ArcaMax

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a pacemaker that was installed in January 2024. This is a newer model that's said to be safe for those who need an MRI. I have a neoplasm that was recently discovered in the parotid gland on the right side of my head.

The doctors at a referral hospital attempted to do a biopsy on the mass in the center of the gland. But...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Have you ever discussed prion disease in your column? It afflicts one in 1 million people, swiftly kills its victims in a matter of days, and is incurable. People commonly know it as "mad cow disease." I recently lost a great friend to a prion disease, and she truly was one in a million. It's a nightmare to endure. -- R.

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DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a very healthy and active 74-year-old woman, and I'm also quite proactive with my health. I get bone scans done every two years and have osteopenia in both my hips and spine. But because of a T12 fracture in 2018, which was followed by a kyphoplasty, I was recently recommended to see a specialist for more extensive blood ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I've been on Zepbound for about eight months. I've had fantastic results as far as weight loss, and I'm building muscle back. The problem is that I've constantly had to push back on increasing my dose. I started at 2.5 mg, then 5 mg, then 7.5 mg. My body couldn't handle 7.5 mg, so I asked to go back to 5 mg. My weight loss ...Read more

DR. ROACH WRITES: A recent column on congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV, a herpes virus that is similar to EBV -- the virus that causes classic mononucleosis) stated that pregnant women who've had CMV are protected from further infections. But an expert on CMV -- Dr. Sallie Permar, MD, PhD -- wrote in to say that it's possible to reacquire CMV ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: My 82-year-old husband is unable to smell or taste. This has been the case since 2024, when he was hit by a car while out for a walk. He sustained a compression fracture to his spine. While he wasn't knocked out, he did get thrown backward and sustained some trauma to his head. Since then, he's had no sense of smell or taste. ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a scuba diver, and I recently purchased a dry suit that is expectedly tight on my neck. During my first dive with it, I pulled the hood down, and within a few minutes, I immediately felt nauseous before even entering the water. I also briefly felt lightheaded and faint. I removed the hood, loosened the neck a bit, and tried...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Could you explain what happened to me with a condition called DRESS syndrome? I had back-to-back urinary tract infections (UTIs) that were about six weeks apart. For the first one, I was treated with three days of an antibiotic, and it went away. For the second, I was given another week of the same antibiotic.

My UTI symptoms ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: What's the difference between a pacemaker and a defibrillator? -- T.S.B.

ANSWER: Both are implantable devices to treat electrical problems of the heart. A pacemaker is a much older device; the first implantable pacemaker was made in 1958.

The heart has an electrical system, which coordinates the mechanical activity of the ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm an active 76-year-old retired accountant who likely spent too many hours at a computer. Now I'm paying for it with a painful condition. My general physician says that I have a pinched or compressed ulnar nerve, which likely starts in the neck shoulder area but shoots pain down my right arm and elbow, all the way to my ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: What's a Zenker's diverticulum? My 74-year-old friend was diagnosed with it, along with "cricopharyngeal achalasia." I've never noticed any swallowing difficulties before. -- S.W.

ANSWER: A Zenker's diverticulum is an outpouching of the esophagus that extends posteriorly toward the spine, at about the level of the thyroid. The...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm 80. Over the past 26 years, I've had low blood platelet counts. (In 1998, one reading was 168,000, and in 2026, the reading was 117,000.) I have an enlarged spleen (16.1 centimeters), and I understand that this could account for my low platelet count. I do have tiny red dots on my chest. However, my doctor thinks that I ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm about to turn 70. A month ago, I was diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) that's idiopathic. Two CT scans and many blood tests have cleared me of all tumors; however, my spleen's enlarged. My hematologist put me on prednisone, which is working very well. I don't know how long I'll have to take prednisone, which...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Five years ago, I was diagnosed with a kidney stone while getting an ultrasound for a different reason. A CT scan was ordered, which showed that I had a conglomerate of small stones within a calyceal diverticulum in the posterior mid-pole of my left kidney. My urologist at the time said it wasn't in an area that was amenable to...Read more