2013 Ask the Doctor Archive Stories

DEAR DR. ROACH: My 11-year-old daughter suffered a stress fracture on her lower spine a couple of years ago from doing back handsprings in gymnastics. She wore a back brace for a while, and now has no more problems in that area. However, her upper back/shoulder area has never been the same. We went to several orthopedic pediatric surgeons,

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 55 years old, take no medication and am in good health. However, I'm about 25 pounds overweight. Starting four months ago, I eliminated most carbohydrates from my diet -- no pasta, potatoes, rice, flour, bread or sweets. I have always eaten many vegetables and fish, but have increased my vegetable, fish and cheese inta

DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband said I snore, so I went to a sleep lab and was diagnosed with borderline sleep apnea. The doctor said I could get the CPAP machine, but it was up to me. I chose to get it, and I use it every night. Now, when I nap, I wake myself up gasping. Could the CPAP be making my muscles weaker so I need it more? -- R.Z. A

DEAR DR. ROACH: Please, please help me. I've visited my allergist, the ear-nose-throat specialist and my own internist. None of them has ever heard of my problem and don't know how to help me. Starting in 1990, every couple of months I would get an awful pain on one of my ears if I had been lying on it during the night. It would happen t

DEAR DR. ROACH: Several of my friends developed breast cancer shortly after the death of their husband, child or someone else close. Your comments, please, regarding great stress and cancer. -- M.W. ANSWER: I think there are two issues here. The first is that prolonged, severe stress predisposes us to illness -- including cancer, heart d

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 93-year-old male. In February 2012, I fell on a hospital sidewalk. Along with some other minor injuries, I cut my upper lip. The hospital's emergency room put three sutures in my lip to close the wound. In a few weeks the cut had healed, but to this day a small lump remains on the inside of my lip that feels like a blister

DEAR DR. ROACH: Is there any connection between extremely low vitamin D-3 level (mine was 15) and weight retention?  I recently caught the tail end of some doctor's show on TV and I counted back: Summer of 2010, I started losing weight. I was swimming a lot for exercise, and it kept coming off.  By fall I was wearing "vintage"

DEAR DR. ROACH: If, as they currently say, 72 is the new 30, then that makes me 37 years old. I've been dealing with the effects of GERD for the past two or more years. For a year, I took omeprazole, which I believe was responsible for an immediate weight gain and a worsening of my osteopenia. It was a nasty drug from which to wean myself, but I

DEAR DR. ROACH: I take Bystolic for blood pressure, and was instructed to take it in the morning. The side effects leave me feeling washed out, drowsy and listless all day. Since blood pressure is lower during sleep and rises slowly near morning, I think it would be better to take it at bedtime, when the side effects would occur and help

DEAR DR. ROACH: The article about the boy suffering after surgery for three years from a pilonidal cyst really hit home. My son developed a pilonidal cyst in June 2012 and also had a very bad infection from it. The surgeon refused to operate while he was infected. The cyst was just gross -- so much blood and other yuck. Finally, the surgeon gave

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your article regarding aortic aneurysms.  During a MRI on my mom for a seizure, they found two brain aneurysms -- one behind her eye, and another somewhere in her head/brain. She was well into her 80s, and they did nothing about them.  A year later, when she was in a nursing home, she had a few mini-strok

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your article regarding aortic aneurysms.  During a MRI on my mom for a seizure, they found two brain aneurysms -- one behind her eye, and another somewhere in her head/brain. She was well into her 80s, and they did nothing about them.  A year later, when she was in a nursing home, she had a few mini-strok

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have recently read that Jack Andraka, a teenager from Maryland, discovered a test to determine if a person has early stage pancreatic cancer. He won the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. He used a paper dipstick sensor in blood or urine. He worked for several months with Anirban Maitra, a researcher

DEAR DR. ROACH: Three days ago, there appeared an unexplained wet spot at the inside of my husband's sock, and also near the cuff of his slacks. It happened again during the next two days. We consulted his doctor, who diagnosed it as a leaking lymph node, and said he had no way of treating it, but increased the furosemide my husband is taking fr

DEAR DR. ROACH: What can you tell me about polycystic ovarian syndrome? My 20-year-old daughter was diagnosed with it by her gynecologist after she started to miss her periods and gain weight. I have several questions: Is PCOS curable? How is it diagnosed? Is it genetic? And does it affect fertility? -- N.D. ANSWER: Polycystic ovarian sy

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 85-year-old woman. About seven years ago, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and put on prednisone. I have been weaned off a few times, but I always got sick and had to go back on it. I'm told I now have polymyalgia rheumatica. I was told that while off the prednisone, my adrenal gland wasn't working. My doctor doe

DEAR DR. ROACH: I fell about three months ago and sustained a compression fracture of my T11 vertebra. What can I do? The pain is about the same as it was then. There's numbness on the outside of my right foot. I have no tolerance for the idea of a needle in my back. -- B.H. ANSWER: "T11" denotes the 11th thoracic vertebra -- there

DEAR DR. ROACH: My brother-in-law has been diagnosed with Charcot Joint disease. It was discovered when he broke a bone in his foot and had a soft cast. He is diabetic. His foot has been out of the cast for months now, but he seems to be in constant pain in his feet and legs. He had special shoes made for his condition. Please give us an underst

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a very scary situation. About six weeks ago, I was sent to a heart specialist because of a lot of heart palpitations. After a short visit, the doctor told us that he was quite sure I had a leaking valve, so he ordered a cardiac catheterization, and I found that I had no clogged arteries, no heart disease and no reason for

DEAR DR. ROACH: To filter or not to filter -- that is the question. I recently survived a Saddle Pulmonary Embolism. One pulmonologist recommended that a vena cava filter be put in place to help prevent damage from a future embolism.  This recommendation was made since I am at high risk with a genetic disposition for blood clots. I

DEAR DR. ROACH: A follow-up to your newspaper response about radiation in dental X-rays: I am concerned about the amount of radiation that I have had in the past three years. In 2010, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in both breasts. Following surgery, I had 33 rounds of radiation on each breast. Last year, I had unexplained weight loss, and t

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 85-year-old woman, and I've been incredibly healthy all my life, until a couple of years ago. Recently, my complaints of breathlessness and fatigue took me to a pulmonologist, who diagnosed pulmonary hypertension. What can you tell me about this condition? How is it diagnosed? What treatment can be prescribed? I understan

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a woman, 52 years young, and my nipples are itchy. I would like to know what I can use to put a stop to the itching. Is this a sign of menopause? Can it be due to the dry weather? -- S.V. ANSWER: Itchy nipples are common -- especially for women, but also for men -- and are usually caused by a benign skin condition. E

DEAR DR. ROACH: My 20-year-old son is intelligent, handsome and popular. However, he has just confided in me that he has contracted herpes. He and I are devastated, since we understand that he will have it forever. I'm worried about the effects on his self-esteem. He wants to be truthful with women, so he feels most of his relationships are over

DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband started having falls, and ended up in the emergency room twice. The second time, the doctor figured out what had happened. He was dehydrated and was fainting because of it. The doctor ordered a liter of fluid intravenously before allowing him to get out of bed. He was told to drink water all day long, not to rely on hi