ArcaMax

DEAR DR. ROACH: My sister died about a month ago. We were very close, and I was with her when she died of a brief but serious illness. The day after, I felt completely unbalanced. I had brain fog and nausea, which comes and goes, as well as extreme exhaustion and tinnitus. I saw my general physician and asked for a full blood test, which came ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was reading your recent column about shingles. Several years ago, I contracted shingles, even after getting the shingles vaccine. It hit me in my left eye, so I went to my eye doctor. (I wasn't sure what the problem was.) He took one look at my eye and diagnosed me with shingles.

He gave me an antibiotic that cleared up the ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 74-year-old male who's in otherwise excellent health. However, I have severe arthritis in my knees to the point where it keeps me up at night. I keep reading about this treatment called GAE (genicular artery embolization), and since I only have about a good 10 years or so left on this planet, I wanted to know your ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I had a preemployment physical for my current position as a firefighter/EMT back in January. I had another preemployment physical for a new position with the fire department last month, and both physicians suggested a statin based on my high cholesterol. Both tests had similar results; my cholesterol was 272 mg/dL, my HDL was ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a physically active 75-year-old man. I'm taking atorvastatin, losartan and amlodipine. During my annual physical in January 2025, my physician noticed a heart murmur. I had an echocardiogram done in February 2025 that showed a dilated proximal ascending aorta, measuring at 4.1 centimeters. It was 3.9 centimeters in January ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I had a very unpleasant experience a few days ago, and I'd like your opinion. I am 90 years old and was awakened early in the morning with an extreme heaviness in my chest. I have a concierge physician, and they told me that if I was able to drive, I should come right over to the office, where I had my blood pressure taken, as ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a skin rash (granuloma annulare), and my dermatologist said that there really isn't a cure for it. It's in various areas of my body -- my upper back, my trunk (mostly in areas where garments hit), and a few other places. The dermatologist recommended using metformin to see if this helps.

All my labs are excellent, so ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 77-year-old man who's prediabetic. I was told by a longtime diabetic that sugar (candy, soda, cake, etc.) doesn't need to be avoided -- just carbohydrates such as pasta, potatoes, etc. I was surprised to hear this. Is it really true? -- Anon.

ANSWER: We often use terms like carbohydrates, starches and sugars imprecisely....Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Could you please inform and educate us, especially pregnant women, about the effects of cytomegalovirus (CMV)? This is the No. 1 reason why children are born deaf to parents that aren't deaf. My niece was pregnant and evidently caught a bad cold, but it was CMV. She remembers her ears being very stuffy, and she had a hard time ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: My mom has Capgras syndrome and firmly believes that her husband (my dad) is dead. She thinks that there's someone whom I snuck in and built a lie around, and she tells everyone that this man is the same man. It's really difficult for us, especially my dad.

I understand that Capgras cannot be cured, but there are medications ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I understand a vaccine to prevent Lyme disease is in the works, but I wonder when it'll be available. We've had multiple tick bites in our family, with some that resulted in Lyme disease. While I appreciate that our dog receives a vaccine and monthly anti-tick prevention, we're long overdue for prevention for humans. Your ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: A dear friend of ours was diagnosed with lung cancer and subsequently had a stroke. Since then, he was told that he had disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and that there wasn't any treatment for it. The doctors don't want to do surgery for the cancer because they're afraid that he might have another stroke, so he's ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: A few years ago, at the age of 65, I was hospitalized and in critical condition with a calcium score of 14 mg/dL. After many tests, the diagnosis was hypercalcemia. After a 10-day hospital stay, I was discharged, and every test in the book was done to find the cause. All tests came back negative as to the cause, and still to ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'll be 70 in August, and in 2012, I had prostate cancer. My prostate was removed. My PSA level was low but rose fast, so I guess it was an aggressive form of cancer. After the removal, they still found evidence of cancer, and I underwent 35 radiation treatments that were also completed in 2012.

Afterward, I had two Lupron ...Read more