DEAR DR ROACH: My 73-year-old wife has been diligent in getting her mammograms done, plus blood tests and doctor’s visits every three months. In November 2021, she came down with what seemed like a very bad cold that was actually confirmed by X-ray to be pneumonia. After two rounds of different antibiotics, she had lost […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: In your recent column, you addressed a situation concerning insulin resistance, including weight gain. You mention that although there are drugs that work directly with insulin resistance, drugs in the glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist class (such as liraglutide and semaglutide) reduce risk of heart disease, promote weight loss and protect against serious complications. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I wonder if you could comment on the relative merits of new cholesterol measurements that were recently presented to me. I have been maintaining my total cholesterol level just below 200 (at 170) with 20 mg of pravastatin. At a recent doctor’s visit, I was advised that at my age (74), my […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I wonder if you could comment on the relative merits of new cholesterol measurements that were recently presented to me. I have been maintaining my total cholesterol level just below 200 (at 170) with 20 mg of pravastatin. At a recent doctor’s visit, I was advised that at my age (74), my […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a hemorrhoid. It’s not small, but it’s not huge. At times, it itches or gets inflamed and feels sore for several days. I’m thinking it could be tied off with dental floss so that the tissue can necrose and hopefully just fall away, and I can be done with it. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 67-year-old male and have had swollen hands for several weeks, the worst in the early morning. I take lisinopril and atenolol for my blood pressure and have taken ibuprofen twice a day since this started, two pills at a time. Do you have any ideas about what this could be? […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I see supplements advertised on television that are supposed to clear “brain fog” and do many other beneficial things. Are these any good, and can they actually do the things that they claim to? If they are effective, why aren’t they sold at drugstores? If not, how is it that companies are […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I live in a large community. More and more of my peers are using THC gummies sold over the counter at smoke shops as a substitute for smoking marijuana. Are there any studies being conducted on the safety of imbibing these small amounts of THC? Also, are there any studies being conducted […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have been diagnosed with thyroid antibodies. What are the long-term effects of these antibodies? The doctor says to start thyroid medication. I have been a vegetarian since 1983 and have a low-salt diet. I have heard about quality control issues with thyroid medicines and taking care not to consume caffeine with […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband’s brother and paternal uncle were both diagnosed with bipolar disorder. His uncle struggled miserably for decades before his death; his brother has been in and out of institutions and outpatient programs for years. Because of the pain this has caused to our family, my husband and I have both tried […]