DEAR DR. ROACH: I was told by my doctor that I need a tetanus booster shot, but when I was 17, I cut my foot and needed stitches. I was told then that I was allergic to the tetanus shot, so they gave me penicillin instead. Of course, that was a long time ago, since […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I recently had a surgery, and prior to the surgery, my doctor ordered some routine blood tests. My aPTT level was high, but the PT level was normal. The doctor said it was probably nothing, and the surgery went fine. But, when I went back for my annual checkup, he rechecked it, […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 88-year-old female in relatively good health. A year and a half ago, I did experience atrial fibrilliation and had two cardioversions. (The first was good for a year; the second lasted only three months.) The diagnosis is paroxysmal AFib. My cardiologist has recommended a third cardioversion, which would require […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 61-year-old white woman who is 5’5″ tall and weighs 150 pounds. I walk two miles just about every day, and easily hit more than 10,000 steps almost every day. I have never smoked. I do not have high blood pressure. However, I have very high cholesterol. Here are the […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Seniors are advised that one of the best forms of exercise is walking. The advice is to “walk briskly” for at least 150 minutes per week. There are those of us who, because of knee or hip pain, or other reasons, are not able to walk briskly. Does that mean that we […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 71-year-old female with no children, but I did have an ectopic pregnancy at age 43. Other than that, I have had no “female” issues. I was getting a CT scan for my spleen area, when it was discovered I had enlarged pelvic veins in my groin. I don’t have pelvic […]

DEAR DR ROACH: I have a lot of allergies, and my allergist wants to start me on allergy shots. She wants me to discontinue atenolol before starting allergy shots. Can you please shed some light on this? — B.S. ANSWER: Allergy immunotherapy involves giving a patient very small doses of the substance that they are […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: Should a patient’s spouse surreptitiously inform the patient’s physician that the patient is intentionally refusing to report an important symptom? I am guessing that the “unforthcoming patient” situation happens frequently, because several of my own doctors over the years have said to me, “Is there anything else you should tell me?” — […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My 38-year-old daughter has an impacted stomach. The doctors gave her antibiotics to take with her food. She still cannot eat much, because it makes her so sick to eat anything. She tries eating soft foods like soup. She’s tough, and has had Type 1 diabetes since age 11. Can you help […]