Dear Dr. Roach: I am an 85-year-old female. Three years ago, a podiatrist diagnosed neuropathy (non-diabetic). He prescribed an orthotic for my shoe, measured some numbness and said come back in a year. I have made two yearly visits with his cutting my nails and checking feeling, which has progressed with numbness in my toes […]

Dear Dr. Roach: My spouse, now 61, had shingles two years ago. Though the rash cleared up quickly, the nerve pain has never subsided. Is the virus still at work, or does she have permanent nerve damage? Because her doctor has always kept her vaccines up to date, we are not sure how she missed […]

Dear Dr. Roach: I am 77 and exercise regularly. I just got a fitness tracker to monitor my heart rate, etc. I have always been very slow to get back to a resting heart rate. For instance, if I get my rate up to 130 beats per minute during exercise, it will be at 90 […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 72-year-old female in relatively good health. I have a history of allergic rhinitis. A regimen of allergy testing and shots was successful in controlling my seasonal allergies. I also have vasomotor rhinitis, which results in a runny nose during meals, drinking hot or cold beverages and after tooth brushing. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: My brother took turmeric every day, after hearing all the hype about it being the new superfood. At his next annual checkup, it was noted that his blood platelets were very low. A month later he died of a stroke. He was 70. After doing some research on turmeric, I read that […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 81-year-old male with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. During the night I have pain in my thighs and feet. I’ve been taking two extra-strength acetaminophen (Tylenol) nightly for the past year, as my doctors and nurses who give me flu and COVID shots say it is safe to take for pain. One […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: A few years ago, when being prepped for a colonoscopy and gastroscopy, I had an IV line inserted into my right arm with a sedative in it. As I waited to pass out, I noticed a large air bubble slowly moving down the IV line toward my arm. I got concerned about […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: In early November 2021 my son, who is 30, was diagnosed with Addison’s disease and was treated with cortisol. He was doing well on that regimen. In March 2022 his blood sugar went up (300+), and he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. As late as January his blood sugar was normal! […]

Dear Dr. Roach: We are learning a lot about short-term to long-term impacts from COVID-19, especially on the cardiovascular system. But we don’t hear about “long flu” or similar impacts. Is that because COVID really is different, or is it more the case that we have billions of people affected and an unprecedented amount of […]

Dear Dr. Roach: Please advise: Do our bodies “reject” certain foods as we get older? I am a healthy, slender 70-year-old woman on no medications. For several years now, I can’t eat anything made of corn or oats (to name a couple). I get an irritation in my throat and mucus buildup, which drives me […]