DEAR DR. ROACH: In August 2013, I had surgery on my right wrist for carpal tunnel syndrome. The numbness in my fingers has not changed. Now I’m faced with the same problem in my left hand. I’m going to forget surgery, seeing as it wasn’t successful in my right hand. I decided to go to […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: In your February column on atrial fibrillation, you did not address a procedure that can be done to cure the condition rather than taking medication. Could you discuss this, and whether medication would be necessary afterward? — C.G. ANSWER: Atrial fibrillation is a chaotic lack of rhythm in the heart muscle, caused […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a very close relative who has ulcerative colitis and who was very ill a few years ago. She is now in partial remission but still has bouts of colitis. She found a doctor who (she thinks) is the smartest person in the world. He is treating her with Vicodin, about […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Could you please explain what makes a pheochromocytoma cancerous, what the symptoms are, what the protocol for treatment is and where the best places for treatment might be, as very little is known about this kind of cancer? — P.L. ANSWER: A pheochromocytoma (fee-oh-kroh-moh-sigh-TOH-muh) is a rare tumor that usually secretes epinephrine […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have read that whether stools float or sink could be an indication of one’s health, even to the point of being an early sign of pancreatic cancer. Isn’t it just about density and gas — that is, doesn’t most food we eat float in water, and if you mix in gas, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My mother-in-law is 95 and lives in a nursing home. Sometimes when we visit, I can barely stand to be in her presence because she savagely grinds her teeth, making an awful grating, creaking noise. Could there be some medical reason for this? — L.D. ANSWER: Many conditions common in the elderly […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a healthy 57-year-old woman, relatively fit and active. Ten years ago, during a routine wellness exam, my bloodwork indicated an elevated CRP of 10. In the next decade, it has gradually increased and seems to dance around 15 or 16, though it has been as high as 26. Concerned about […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was prescribed Boniva and Fosamax by my gynecologist when my bone scan indicated a decreased bone density. I had severe esophagus spasms and ceased that treatment. My primary doctor suggested that I take calcium citrate, vitamin D-3 and vitamin K-2. My scan two years later was near perfect, and it has […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My father is an 84-year-old diabetic. He has had a wound on his foot (on the inner side of his right foot, near his big toe) for about five months. He has been treated by a podiatrist, who has debrided the wound every week. He prescribed antibiotics when the wound has looked […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My 50-year-old, active son-in-law became very fatigued a year and half ago. He initially was diagnosed with low testosterone and given further testing. Finally, about six months from the onset of his symptoms, he was diagnosed with hemochromatosis, with iron levels in the 600s. Consequently, one and a half pints of blood […]