ArcaMax

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a soon-to-be 85-year-old healthy woman. I take a statin and baby aspirin (I assume because of my age) and have my gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) under control. I have scheduled gallbladder surgery for late next month, and I am having doubts about this so-called simple surgery.

My recent symptoms have been ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was diagnosed with stage 4 high-grade ovarian cancer in September 2024. I underwent a major surgery after the tumor shrank in March. I see a top doctor at a renowned hospital, and I trust him. I went through seven rounds of chemo with three different meds. I handled it well as I am very fit and 64 years old.

I am now on ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I see people walking everywhere with weighted vests. Is this a good idea for exercise? -- M.B.W.

ANSWER: In my opinion, there are plusses and minuses about a weighted vest. On the good side, they increase the intensity of workouts and activate muscles that don't ordinarily get much exertion during a walk. The abdominal and ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a woman aged 58, and I have very high blood pressure from a fall that dissected my aorta. I somehow survived and am thriving. Well, the last time I checked my blood pressure about a week ago, it was 193/119 mmHg, which is low for me. It's usually around 220/130 mmHg, give or take.

I won't take meds because I have only one...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 65-year-old and otherwise healthy male. After spending the past five years believing that my trembling hands were the result of essential tremor, a second DaT (dopamine transporter) scan (the first one was misread, I guess) and a neurologist at a teaching institution confirmed that I am and have been suffering from ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have been suffering from strong pain on my left knee for a long time. An MRI was performed, which showed an "extensive degenerative tear throughout the body and a posterior horn of the medial meniscus." It also showed a "flap tear of the body and an anterior horn of the lateral meniscus, with meniscal tissue displaced ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: A cardiologist recently suggested that I should consider taking a statin because of my "borderline" cholesterol level. So, I took a dive into the details of statin therapy. I learned that although statins are thought to reduce the chance of a cardiovascular event by up to 50%, the actual reduction is very small.

I presented ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a reasonably healthy 81-year-old retired man, although I wear a pacemaker and have bad arthritis. My daughter insists that I'd be much healthier and happier if I eliminated gluten from my diet. I don't even know what gluten is or which foods it's in. So, am I flying blind into a storm about all this? -- Prof. G

ANSWER: ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: In a recent column, you answered a question regarding weight loss. You stated that you do not recommend weight-loss drugs unless the person is very overweight or has medical complications. I'm curious to know your reasoning behind this. Can you please elaborate on your answer? -- J.S.

ANSWER: In my opinion, being overweight is...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: Our son passed away at 38 years old this past December with an end-stage alcohol-related liver disease. He had been sober for four years prior to this, but blood tests revealed that he had started drinking again. These same tests showed copper level readings in the 500s and liver deterioration in accordance with someone twice ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I wonder if we can trust the health guidelines coming from government agencies. How will doctors make recommendations if the guidelines may not be scientifically rigorous? -- T.D.

ANSWER: For many decades, the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, the United States Food and ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was recently diagnosed with diabetes and immediately changed my diet and exercise regimen. I was able to lose 17 pounds in about two months but have started to experience a feeling of something being stuck in my throat. Could the sudden weight loss have brought this on? I was sent to get an ultrasound on my thyroid, and it ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read that in the 1700s, animal blood was transfused into humans to cure syphilis. Is this true? -- T.U.

ANSWER: The story is a bit more complicated. Transfusion from animals into humans was certainly done, with published reports dating from 1667, sometimes to treat fever and sometimes purely for scientific knowledge with paid ...Read more

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 77-year-old female who recently had an abdominal and pelvic cat scan to rule out diverticulitis, and it came back showing a left staghorn calculus measured at 2-by-3 centimeters. This wasn't present in 2019. I have gas, gas pains, and diarrhea that is typical of IBS, which I have had for years. What causes this calculus,...Read more