DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a healthy, energetic 63-year-old woman who has had elevated RDW levels for the past few years. My doctor and I looked into this, and did a ferritin panel. Although my B-12, folic acid, hemoglobin and hematocrit are normal, my transferrin saturation is low, at 6 percent, and my iron and […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was in a car accident a few months ago and got pretty banged up. I have been forgetting things that I normally wouldn’t, and have been dropping things. I went to a neurologist, who told me I suffered a severe concussion and wants me to have a brain scan. Do you […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Do you prescribe vitamins or treatments to enhance the immune system? — C.N. ANSWER: I do not. In my opinion, a healthy diet makes a deficiency of a vitamin or mineral severe enough to weaken the immune system unlikely. Stress reduction (through many techniques) and good sleep are more important than supplements. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I hear music playing in my head at all times. I can’t stop it, even if I’m reading, having a conversation or being active. It’s there when I wake up in the night or in the morning. Even if I consciously stop it and try to hear only the ambient sounds around […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I just read your comment about washing hands after using the restroom. I have a question about this that maybe you could comment on. Why wash your hands after using the restroom? After all, your “private parts” have been in your pants (whether male or female) and out of contact with the […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: At 62, I was recently diagnosed with central diabetes insipidus, and I am awaiting my first appointment with an endocrinologist to determine what might have caused it, and also to get started on the medication desmopressin. In a few articles I have read about this condition, I saw that it was advisable […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a very active 67-year-old female who does not sit still. In 2008, I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer (breast, spine, lymph nodes). No chemo has been administered, but I received 30 days of radiation for a small tumor on my left knee. For three years I have been receiving […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My 53-year-old son has been diagnosed with autoimmune necrotizing myopathy. What causes this? Can it be treated? — F. ANSWER: Autoimmune necrotizing myopathy is a rare condition of muscle destruction, thought to be due to an immune response. It can be seen in conjunction with the use of several medications, most notably […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Does obesity have an inevitable result, as in the case of ALS and dementia, or is it a condition that an individual can improve or actually fully control? Are obese individuals predisposed to obesity, and therefore really unable to control their weight? — C.O. ANSWER: Obesity is defined as having a body […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an active 83-year-old man with health issues that include Type 2 diabetes, diverticulitis surgery, bladder cancer and an enlarged prostate. The urologist said I have a small lump on my enlarged prostate and recommended a biopsy, which I am against. If it’s slow-growing, fine; if not, little can be done […]