DEAR DR. ROACH: My 21-year-old son is a college athlete, a sprinter, but he has had recurrent high systolic blood pressure readings since he was a senior in high school. He’s generally easygoing and not stressed. Doctors always attribute the elevated results to “white coat syndrome,” since he is otherwise in excellent health and doesn’t […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I was put on Coumadin several years ago for atrial fibrillation. It was a perpetual pain in the butt, all those tests and never knowing from day to day how much the blood had been changed from meal to meal. Both extremes were dangerous. I had two friends on Coumadin who were […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have underarm odor. I wash daily, use deodorant and change my shirts daily. I use mostly cotton shirts and undershirts. I launder my shirts with soap mixed with bicarbonate sodium (baking soda) to eliminate odor. In spite of all this, deodorants seem to work for few hours and then fade away. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Do you know of any problems with lithium interfering with levothyroxine? My 35-year-old daughter has taken levothyroxine for 12 years and started lithium a year ago for bipolar disorder. Ever since, her TSH has gone higher, and her dose has gone up every time her blood has been tested. She just told […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I had my prostate removed for prostate cancer in 2009 at age 70. I waited until now to start taking testosterone to feel better, because I was feeling very listless, with no sex drive. My cancer surgeon and urologist approved, and they are monitoring me every 60 to 90 days. It is […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My adult son recently has been diagnosed with achalasia, after many months of being misdiagnosed. He has suffered unbelievable pain and difficulty eating or drinking. At first he thought he was having a heart attack. Fortunately, that was ruled out. He is going to a prominent gastroenterologist, who made the diagnosis and […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am worried about my husband, who is 52 years old. He is thin, in good physical health and is taking cholesterol pills. He works every day, and every night he drinks 12 or more beers. I have talked to him about this, and he gets upset. He says he is relaxing! […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 66 years old. I have been taking Premarin (estrogen) in some form for 30 years, which I began taking for premature menopause after I had my ovaries removed. My doctor thinks I should continue taking it, but I am not sure. There is so much literature out there, and it […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a female, 50 years of age and I smoke less than half a pack of cigarettes a day. I recently found out that I have blood in my urine. It is not noticeable with the naked eye, but under a microscope. I drink up to five bottles of water daily, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: How dangerous is protein in the urine? — M.G. ANSWER: It’s a simple question with a complicated answer. All of us have trace amounts of protein in our urine, but if there is enough to show up on a dipstick — the usual screening test for urine protein — that isn’t normal. […]