DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a suggestion for the lady who complained of heart palpitations without any apparent underlying causes. My late uncle, when staying in our house, always requested a big glass of water by his bed in case heart palpitations awoke him. He said that drinking water stopped palpitations each time. It also […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am going to be 98 in July. A few months ago, I had a bad cough for weeks. My internist gave me guaifenesin with codeine. The medicine got rid of the cough, but I developed the inability to urinate. I went to the ER and they drained 2 liters of urine […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: In 2017, my white blood cell count was 8.9 and my lymphocytes were 3.2. My recent blood tests showed a second increase in both numbers, with the WBC 10.2 and lymphocytes 4.8. My doctor said he has many patients who are 70 and older with increased levels and that we will flag […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a relative who fits the description of intermittent explosive disorder, which I recently read about. Could you please tell me what kind of therapy a person would need if diagnosed with this problem? — T.M. ANSWER: Intermittent explosive disorder is an impulse control disorder: an inability to restrain behaviors related […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 82-year-old female. I started to have mild low-back pain a year ago, and it escalated to sciatica in my left leg and finally culminated in a pain crisis requiring hospitalization. My treatment goal in the hospital was pain control. Following an epidural injection, I am pretty well controlled with […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My urologist’s receptionist asks every person to leave a urine sample for testing. They ask without knowing the reason for the visit. I would not be surprised if they ask the UPS delivery person. My reason for most appointments is for a follow-up of BPH urination frequency, not any kind of infection, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My wife and I are 74 and in good health. Recently, I started reading about vitamin D and its effect on the immune system. We both had a vitamin D blood test for the first time ever, despite having almost yearly blood tests for the past 40 years. My level was 32 […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 58-year-old male with seasonal allergies. I often take the generic versions of Zyrtec and Claritin to deal with the symptoms. While neither of those makes me drowsy, I do sleep much better — usually longer, and I don’t wake up in the middle of the night after taking either of […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I just found out that my dad has an abdominal aortic aneurysm that measures 4.7 centimeters. I know you’ve covered the relationship between size of an aneurysm and treatment, but can you go over that again? Also, he has stage 4 COPD. If the size of his aneurysm makes him a candidate […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband is a 50-year-old prediabetic who has recently experienced burning feet. He refuses to think it’s his high-carb diet (bread three times a day, chips, ice cream) and instead thinks he just needs some vitamins for foot pain. Could you please explain why and how what he eats affects everything he’s […]