Dear Dr. Roach: My blood pressure crept up on me, and I went on medication. I had been eating what I thought was a healthy diet to keep my blood pressure in check. My nutritionist suggested to me I back off my handful of almonds daily and check my intake of other foods high in […]

Dear Dr. Roach: My son was recently diagnosed with factor V Leiden. He has had heart issues since he was 12 (chest pain, irregular EKGs with no explanation and intermittent irregular heart rate). He has worn a heart monitor twice with no conclusive results and has done cardiac stress tests with still no answers. He […]

Dear Dr. Roach: I have a question for your column. What is the number of LDL cholesterol that would necessitate taking statins? I am an active 51-year-old female and weigh 126 pounds at 5 feet, 2 inches tall. I eat a healthy diet and avoid trans fat. My total cholesterol is 260, LDL is 173 […]

Dear Dr. Roach: Can you explain electrolytes? How can we make sure we keep our electrolytes in the normal range within our body? Are we wasting our money purchasing bottled water that says, “includes electrolytes”? I came across an electrolyte powder that can be added to water. Is this the best way to keep electrolytes […]

Dear Dr. Roach: I’m a 78-year-old retired medical oncologist. While in residency in New York, I got a gastrointestinal virus that left me with lactose intolerance. After a while, it improved somewhat. But in the past couple of years, using Lactaid tabs when I ate yogurt started not to be enough, and I was plagued […]

Dear Dr. Roach: My wife and I are both in our late 60s. She has gotten three doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and I have gotten three doses of the Moderna, only because that was what was available when we got our first dose. Because of our age, we are considering getting a second booster […]

Dear Dr. Roach: What is dissociative identity disorder? There are a lot of movies and TV shows about it. — Anon. Answer: Most people will be more familiar with dissociative identity disorder’s former name: multiple personality disorder. DID is a complex psychiatric disorder that has been frequently mischaracterized in the media. The hallmarks of the […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 78-year-old male in fairly good health. I recently was prescribed Bactrim (a sulfa drug) for an ear infection but didn’t know I am allergic to sulfa. I had a severe reaction to the drug: a raging, very itchy rash on most of my body. It made my life miserable. […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have had bad experiences with my local trauma center. Mainly, they will not consult with my doctor or my hospital, and vice versa. Things would move more quickly and safely if they got my medical history rather than starting from scratch. As a result, I ask the EMTs or paramedics to […]

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 70-year-old with O-negative blood type. When I was 40, the Red Cross notified me that antibodies of hepatitis C had been detected in my blood and they would no longer accept blood donations from me. Following this discovery, I was lucky to enroll in a two-year study at my […]