DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 71 years old, stand 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weigh 325 pounds. The “average” person is half my size, yet when I get medication for various ailments (e.g., gout, pain, flu shots, etc.) I get the standard dose. I assume I have more physical mass as well as a […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Three years ago, during a routine mammogram, I was diagnosed with what has been deemed a benign (most likely) breast mass. Since then I have had mammograms every six months with ultrasounds to monitor it. Last summer my doctor wanted an MRI done of the breast, but my insurance company denied the […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 63-year-old man. A visit to my urologist did not answer some questions I have. I was told by my regular doctor that aging is a factor in men losing leg hair. Is that true? I am losing pubic hair, and even hair up to the navel. Why is that? […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My question is about symptoms for women’s heart attacks. I have always heard that symptoms for women can be much different from men’s. Instead of the chest-clutching, sharp pain that men can have, I have read that women’s symptoms can be any of these: heartburn or indigestion; pain in the jaw, neck, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My newspaper recently ran an article on the pros and cons of a daily aspirin for protection against both heart disease and colon cancer. This is not a new topic, I realize, and I know that the benefits of daily aspirin apply only to certain segments of the population. Here’s my question: […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Can your cholesterol count be too low? I am 72, and my normal LDL level is 100 to 102. My doctor thinks that is high because he classes me as “prediabetic,” and he put me on pravastatin. My LDL level is now 68. Is that good or bad? I am always concerned […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 75-year-old man in excellent overall health. Routine blood work recently showed an elevated potassium level of 5.6. For the most part, I follow a vegetarian diet, which includes a number of very healthy foods that also happen to be high in potassium. I exercise regularly. Two years ago, my […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 68-year-old female with a more-than-40-year history of extremely high cholesterol (350-411 total). I have not been able to tolerate any kind of statin drug, even if I take CoQ10 with it. Welchol and Zetia had side effects that I couldn’t tolerate either. I am not diabetic, and my blood […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I just started taking strontium for my bones. I have osteoporosis. Will strontium help improve my bone density? — L.S. ANSWER: Yes, strontium will increase your bone density; a better question is whether strontium will reduce your likelihood of getting a fracture, and that answer probably is yes. However, the best question […]