Columns

Night Urination Is a Sleep Disruptor

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a male, 67 and I have difficulties urinating during the night. I get up three or four times from bed to do so, and the flow is very weak. I have no issues urinating during the day. Is there a reason to be concerned? — K.S. ANSWER: By far, the likeliest reason for that symptom (called “nocturia” for the Latin word for “night” and Greek for “urine”) is benign enlargement of the prostate gland. This gland is a walnut-sized organ in the male pelvis that urine flows through. I can’t answer why some men have low flow only at night, but it does seem that ...

Widower Dating Again Wants to Leave the Past In the Past

DEAR ABBY: I’m 35 and have been a widower for almost five years. I began dating about two years ago. In my adventures of dating I have encountered a lot of divorced moms. I met someone very special (I’ll call her Rose) a year and a half ago. She’s great. We share lots of laughs and goals, but she does something that drives me crazy. She’s constantly showing me Facebook memories/photos of her daughter when she was young. I never got the chance to have children and rarely bring up my past because I feel that’s behind me. Rose’s ex is “toxic,” according to her, and ...

Understanding Social Security Survivors’ Benefits

We are here for surviving family members when a worker dies. In the event of your death, certain members of your family may be eligible for survivors benefits. These include widows and widowers, divorced widows and widowers, children, and dependent parents. The amount of benefits your survivors receive depends on your lifetime earnings. The higher your earnings, the higher their benefits. That’s why it’s important to make sure your earnings history is correct in our records. You can do this by creating a personal my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. A my Social ...

Just Answer The Questions

Remember when you were in school and the teacher surprised you with a “pop quiz?” He or she would hand out a paper with 10 or 15 questions and slap it face down on your desks. With a groan you flip over the page and wait for the signal to begin. Your disdain for this quiz quickly turns to a more positive experience when you see that the teacher has posed the questions so that you have only to answer true or false. OK, this isn’t so bad. You figure you have a 50-50 chance of answering the questions correctly. And sometimes, guesses are better than not knowing the answers ...

Spooky Antiques to Enjoy at Halloween

We need a little spooky fun right about now. With the real fear of pandemics, quarantines and divisive politics, dressing up as a witch, goblin, ghost or any other ghoul, sounds appealing. Halloween takes folks of all ages into the world of make-believe and that’s a good thing. Collectors enjoy Halloween stuff tremendously. It seems as popular as Christmas in the vintage decorating world. Reproductions too abound. Vintage items like mid-20th century costumes and masks, treat bags, spooky lanterns and pumpkins are big in the collecting world. Of course, ghoulish masks are ...

Nuclear Stress Test Is Better Diagnostic Option For Heart Disease

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 64-year-old woman with a family history of heart disease. Both of my parents had heart attacks and open-heart surgery. At ages 50, 55 and 60, I experienced what I thought were signs of a heart attack. With each experience, I ended up in the hospital and was given a nuclear stress test. None of the tests showed blockages, and it was concluded I had severe acid reflux/GERD. (An endoscopy at age 50 showed a hiatal hernia.) Once again, I am experiencing symptoms that could be either heart- or acid-related. I take Protonix as needed. At present, the medication has ...