Can anyone clarify me on whether there are differences in the kind of leg pain felt in DVT and simple muscle pain? I tried looking it up but the data varies. In one site it said that pain in DVT is felt when you flex. (So that means no aches when you’re just standing?) And […]

I had an ECHO done about 2 years ago… it found that I had trace/mild pulmonary regurgitation. Cardiologist reports that it is a normal finding and that it will likely never cause me any issues. I am currently training for my first triathlon. Is it possible that this could limit my performance […]

My father passed away on 9/30 of colon cancer, we were really close and I am depressed but getting out of it. I am on Lorazepam for the anxiety. Since his death I have had a little discomfort almost right on the bottom part of the left rib. If I stand or lay down absolutely […]

My doctor put me on Calan a few months ago because I have been diagnosed with Right Ventricular Ectopy and Mitral Valve Prolapse. The pharmacy gave me the generic form called Verapamil. Since I began taking this medication I have gained weight and I have had problems with constipation and upper abdominal discomfort. […]

I was hoping you could give me advice with regards to a series of symptoms that nobody has been able to explain, despite my seeing many doctors and having many tests.
It all started when I was 12 when I woke up randomly with back pain. I’m pretty active, so I wrote it off as overdoing […]

I have been ill for a few weeks. I had mono about 5 yrs ago. I had blood transfusions about 10 yrs ago. Im a 27 yr old female. I have been bloated so bad you’d swear im 4 months pregnant but Im not and I have gotten my period 3 times […]

Dear Doctor,
I am a 34 yr old male who recently came back from the doctor with some not so good news. It turns our that my cholesterol is a very high 292 with an extremely high LDL count, a 219. I am relatively healthy and active; I am 6 ft tall and weigh […]

I’m 28 and about 4 months ago I started to get this clammy feeling. It starts mostly when I get out of the shower and lasts for hours. I will be sweaty during this period also. I am clammy around my mid section, back of neck and just have this “icky” feeling […]

Why is one not supposed to have grapefruit or grapefruit juice when on Lipitor?
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
Because they compete against each other in the liver - meaning that grapefruit juice will cause the liver to metabolize (eliminate) less Lipitor, possibly leading to increased and even toxic levels of the drug in the body.
Lipitor (atorvastatin) levels have […]

I am very concerned about my 25 year old son. He took his blood pressure with my wrist monitor yesterday evening and it registered 265/165. We do have a history of heart disease on both sides of the family. First question is how reliable are wrist monitors and should we really be […]

My son is 19. Since graduation from high school in May 2005, he has steadily become unmotivated to do anything. He started college, but then quit going. He works only occasionally. He sleeps all day, literally all day, then sleeps at night too. He doesn’t live at home because […]

How much should I weigh?

Weight is one of the most significant factors that affect your health, and, even more importantly, this is one factor you can actively do something about.
Below you can find a simple calculator. Use it to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI). Enter your height and weight, then look at the […]

I am 27 years old, and have been a diagnosed diabetic since age 11. I have been controlled by diet and oral medication until last week when my doctor recommended I begin Insulin. My sugars on the oral medication were never above 12, so I my body must be capable of producing some Insulin […]

I’m an 18 year old female. I am quite concerned about a tender lump that I have found underneath my left ribcage. Its on the side, and continues the shape of my ribcage further down. I’m quite skinny so I can feel it. What is it? I know there is something there because I […]

Dear Dr. Joshua,  
I have been ill since March of 2005, I have explained my symptoms to other doctors that I have seen and have been ignored, or they only treat my current symptom. I have been frustrated and want an intelligent theory instead of drugs. I am 26 now, […]

My brother has large purple coloration on the inside of both ankles, he says they itch terrible and burn. He has found no one to tell him what this might be. He is a 56 year old Vietnam vet. If you have any ideas please let me know so I can investigate further.
Dr. Joshua’s Answer
It’s […]

HI, I am a 39 year old woman who has struggled with a weight problem my whole life. I have tried every diet in the books, and nothing helps. The only time I have successfully lost weight is if I eat nothing or air popped popcorn and exercise constantly. I had twins […]

Three years ago, I got a blood test and it showed a ggt score of 135, I just took another on and the score is 128. All of my other blook scores are in normal limits. I have never drunk alcohol. Can you tell me what is going on?
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (Gamma-GT, GGT) may […]

Dear Doctor,  I am from Bangalore, India. My mother, 67 years old, had a lesion on her left lung which was operated. After 6 months we found that she had a 2 cm tumor in the left lobe of her brain. Had radiation, SRT, chemo,temodal etc but it did not shrink. The last was surgery. The […]

Question: About 1 and ½ years ago I developed a goiter. I had a nuclear med. scan and found it was ok. My bloodwork (which only tested for thyroid) came back normal. In the past month I have been experiencing hair loss (quite a bit), numbness in fingers, I feel as if I am cold […]

I am asking this for my mom. She is a diabetic and she had a blister that popped. Now it is a big sore on her heel. Which is about a half dollar size in shape. My question, is there a way to help it heal any faster?. She’s had it for about 3 weeks […]

I am a patient of MS, but I don’t believe that the symptoms that I have, have to do anything with that.I have a strange feeling of tidiness around my chest & back. I have started going to the gym and we exercise our upper body a lot, I don’t know if that […]

I am a 52 year old woman in menapause. I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Over the past year, I have gained weight while being on Synthroid. But what really concerns me is that I am hot most of the time, and this is a different kind of ‘hot’. I have had ‘hot flashes’ since […]

I was told it could be deadly to take Ibuprofen while taking coumadin. I
understand ibuprofen is a blood thinner as is coumadin but is it truly
deadly or just a bad idea?
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
It’s generally a bad idea and it might even be deadly. The lowdown: continued use of NSAIDs such as ibuprofen increases the […]

I teach ESL in China, so I cannot easily get to a doctor. I have always been in good health, just turned 40, no problems in the past, no history of diseases in my family, and in good shape.
My hair was thinning so I started using minoxidil 5%. After four months I began […]

Two years ago I had kidney stones in my left kidney. But I have not had another attack since. Nevertheless, Two weeks ago I went to see my family doctor for a check up. She tested my urine with the stick and it showed that I had blood in the urine. […]

For a few months now I though I had heart palpitation, I’m not exactly sure though. I don’t have any chest pain, but it feels like there is pounding in my chest. I usually feel pounding when I exercise (push-ups and bicycle sets 4 times a week), when trying to sleep, and when fasting (I […]

Dear Dr. Joshua:
Over the last six months or so I have been experiencing quite a bit of swelling in both of my legs, from the knee up, and in both of my arms, from the elbow up. At first it was just uncomfortable but now, in the last month to two months, it has […]

I was raped when I was 12 and had sexual disease testing regularly since out of paranoia, always normal. I was sexually active around age 20, at that time had frequent UTIs, bleeding between periods, cramping, vaginal dryness, and frequent yeast infections. It stopped when I became celibate again, I have a latex allergy, and […]

My question is regarding order of urine.  I have noticed that my urine at times smells like what i have just had to eat or drink. Example when i have a slim fast coffe shake my urine smells like coffie shake, i have also noticed when i have eaten a lot of peanut butter my […]

I am a 5’10” 285lbs 48 year old white male. No history of any problems beside my weight. I work out at the gym 4 days a week from 1 to 2 hours each time. blood pressure is usually around 135/85. I am currently taking a Lovastatin since June 2004. Last July I was watching […]

I have been doing research on ulcers. Peptic and duodenal. Can you please tell me the difference between them or if they are both gastric ulcers. I still don’t understand and everything I read seems to contradict each other. What is the difference between peptic, duodenal & gastric or are they the […]

I have been to the doctor twice in the past month and both times was put on antibiotics for what they thought was pneaumonia and bronchitis. I now after more than a month have a persistant cough with phlem and everytime I breath in it hurts in my chest and causes me to cough when […]

a person’s oxygen saturation level drops to as low as 74, how long before serious consequences occur? What about mid-80’s?
My mother is 85 and refuses to wear her oxygen outside the home. When she does not use it, her saturation levels drop to 74, as measured the finger oxymeter, within 30 minutes.
What is the real […]

My problem was when I was 11years old. My pubic hair was 20-25cm long when I was in grade six. I realised this was not normal but was afraid to visit a doctor about it so I started removing the hairs with tweezers. They kept growing back but eventually they grew back shorter and shorter […]

What percentage of measured fluid intake in 24 hour period should be collected as urine . Healthy 75 year old woman
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
Normally, a 50 kg woman should need to take about 2500 ml of fluids per day. This consists of the fluid in food and drink.
Insensible losses (faeces, […]

Dr my adult son is currently taking the following medications. Should he be taking ALL these medications at the same time. He has been diagnosed as being Bipolar, also having high blood pressure and diabetes.
Atorvastatin,- Zestril,- Lorazepam,- Divalproex,- Eskalith CR, - Zyprexa, - Glucotrol, - Levoxyl, - Folic Acid.
Please let me know if this is […]

Why does my family doctor not want to prescibe sleep medications to me to help me sleep, when I use the sleep breathing machine? She told me that was dangerous? I don’t understand why? I wake up often because of the apperatus, as it is uncomfortable and noisy. I have tried different masks, but […]

I have been expereincing unusual body happenings for the past month now. There is light red blood my stool, sometimes it is a bigger amount and sometimes it is a smaller amount. I also have sharp pains in the abdomen sometimes, seems like in various places, but mostly in my lower right side. I eat […]

My husband has very cold hands and feet most of the time, even in the house when it is not cold. This has been going on for about a year and half now he dose have high blood pressure. Should I be concerned about this. They feel like he has had them in ice water
Dr. […]

I have IST with MVP. My resting heart rate is 125. Blood Pressure is sometime very low. At time 90 over 45. I wake up very tired. At night I have cold night sweats and I feel very dizzy during the day. I become very short of breath and recently I passed out going up […]

I am a 42 year old female and lately I have been becoming tired easily. First started about a week ago, body aches and tired a lot. I was going to bed early and getting plenty of rest. Then I started my period early it had only been 10 days since I […]

I am a 56y/o diabetic male. I take 70 units of Lantus daily, and am on
a sliding scale of humalog (usually average from 20 50 units at meal
times). I am on 3 blood pressure pills, an am a chronic pain patient. I
have severe peripheral neuropathy in both feet and legs. Two years […]