DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your recent column on calcium. I recently have been informed by my physician that there is a link between excess calcium and heart disease. She recommended that I stop taking my calcium supplements. I feel like I’m between a rock and a hard place: osteoporosis versus heart disease. Does the […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: For the past seven years, I have had an itch under my shoulder blade on my back. It stretches from the left side to the center. There is no rash or anything visible on the skin; it just itches all the time. Neither my physician nor my dermatologist has a remedy. My […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I know so many people who have had a heart attack and open heart/bypass surgery due to blocked arteries. Isn’t there a test or scan we can have done every five years or so to check our arteries and be proactive about this before a heart attack happens? We have colonoscopies; why […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 69-year-old woman in excellent health. I take valsartan and doxazosin for high blood pressure. I am concerned because I have developed swelling in my left foot and ankle, with none at all in the right foot. Until now, I have never had any foot or ankle swelling, even in the […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a friend who is the primary caregiver to her son, diagnosed with Langerhans cell histiocytosis. I am unfamiliar with this condition and would like to better understand the challenges and prognosis. Can you help? — O.C. ANSWER: Langerhans cell histiocytosis is a rare disease that is difficult to understand. Expert […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have had elevated blood pressure for a very long time. I had my son eight years ago and I don’t recall what it was before that; however, I developed pre-eclampsia during pregnancy and had a cesarean section a week early. When my son was 2, I was diagnosed with ADHD, and […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an active, healthy 67-year-old man. Several months ago, I started having a deep tightness and burning sensation in both lower legs. Nothing I do relieves the pain, including ice, heat, massage and pain medication. It is continuous and worse at night. I have been referred to specialists, and tests for […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 63-year-old overweight woman with low cholesterol, normal-range blood pressure and a healthy heart. I don’t smoke or drink alcohol, and other than my excess weight, I am a healthy person and see my doctor regularly for checkups. My health issue is painful degenerative osteoarthritis in my knees, hips, spine […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Recently, I had my annual checkup and nervously had to wait a while. The doctor’s assistant came in and proceeded to take my blood pressure. She then looked at me disparagingly and said: ”Do you always have a high blood pressure”? Of course, when she said this it probably doubled. Why can’t […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My mother has Alzheimer’s disease and had some tests due to abnormal liver enzyme levels in the blood. Her ultrasound says: ”There are multiple masses throughout the liver. Underlying malignancy and metastatic disease cannot be excluded.” A CT scan was done, and it says, ”Innumerable low-density liver lesions are identified in both […]