I woke up Wednesday morning feeling great, and ran two miles. I was busy all morning, ate lunch, and went to school. I got home from school and had a full blown urinary tract infection. Incredible! How did it happen so fast, and without warning?

The only avoids I have had in several weeks were the two pieces of cheesecake for my daughter's birthday. I don't think I got a UTI from 2 pieces of cheesecake.

I am still struggling to be more disciplined about sleep. I can believe that vulnerability to the infection was affected by lack of sleep.

What I think is most likely is that this is the result of stress. I have always been fascinated by the "Life Change Events" study that deals with the probability of disease. My score in the past six weeks has been 190. Though the things that are going on in my life are good, change is nonetheless stressful.

Fortunately, the symptoms hit right before the doctor's office closed, so I got antibiotics quickly. (Don't even talk to me about natural remedies when the water in the toilet is pink and the bladder contractions are so painful they bring tears to my eyes.) I felt fine by the next day, though I know I have to finish the full 10 days of antibiotics.

If you aren't familiar with the Life Change Events" study, or if you haven't added your score in a while, here it is.

Stress is a major catalyst in the disease process. Life events such as a wedding, divorce, death, job change, job loss, and moving are all major stressors in life. The well known study on "Life Change Events" (Holmes and Rahe, 1967) ranks stressful events on a point basis. The more of these events a person experienced in a given time, the more likely they were to become ill.

* Death of Spouse - 100 pts.

* Divorce - 73

* Marital Separation - 65

* Jail Term - 63

* Death of Close Family Member - 63

* Personal Injury or Illness - 53

* Marriage - 50

* Fired from Work - 47

* Marital Reconciliation - 45

* Retirement - 45

* Change in Family Member's Health - 44

* Pregnancy - 40

* Sex Difficulties - 39

* Addition to Family - 39

* Business Readjustment - 39

* Change in Financial Status - 38

* Death of a Close Friend - 37

* Change to a Different Line of Work - 36

* Change in the Number of Marital Arguments - 35

* Mortgage or Loan over $10,000 - 31

* Foreclosure of Mortgage or Loan - 30

* Change in Work or Responsibilities - 29

* Son or Daughter Leaving Home - 29

* Trouble with In-Laws - 29

* Outstanding Personal Achievement - 28

* Spouse Begins or Stops Work - 26

* Starting or Finishing School - 26

* Change in Living Conditions - 25

* Revision of Personal Habits - 24

* Trouble with Boss - 23

* Change in Work Hours, Conditions - 20

* Change in Residence - 20