DEAR DR. ROACH: Would you please comment on chelation therapy? A urine test for mercury, lead and arsenic was done that showed abnormal elevations after I was given DMSA. I also was prescribed a long list of vitamins and supplements. This testing and treatment have caused me great confusion. — Anon. ANSWER: Chelation is the […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Six months ago, I noticed a “bald spot” on my right cheek. It is round and about the size of a 50-cent piece. I’ve never had this problem before, even though I am going bald. I am generally healthy. I am concerned that this might be an infection or cancer. There is […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 72-year-old female recently diagnosed with lichen sclerosus of the vulva. The issue started about four years ago with a rash on my buttock, for which I used every over-the-counter medication available. I had no positive results, so I went to a dermatologist, who couldn’t identify it (no meds prescribed), then […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My sister has trigeminal neuralgia, the “suicide disease.” Her quality of life is gone, and I fear her life soon may follow. Could you please address this horrible disease and your ideas for treatment? — L.M. ANSWER: Trigeminal neuralgia is a condition causing brief, recurrent episodes of facial pain, on one side […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 67 years old; my sister is one year younger than I am. Her partner is a little bit younger. All three of us women have very bad tendonitis in our hands and arms. I know I got mine from doing too much artwork and typing on the computer. My sister […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am considering minimally invasive spine surgery. Almost 19 years ago, I had a right total-knee replacement, which still functions very well. I believe the replacement parts are made with stainless steel. No physician I have questioned about the danger of having an MRI with metal parts in my body has been […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: What’s your opinion on cooled thermotherapy for benign enlargement of the prostate? I recently was put on Flomax and finasteride, and was given the option of having this procedure to eliminate taking these two drugs. My urologist has had great success, while my internist says the success rate is only 60 percent. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Last November, I complained of pain in my right ear. I went to the emergency room and was, oddly, treated for diarrhea. (I will not return to that ER ever again.) A week later, I was struck with Bell’s palsy and was treated at another ER (correctly, per a local ENT doctor). […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I recently went to my family doctor, complaining of left-arm pain and heartburn-like pain in my throat area. He said that he could admit me to the hospital for two days of testing or that it could be a pinched nerve in my neck. It was my choice not to go to […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m an 87-year-old female who still works part time and still drives and gets around without any help. I’m in fairly good health, except that my creatinine is high. I believe that normal creatinine is about .07-1.00. Currently, mine is 1.31, and it seems to go higher every time I have it […]