DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 63-year-old male who was diagnosed with hereditary angioedema about 16 months ago. I use Firazyr injection when I have an attack. Are there any new drugs in pill form for my condition? Any support groups? — D.Z. ANSWER: Hereditary angioedema is a rare condition, seen only in about one […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a man in my 80s, and in the past three years I have had four or five incidents when one of my wrists became excruciatingly painful, with some inflammation and slight reddish coloring. I cannot correlate these incidents with prior physical or exercise activities, except that the most recent incident […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: In 2013, I complained to my internist about severe shaking in my legs and hands. He referred me to a neurologist, who diagnosed me with a rare disease: primary orthostatic tremor. Most doctors don’t know about this condition, which was first described in 1984. I am told there is no known cause […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: After two major bouts of gout, my husband was treated with Medrol and colchicine, and has resorted to a low-purine diet in order to decrease the frequency of gout attacks, with their attendant pain and potential renal damage. He completely avoids beef, pork, lamb, mushrooms and rich seafood such as scallops. Chicken […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: In a recent column a reader said their daughter was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. My late first wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1982. After learning she was only 35 years of age, the doctor said that it was probably Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, without explaining why. When she did die years later, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: If I recline fully in my recliner and fall asleep, after an hour I am awakened by a pain from my upper legs, buttocks and lower back. If I recline to watch TV or read, I begin feeling this in an hour. Two Aleve pills remove the pain quickly, but the pain […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have very bad eczema on both of my feet. I have been to several skin doctors and my family doctor, but none knows what the cause is. Doctors don’t even look at the rash any more. I find myself being prescribed a different cream each time, but none seems to help. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I take four medications daily, usually all at the same time. What internal traffic cop do we all have that directs each of these chemicals to the appropriate places in the body? — J.V.W. ANSWER: Although I like the image of an internal traffic cop, medications usually go to all parts of […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Could you share some information about tonsil stones? I had never heard of them until I took my 15-year-old granddaughter to the doctor for a sore throat and she was shown one. It stayed there for about four days until it came out. — B.H. ANSWER: The tonsils have deep pouches called […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was under the impression that fat was the major cause of Type 2 diabetes. When fat clogs the arteries, it does not allow sugar, from any source (table sugar, potato or Twinkie), to pass through the clogged arteries, which in turn causes the insulin levels to be abnormally heightened. Is this […]