Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu or request an order form of available health newsletters at 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803. Health newsletters may be ordered from www.rbmamall.com.
I am a 77-year-old female of Hispanic heritage. For many years I have been on cholesterol medication. It has always bothered me, but in the past year, the night cramps in my legs have been intolerable. With each new prescription of a higher dosage, it has gotten worse. After I stopped taking them, all symptoms stopped as well. This was about a year ago.
I am a 65-year-old woman. As a child, I had what we called “lazy eye.” My condition was that my right eye was aligned noticeably outward. I believe this is referred to as “exotropia.” I had surgery to correct it at the age of 12, and surgery was successful -- my right eye has remained in proper alignment since then.
I have read everything I can find on Heberden’s nodes. I have one on the middle finger of my left hand, my writing hand. I have had this node for about three months, and I believe it is still growing.
My husband had a hemorrhagic stroke in 2014. He is 75 years old. His blood pressure in the past five days has gone from 123/64 with a heart rate of 50 to 142/77 with a heart rate of 45. It will be in the green for days and then read in 140s for a couple of days. He becomes very upset when he sees the yellow light come on. He walks 2 miles each morning and thinks this should keep his BP at a normal level, in addition to the metoprolol and enalapril he takes twice daily.
In a recent column, you wrote that migraine of any kind starting in a person’s 60s is uncommon. I am a 66-year-old male in relatively decent health. I have controlled blood pressure and cholesterol.
I am a male, 67 and I have difficulties urinating during the night. I get up three or four times ...
I have worked at the election polls in a school gym for years and know that presidential elections bring out close to 2,000 voters in my precinct.
I lived in England in 1985-1986, during the mad cow disease outbreak. Since then, I have been ineligible to give blood. It is one of the few questions they ask. This has been 35 years and, obviously, I don’t have and have never had the disease itself. Is this still a valid reason to rule me out as a blood donor?
I found your response to a question about shortness of breath in a recent column very interesting, since I had the problem for a couple of years before the cause was identified. I had been to an oncologist, cardiologist and family practice, and had all proper tests and X-rays with no answers. The answer was found at the eye doctor.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a history of cancer with an elevated CA-125 level. Recently I had a shingles shot and soon thereafter, my CA-125 level was high. A
