Ask the Doctors

Dear Doctors: I had severe pain in my neck and couldn’t turn my head. I saw an orthopedist, and she diagnosed me with bone spurs on my vertebrae. Apparently, my choices are doing physical therapy, seeing a pain specialist or having surgery. Can you please talk about these options? Dear Reader: Bone spurs, which are…

Dear Doctors: I am baffled that what used to be a thorough and comprehensive physical exam is now just a few questions, taking some vital signs and a few blood tests. No checking your eyes, throat, glands or reflexes. No breast exam. Why has this changed? What constitutes a complete physical these days? Dear Reader:…

Ask the Doctors by Eve Glazier, M.D. & Elizabeth Ko, M.D. Dear Doctors: My wife has been diagnosed with something called Eagle syndrome. Not a lot of medical providers in our area treat this type of illness. Any information you can give about it, including what treatments are available and which specialists we should see,…

Dear Doctors: My husband and I were clearing weeds when I felt a sharp jab on my leg. I thought the weed whacker had kicked up a rock, but it was a bite from a fire ant. The pain was severe, as was the reaction. I got a huge lump, blisters and bright red skin.…

Dear Doctors: If a flight I’m on has turbulence or if it descends too fast and the pressure drops, I get very nauseated. Why does that happen? I’ve tried motion sickness medication, but it makes me feel like I am in a tunnel. Even the nondrowsy kind knocks me out to where I can’t function.…

Dear Doctors: I am a 29-year-old man at a normal weight, and I eat a balanced and healthy diet. I’ve been having night sweats and sometimes also mild or moderate kidney pain. There is a history of cancer on both of my parents’ sides of the family. I’m not asking for a diagnosis, just advice…

Dear Doctors: I read that when you take statins, it raises blood glucose levels to a prediabetes or diabetes level. Does it happen even if your blood glucose is normal? How do statins work? My blood glucose is a bit high, and I’m worried it will go out of the normal range if I start…

Dear Doctors: I have been diagnosed with inverse psoriasis in the area of my groin. My dermatologist has prescribed clobetasol propionate ointment to be used twice a day. The skin in that area bleeds easily, and physical contact is painful. Please explain this condition and if there is a cure. Dear Reader: Inverse psoriasis is…

Hello, dear readers, and welcome back to our monthly letters column. After a winter of wild weather, spring is fully here. That means many of us are heading outdoors. Please play it safe and remember to guard against the sun with hats, long sleeves and sunscreen, and to ease back into physical activities. Balmier weather…