DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 76 years old, and I have had an essential tremor for over six years. It has progressively gotten stronger, mainly in my hands. I have been reading about an MR-guided focused ultrasound and was wondering if you considered this safe. This involves creating a small lesion in ...
DEAR DR. ROACH: I recently had a CT scan, and my score was 184. My cardiologist put me on 40 mg of Lipitor, which I reluctantly took for three weeks until I developed severe pain in my feet and hands. I stopped taking it, and the pain went away. I'm a 64-year-old male in excellent shape. I'm ...
Dear Annie: I'm in my early 30s and have been dating someone for nearly two years. On paper, he is everything my parents could have hoped for. He has a stable career; he is kind, respectful, family-oriented and well-liked by everyone. My friends and family think I have hit the jackpot. The ...
Dear Annie: I’m at a crossroads in my marriage, and I don’t know what to do. My husband and I barely talk anymore unless it’s about the kids or logistics. There’s no connection, no affection -- just a quiet tension that lingers in the background of everything. We’ve tried counseling, ...
DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 65-year-old male. On my recent semiannual checkup, my labs showed an AST level of 53 U/L and an ALT level of 62 U/L. I am concerned about nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In addition to losing weight, is 800 IU of vitamin E potentially beneficial? — H.C. ANSWER: ...
DEAR DR. ROACH: Could you offer any general advice on how patients should weigh the risks versus benefits when they are prescribed a drug that lists many potentially serious side effects? I once had a specialist suggest that I do a trial of a drug for a noncardiac issue, but my cardiologist ...