DEAR DR. ROACH: I have been diagnosed with piriformis syndrome, which has the same symptoms as sciatica. I have been to a chiropractor and doctor, and I still have pain shooting down my leg. I have been taking painkillers and anti-inflammatories but have found no relief. Do you have any suggestions? — M.W. ANSWER: I […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband is 68, and about seven years ago, during a cardiac catheter, doctors found a very small vessel more than half blocked, but it was too small even for a stent. The rest of his vessels looked pretty good. The doctor put him on Zocor and Toprol. His total cholesterol is […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: When I had my first mild heart attack, in 1998, they used stents to open the blockages; they put in more a year later. When I had my second heart attack, in 2009, they recommended bypass surgery. However, the day I came home from the hospital there was an article that said […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 62-year-old man who is starting to get a sagging neck. Is there any exercise I can do to pull this skin back? I just don’t want to have a turkey neck. I do 150 pushups a day, and I work on the treadmill. I’m not overweight. Is there anything […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband has a problem. His foreskin gets so tight that it is painful to pull back. It has been to the point where it bleeds. His doctor gave him some cream but said the next step was surgery. He has high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Is there anything else […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: It seems that this is a bad year for gout. I haven’t had it for several years, but this time I have it in my big toe and the toe next to it. It is very difficult to go through a day with such extreme pain. Many of my friends either have […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 80 years old and have been told that I have severe osteoarthritis of the shoulder and that I should have a shoulder replacement. I was hoping that a lesser treatment could be found, but the surgeon said the shoulder is too far gone. I am concerned that at this age […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: The lab results from my last checkup showed an out-of-range number of 1.5 for neutrophils. I questioned my doctor on this low number, and he said we should just keep an eye on it. Looking back on the past five years, the number has been consistently low — 1.5 or 1.6. I […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 62-year-old white, petite female who has suffered with hypertension since age 33. I have never been the slightest overweight, never drink alcohol and have never used drugs or smoked. I try to exercise every day. Some days, I have migraines, and I believe it is from the high blood […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Before retiring at age 60, I was 50 pounds overweight, worked long hours at a high-stress job, did no exercise and ate all the wrong things — I was a heart attack or stroke waiting to happen. My doctor put me on more and more medication: benazepril, Norvasc and metoprolol for high […]