DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 47-year-old woman, and I’ve dealt with inherited major depressive disorder since my teens. Drug treatment has always given me moderate relief. Two years ago, I described to my new doctor my lifelong tendency to have shifting moods (best in the mornings, worst in the evenings) and my difficulty staying […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: As a physician, with the advent of electronic health records, I can see a reluctance of both the educated patient and the physician to be forthcoming about sexually related matters. Do you have any suggestions on how to circumvent this problem? — R.V., M.D. ANSWER: My advice to colleagues is to be […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Today, we heard about a new vaccine for shingles. However, very little was discussed about what it does that the older version does not do, nor was there any advice as to a safe period of time between administering the older version and the current version of the shingles vaccination. Should we […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: After a three-year battle with multiple myeloma, my husband passed away in July. During those three years, he had almost every kind of chemotherapy known. As time progressed, the drugs got more expensive. Last summer, they wanted to try a drug called Revlimid. When we investigated what the cost to us would […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: In a recent column, you addressed breast cancer in an older woman. She expressed concern about overtreatment of small tumors and if just keeping an eye on the tumor (active surveillance) might be a way to go. Do you think active surveillance might be an option at any age in a woman’s […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have some questions about hepatitis vaccines. I live in Los Angeles, and have recently seen a few articles in the local paper about an outbreak of hepatitis A in the area. I went to my hospital and requested the hepatitis A vaccine. I was given the first of a two-shot vaccine, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My mom is a poster child for diabetes prevention. She was born in 1921. Her dad supposedly developed Type 1 diabetes about 20 years earlier. He had to use diet and exercise to survive, since insulin was not yet developed. (I suspect that it might not have been Type 1, because I […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: For the second time in two years, I’ve had bloodwork done due to massive headache, general tiredness and body pains. Both times, I also had very minor signs of a cold (post-nasal drip). My recent test shows elevated neutrophils of 89 percent (normal range is 40-80 percent), with high normal absolute neutrophils. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: You wrote recently that thyroid medication is regulated to within 5 percent of the stated amount. Are there other drugs that are similarly regulated? Are generic manufacturers held to a different standard than the manufacturers of brand-name drugs? — A.L.S., M.D. ANSWER: The Food and Drug Administration continues to work on new […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I would like your opinion about staying on blood thinners for the rest of my life. In July 2017, a CT scan showed a small blood clot in my lower-left lung. This was an indirect the result of a grade 3 hamstring pull suffered while jogging. I am now on 20 mg […]