DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 81 years old and was diagnosed with shingles at the end of October 2020. After taking famciclovir, I am healing, but still have a scaly rash and shooting pains on the right side of my head where the shingles occurred. I was told that the pain could last for a […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 79-year-old woman in reasonably good health. I am very active and do everything I can for my health. Whenever I feel a cold coming on (which is rare), I have pain on the left side of my throat when I swallow and get a stabbing pain in my head […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: We have friends who got the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine believing it will help with exposure to COVID-19. What are your thoughts on their thinking? — P.H. ANSWER: The World Health Organization has reported an increase in measles deaths since 2016, and that trend has accelerated in the past year. The COVID-19 pandemic certainly […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 72-year-old female with MGUS. I was just diagnosed with an ulcer, Barrett’s esophagus, GERD and a hiatal hernia of 8 cm. My surgeon has put me on high-dose Prilosec and Carafate before bed. My oncologist has given the OK for surgery for the hernia, but friends have told me […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m 64 and thin, on no medications and had my bloodwork done. Cholesterol showed 226 total, HDL 77, triglycerides 79, LDL 131, glucose 94. My blood pressure is usually about 90/60, and I have never smoked. My doctor wants me to go on a statin, which I know is not good. I […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I would like to know how to treat arthritis. I have been using Voltaren per my doctor’s orders, but it does not seem to be helping much. I have also been taking ibuprofen, but I am afraid of stomach bleeding. The arthritis is in my wrists and thumb. I can hardly open […]

DR. ROACH WRITES: In a previous column, I deferred making a recommendation about a COVID-19 vaccine until more data were available. The Food and Drug Administration has now made the safety and efficacy data publicly available for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. It has been approved and already given in the U.K, and is approved for […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your recent response to a question about the efficacy of brain supplements. You note there is a paucity of published data, and that there is “no consistent evidence” that supplements help, except perhaps vitamin E. Fair enough. However, the lack of data may indicate simply that there is too little […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 83-year-old white male. I am overweight and have high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes. I recently have been diagnosed with stage 4 kidney failure. I’m told that I have three strikes against me with these health issues, and there is not much hope in saving my kidneys from further damage. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: About a month ago, I had pain in my chest, so I went to the emergency room, where I was admitted. My blood pressure was in the 200 range, and they did an echocardiogram and a stress test. Both came out negative, but the cardiologist did an angiogram, and they found out […]