DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I play all sports, and I work hard at staying in shape. I am 16. I’ve read lots about creatine and would like to try it. My dad says I’ll get into trouble by using it. He says it’s a banned substance, and I won’t be allowed to play if I’m tested […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My daughter is seriously committed to a young man who has a good job and whom we very much like. She told us that he has ulcerative colitis. My husband and I were flabbergasted. He looks the picture of health. This information has made my husband and me edgy. We wonder what […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My 7-year-old daughter has a problem with recurrent canker sores. She’s had around six outbreaks a year for the past two years. I’m no expert, but that seems like a lot of canker sores. They’re between her gums and lips, top and bottom. What’s going on here? — A.A. ANSWER: I understand […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: How does one eliminate dandruff? I have had it for months and have tried many, many shampoos without making any progress. I can’t wear a dark suit coat. I look like I’ve just come in from a snow blizzard. Please give me some sort of program that I can follow. — H.H. […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Our basement flooded, and I was chosen to clean it. All that pushing, lifting and scrubbing did a number on my back. It’s been bothering me for two weeks. I never had a back problem before, but my dad used to have them all the time. He said it was sciatica. I […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have taught fourth grade for 20 years. This year I couldn’t wait for the summer break. I was feeling fine at the beginning of the year, but as the months passed, I could hardly make it through the day. I had no energy. My husband insisted I see a doctor. I […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Can you figure out what’s going on with me? I have been a daily runner for a number of years. I mostly run on a treadmill in an air-conditioned gym, especially in the summer months. This year, I am having breathing troubles. About six or seven minutes into my run, I start […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My wife of 55 years died last year from the complications of an illness known as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. In her late 40s, she would become unduly winded doing the polka. After many internist and a few pulmonary specialist visits, all of whom prescribed asthma medicines for her, she persisted with a […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: For the past eight months, I have had a heart rhythm problem. I am on Coumadin. One day I forgot I had taken it and took another dose. My blood test showed that I had taken far too much. You wrote about ablation being a treatment for rhythm problems. Would it benefit […]

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I would like to know about brain aneurysms. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with one. I was offered the choice of treatment or doing nothing. I chose to do nothing. I had follow-up MRIs. Now I have a smaller one, and the first one hasn’t grown. I am to have another […]