ArcaMax

DEAR DR. ROACH: My brother, who was extremely active and athletic in his younger years, is now in his early 70s. His decision to have both of his knees replaced several years ago was not due to any general pain, but to an inability to bend his knees more than 90 degrees. It was limiting his mobility and affecting his quality of life. Afterward...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: In March 2023, my 94-year-old mother had a shingles episode on the right side of her neck, head, ear and (to a lesser degree) right cheek. The active blisters lasted about three weeks. Since then, she's been experiencing continued neuropathy that involves itchiness, a sense of desperation, and some pain. She's been prescribed ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 81-year-old man in reasonably good health. When I had trouble falling asleep, I would take a swig of Zzzquil, which worked perfectly every time. However, since then, my cardiologist told me to stop taking such products, so I turned to 5-mg tablets of melatonin in the evening to help induce drowsiness. Sometimes it worked,...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: You recently stressed the need for at-home blood pressure monitoring for the control of blood pressure. Which brand should I buy? -- L.L.

ANSWER: Home blood pressure monitoring adds a great deal of information to in-office blood pressure monitoring, since it ensures that the blood pressure is being optimally controlled. A few ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 93-year-old woman in good health. I take 40 mg of lovastatin once a day for high cholesterol, but my cholesterol levels are always high when tested. My physician is not concerned, but I am. Why isn't lovastatin bringing down my cholesterol levels to normal? -- S.A.

ANSWER: Lovastatin (Mevacor) was the first statin drug ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: In a recent column that touched on taking laxatives daily, you mentioned a sugar called lactulose that you recommend for constipation. I'm wondering if other sugars have the same effect. My 70-year-old wife drinks several cans daily of diet lemon-lime soda that contains sucralose. She also tends to have fairly loose, even runny...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: My wife recently underwent a successful open heart surgery with two valves repaired and one replaced. During her post-surgery recovery, she experienced an issue with the timing of several prescriptions and their impact. We learned that there is a big difference between taking a prescription medicine "twice a day," versus taking...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 67-year-old healthy male, but I do take Humira for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It does a wonderful job for me with no side effects. It does such a good job that I can periodically extend the time between injections, such as one every three weeks instead of the recommended dose every two weeks. I can even go as long as six ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 62-year-old female who has focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) that was diagnosed in 2001. After several years of treatment with prednisone and cyclosporine, along with an ACE inhibitor, I was in "remission" and listed as stage 3. At the time, the life expectancy of someone with FSGS was 10-20 years, which I have ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 80-year-old female and a 25-year survivor of ovarian cancer. In the past three years, I have also had Merkel cell cancer, breast cancer, and now squamous cell cancer on my lip.

I have been on an aromatase inhibitor for the past eight months and have side effects that keep me from having a good quality of life. I am ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Are there any studies that show who might be more seriously affected by COVID, whether it's based on risk factors such as genetics, vitamin deficiencies, etc.? -- F.F.

ANSWER: There are many disease conditions that put a person at risk for a severe illness if they get infected with the virus that causes COVID. These include ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 73-year-old who underwent successful treatment for prostate cancer, using hormone suppression and radiation in 2015. After the treatment concluded, my testosterone level increased back to 435 ng/dL, and my PSA remained below 0.1 ng/mL. I was once again able to perform sexually, although not at the same frequency I did ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an active, 5-foot-2-inch, 125-pound, 72-year-old Caucasian woman without a history of known osteoporotic risk factors, other than demographic ones. I exercise daily, eat calcium through food, take 2,000 units of vitamin D, and follow a Mediterranean-style diet.

My last dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan showed a ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I had a total thyroidectomy in July 2022 for Graves' disease. All the time leading up to this and almost all the time since, I've only had one short "active" period of thyroid eye disease (TED). My only noticeable symptom was double vision, but it went away after surgery.

However, in May of this year, I suffered a dog bite in ...Read more