Health Advice
/Health
Patient Needs To Find The Cause Behind Severe Back/Knee Pain
DEAR DR. ROACH: I have suffered from chronic low back pain that affects my knees. I have seen at least six physical therapists, and nothing helps. At times, I have been prescribed 4 mg of methylprednisolone for six days. It helps calm inflammation down and helps me move without severe pain. (I still have pain, but it's not as severe.)
I'm ...Read more
Woman With Afib Gets Recommended A Watchman Device
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 70-year old woman with a prior history of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation (AFib). I've been in normal sinus rhythm since having two catheter ablations in 2018. I take Eliquis since my CHA2DS2-VASc score is 2, but I would like to get off of it due to the bleeding risk. (I tripped and fell recently while traveling abroad,...Read more
Anesthesia For Colonoscopy Has A Very Low Risk Of Delirium
DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband, who is 71, has been having some short-term memory problems over the past two years. We recently saw his primary doctor, who asked him some questions and had him do a few tasks. He did fail a few of them. She agreed that there was something going on, and now we have to wait to see a neurologist.
He has an ...Read more
Floater In Eye Proves To Be Incredibly Distracting
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 67-year-old male with generally good vision. I have had a few floaters in my eyes over the years, but they have generally been small and have not significantly affected my vision. However, about six months ago, I suddenly had a large floater appear in one of my eyes that did affect my vision; it is right in the center of...Read more
Praluent Lessens The Chance Of A Heart Attack In Woman With Fh
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 69-year-old woman who was diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). I used statins for over a decade but developed vulvar lichen sclerosus (LS), which only went away when I stopped the statins. They weren't very effective; on a statin, my total cholesterol was still 226 mg/dL. Without medicine, it was 310 mg/dL....Read more
Weeding Out Which Ads For Diabetes Are Worth Looking At
DEAR DR. ROACH: Every time I get on my phone, there are a ton of ads on how to cure Type 2 diabetes. Are any of them worth looking at? -- F.N.
ANSWER: If the ads are for comprehensive diet and exercise programs with education provided by a diabetes educator and a registered dietician (combined with medication if necessary), then they are ...Read more
Fatigue And Tingling Persist Amid Treatment For Anemia
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 71 years old and was diagnosed with pernicious anemia in October 2024. My B12 and folate levels were low. My antiparietal antibodies were abnormal, but the intrinsic factor antibodies were negative. I received daily B12 injections for six days, and now I'm on them once a month. I'm also taking folate daily.
I still feel ...Read more
Follow-Up Biopsies Help Confirm Healing For Celiac Disease
DEAR DR. ROACH: I've been diagnosed with silent celiac disease at the late age of 62, but I probably had it for decades. (It may have led to my serious osteoporosis.) A biopsy revealed totally flattened villi.
I am gluten-free and will be getting celiac-antibody, nutrient, and other regular lab work from now on. But my doctors stated that no ...Read more
A Withdrawn Drug Is The Only Medication That Works For Reader
DEAR DR. ROACH: What happened to Darvon? It wasn't addicting and didn't cost much, and I never heard any reason why it was withdrawn except that "it didn't work." It sure worked for me, and when they took it away, I ended up on Oxycontin because everything else that wasn't more dangerous made me vomit!
I have fibromyalgia. After I had my ...Read more
The Underlying Cause Of A Longtime Cough Seems To Be Unclear
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 70-year-old female in excellent health, and I have a very healthy diet and fitness regimen. But I have had a persistent dry cough for 20 or so years. After seeing many doctors, it was determined to be acid reflux. I was then prescribed various acid-suppressing prescriptions such as Pepcid, Prevacid, Protonix, etc. When ...Read more
Man Who Takes 10 Pills A Day Questions The Efficacy Of His Meds
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 84-year-old male in fairly good health for my age. I take 8-10 pills a day, including two over-the-counter medications. I take four or five in the morning and four or five in the evening. My question is, how effective are these medications if they are all being taken together and mixed in my stomach? Won't there be some...Read more
With Severe Dementia, Medications Are Of Limited Benefit
DEAR DR. ROACH: My 89-year-old husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He does not take any medication. He is in excellent health except for the Alzheimer's. His blood pressure is 123/69 mm Hg, and his pulse is 53 bpm.
His geriatric doctor said "no" to prescribing medication to help slow down the disease. The doctor said his pulse ...Read more
Older Couple Won't Tone Down The Intensity Of Their Exercise
DEAR DR. ROACH: My parents are both retired medical professionals who are in their early 70s. My father has diabetes that he manages with medication, and he also has a history of recurrent prostate cancer. My mother has had osteopenia for years. They want to remain in good cardiac health and have been exercising regularly in recent years to ...Read more
Prostate Cancer Patient Gets Put Under Active Surveillance
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 66-year-old white male who is active and relatively healthy. I have recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. One blood test showed a PSA level of 13 ng/mL, and a second was 17 ng/mL. So, I underwent a biopsy, which showed adenocarcinoma with a Gleason score of 6 (3+3), grade group 1. The tumor was measured to be 0.4...Read more
Bird-Lover Is Troubled Over The Possible Transmission Of Bird Flu
DEAR DR. ROACH: I have two bird feeders off of my back deck. They hang from tall poles as a vain attempt to keep the squirrels from eating all of the birdseed! But to refill them, I must take them down and handle them, and I recently wondered if I might be exposing myself to the new bird flu.
Is there any information about this possibility? ...Read more