousness of CJD.

Politics. Religion. Baby names.

Dear Abby: My wife of 25 years, in an effort to get me to stop smoking, refuses to have sex until I quit. It’s been more than a year since we made love.

Dear Dr. Gott: I have been diagnosed with a high potassium level. I was told to add salt to more foods. I was also given a list of foods not to eat, including dried figs, molasses, seaweed, dates, prunes, nuts, avocados, lima beans, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, winter squash, beets, carrots, cauliflower, potatoes, bananas, cantaloupe, kiwis, oranges, mangoes, beef, pork, veal, lamb, bran cereals, wheat germ and much, much more. Can you tell me what I can eat?

Dear Abby: On a Sunday afternoon in late September, I got hopelessly lost trying to find O’Hare Airport in Chicago. I pulled off the interstate at a neighborhood exit and asked a man parked at the curb for directions. He was Hispanic, and there was a bit of a language barrier, but he and his sister offered to lead me there.

Dear Dr. Gott: Will you write about bipolar? What is it, and why do some people get it? Is there medication that helps?

A tree’s trunk is one of the key areas involved in assessing tree health.

When they’re younger, the milestones are more obvious.

Dear Abby: I’m a 14-year-old boy. I went to a party last weekend and some people pressured me to do some uncomfortable stuff. Can you advise me – and other teens – how to handle peer pressure? – Ashamed in Illinois

Dear Dr. Gott: Could you please address the causes and cures for Morton’s neuroma of the foot? Is surgery the ultimate answer? If so, how effective and safe is it?

Dear Dr. Gott: I am an 87-year-old male in good health for my age. My main problem is sleep, or rather, a lack of it. I get the most sleep in a La-Z-Boy chair because when I get into bed, I can’t stay more than a few minutes most times. I get up to go to my chair, get two or three hours sleep, wake up, go to bed, and ultimately get a couple of hours sleep. My doctor can’t say what is wrong.

Dear Abby: I am a 79-year-old recent widow. Shortly after I was married I had a brief, intense affair with a man at work. I’ll call him “Earl.”

Dear Dr. Gott: My 72-year-old husband has been seeing his urologist for several years for an enlarged prostate. He had burning during elimination, ran slight temperatures due to infections, and problems urinating due to the swelling.

Dear Abby: May I respond to your column regarding excessive waits in doctors’ offices (Sept. 1)?

Dear Dr. Gott: My 57-year-old husband was assaulted in May and suffered a concussion. The back of his head hit the pavement hard, and he was punched a number of times in the forehead. He is still experiencing dizziness (like the room is spinning) and blurry vision. The doctor told him that he has post-concussion syndrome and says it may go away in a few months or it make take a year or more. He said there is a small chance that it will never go away.

Dear Abby: I am a 38-year-old business woman. I was single for many years until I met and fell in love with “Rory,” who had been a long-time client. We were married a year ago.

Dear Dr. Gott: The recent article on the difficulty in treating fibromyalgia (FM) reinforces the urgency in making available sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate (Meridia) to FM sufferers. Some doctors have found it to be successful in treating this widespread disorder. An 83 percent success rate was noted in an article in the September 2002 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism journal. The article concluded that “controlled, prospective, long-term studies are needed to further evaluate the clinical utility of sibutramine in the treatment of fibromyalgia.” FM sufferers who read your column may want to consult their doctors about this medication.

Someone was telling me that before he broke into journalism, he was a Professional Petroleum Transferal Technician. Huh?

Dear Abby: My wife, “Paula,” and I have a friend I’ll call “Mark.” I recently learned that before our wedding, Mark made a pass at Paula. (He was separated from his wife at the time.) Paula told him she wasn’t interested.

Dear Dr. Gott: I am a 74-year-old male. While in Fresno, Calif., I came across one of your columns about the prostate.

Dear Abby: I need an unbiased opinion. I am the father of a 12-year-old daughter, “Lia.” She catches an early morning bus for school, and I leave for work at the same time her bus picks her up, so I’m in charge of getting her ready in the morning.

Dear Abby: Several years ago, I realized that my mother’s eyesight and reflexes weren’t what they once were, but she insisted on remaining behind the wheel. She was afraid of losing her independence if she gave up driving. Then she had a traffic accident that shook her enough to make her finally relinquish her keys – but she wasn’t happy about it.

A kid pulls a winter coat off a rack and slips it on.

Dear Dr. Gott: I am a 78-year-old female. Eight months ago, I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure. I was put on Coumadin, but take generic warfarin.

I live with an alcoholic. It seems like he’s the only one who doesn’t know it. Both my grown kids have talked to him about his drinking, and neither will spend much time with him, and sadly, not with me. Most of our mutual friends have distanced themselves because they can’t take his unpredictable behavior or they can’t tolerate how he treats me. Granted, I have stayed with him despite much advice to the contrary, so here I am.

Houseplants can brighten up the indoors as days get shorter and colder.

Dear Dr. Gott: I have had a problem with severe constipation for many years. I have taken different laxatives and have been on milk of magnesia for a long time. I took a large dose of it last night and the night before, to no avail. I use Fleet enemas and suppositories, and strain with all my might to get any kind of action.

Dear Abby: I am a 16-year-old guy in my sophomore year of high school. I am known as a friendly, outgoing guy who gets along with girls. My problem is, I used to be one of the biggest jerks who ever was. I was involved in fighting and other things I won’t go into. But I turned my life around.

Dear Dr. Gott: I was bothered by a large Baker’s cyst after an injury to my left knee. I needed surgery to repair my knee, and my doctor said the cyst would disappear on its own after my knee got better. Well, my knee improved, but the cyst got worse. My doctor tried to drain it, but nothing came out. I was still advised against surgery unless it was absolutely necessary owing to the area and length of recovery time.

Dear Abby: My boss wants my cell phone number for “work purposes.” He has trouble with limits, and I am reluctant to give it to him. I don’t want to receive text messages, unsolicited calls or contact outside of work. My private life is just that – private.

Dear Abby: Please print this for me on behalf of myself and all the other well-intentioned folks out there who have lent money to others.

Dear Dr. Gott: Your recent article on hawthorn berries and restless legs syndrome has changed my life.

Dear Abby: My wife and I were visiting our children and grandson, “Rhett,” age 24. Rhett is a college student who lives at home.

Dear Dr. Gott: Your column recently had a letter from a 73-year-old female who was constantly fatigued.

Dear Dr. Gott: My wife and I both have problems that we hope you can help us with.

Dear Abby: Thank you for your response to “Alarmed in Apple Valley” (Aug. 28), who was concerned because her teenage nephew shows so much affection toward his mother. I raised a very affectionate son who, to this day at age 30, hugs and kisses me no matter where we meet.

Got noseprints on your oven window?

Dear Dr. Gott: In the past, a reader of your column extolled the virtues of eating meat. Here is my humble opinion on the subject.

Dear Abby: I have a 19-year-old daughter, “Caitlin,” whom I love very much. Despite a few rocky periods, we have a great relationship.

Dear Dr. Gott: One of my cats developed a fine raw line down the back of each hind leg. The vet said it was ringworm, but nothing he tried worked.

Dear Abby: I have strong feelings about the word “love.” I use it only when I truly mean it.

I’ve observed those who have successfully stayed sober and lived quality lives and those who have struggled.

I worry too much.