ArcaMax

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am wondering if there is any link between low iron and depression/anxiety. I am a 37-year-old woman, and I started taking Lexapro a few years ago. I upped my dose last year because I wasn't feeling great, and my doctor and I decided that it was a good step to take.

During the years that I have been taking Lexapro, I have ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have lymphedema in both legs, and I'm undergoing drainage every day for two hours for the next two weeks. They wrap my legs with four to five different wraps and lightly massage them in an upward motion. I sleep in a recliner, and I sit in my wheelchair most of the day due to other surgeries.

I have been to three doctors, ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Would you recommend the most reliable literature source(s) for vitamin and supplement information and interactions? For instance, health magazines give these examples of supplement information:

-- Take magnesium with vitamin D3 for best absorption.

-- Do not take magnesium with zinc or iron supplements. Take it hours apart to...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: My second inguinal hernia operation resulted in pain and a lot of blood in my groin area. I can understand why I was prescribed acetaminophen, but I am confused about ibuprofen. It's a blood thinner, and I am not sure if my blood needed thinning, since there was plenty of blood in the groin and surrounding area. -- M.I.

ANSWER...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 71-year-old male in excellent health, and I don't take any medications. Recently, after experiencing mild headaches, mild muscle aches, a runny nose, sneezing, coughing and a sore throat, I went to an urgent care facility near me to find out which of the viruses I had been infected with. After listening to my lungs and ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: A friend of mine has been diagnosed with "stiff heart" and has kind of given up because there is no treatment. With all the advances in medicine, isn't there something that can be done? -- C.L.

ANSWER: It's not always easy to guess what a medical diagnosis might be from a simplified description like this, but my best guess is ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Why aren't people able to see an allergist to be desensitized to a peanut allergy? As a child, I was allergic to dust, pet hair, milk and other things, but I received treatments. I am not bothered by any of these now. It would seem prudent to desensitize people who have allergies that are life-threatening, like peanut allergies...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a question that I hope you can help me with. My 1-year-old grandniece (my brother's granddaughter) was recently diagnosed with Van der Knaap disease after suffering seizures and getting an MRI. An internet search described it as a rare inherited disorder with walking difficulties and a progressive decline in brain ...Read more

DEAR DOCTOR ROACH: I have recently learned that my sibling, age 70, has rare cancer of the thymus. She will be getting chemotherapy and perhaps radiation treatment. I have heard of immunotherapy. Is this an option?

Would you know what could have caused this type of cancer? When she was younger, she had bouts of rosacea; could there be a ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Your recent column about treating diabetes left me wondering. Diabetes, as I understand it, is usually a result of too much sugar being consumed. But consuming carbohydrates is not that much different because they are quickly converted to sugar through the human chemical processes. So, why are you promoting a plant-based diet ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 86-year-old male in relatively good health. I developed pain in my lower back, buttocks and upper legs that started a couple of months ago. It is particularly painful in the morning when I arise and subsides some as I work through the pain and get going through my day.

My primary care doctor sent me to a physical ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a friend who has had an extremely bad cough, especially when she gets a cold. (It sounds like she is coughing up a lung.) She is a breast cancer survivor and has had this cough for a number of years. She has only had a chest X-ray done and was informed that she has asthma. She was given an inhaler.

I suggested that she ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: You recently wrote that the antihistamine Zyrtec might be helpful for interstitial cystitis (IC). A recently published review found no benefit. Would you readdress your opinion? -- D.M.

ANSWER: The review that you sent looked at the same studies I did to make its recommendation, but they came to a different conclusion. While ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your recent column about a person who had knee pain after a knee replacement. I am a retired orthopedic surgeon who performed on over 10,000 total joints of the hip, knee and shoulder in my 47 years of active surgical practice. A well-done total knee replacement does not give the patient much pain postoperatively. I saw ...Read more