Dr. Anil Rickhi

Thank you for your question. Ideally at 9, your TSH levels should be below 3. However, you are just on the borderline above and given that you were within normal limits during your second and third trimester, I would simply follow up with your OBGYN. While I am not an OBGYN, I have seen many times where patients are prescribed T4 in order to raise a possible very, very mild hypothyroidism.

The literature suggests that this may be more detrimental as T4 (Thyroxine) has to be followed up with serially lab testing to ensure the dose is correct.

If you have a healthy baby up to this point, my expert advice would be to have your TSH and Free T4 levels monitored before instituting any treatment.

Thank you for your question. The evidence has shown that suboxone does help out with opiate addiction. There have been some reports detailing that patients still experience some euphoria, but not to the level of oxycodone. You may want to get a referral from your family doctor to an addiction psychiatrist. If your addiction is posing a risk to your health, the best thing you could do in the interim is surround yourself with positive people, go to Narcotics Anonymous meetings and perhaps consider an outpatient treatment facility. I wish you the best in your recovery.

This really depends. How old is your son? Is there some reason you are reluctant to treat your son with medication?
There are many diseases that can present with motion sickness and these need to be ruled out. Most commonly, it is treated with a patch you put behind your ear called scopolamine. I would suggest following this up with your paediatrician. Thank you for your question.

You should follow this up with your family physician. It may be an indication of kidney disease. However, other questions your family doctor should be asking you is how long this has been going on for, do you have a history of kidney disease, what is your diet like, is there blood in the urine, are you on any medications that could cause this. I would suggest a thorough follow-up, including lab tests such as Creatinine, GFR etc. Perhaps you may want to ask your family physician for a referral to see a general internist or a nephrologist.

Type 2 Diabetes is a systemic disorder. Usually, diagnosed through a blood test called HBA1C. To answer your question, uncontrolled diabetes can lead to peripheral neuropathy (loss of sensation), and in terms of the eyes, uncontrolled diabetics tend to be at higher risk for retinopathy (essentially, going blind). Your doctor is giving you correct advice.

Yes, you can refer to the CDC website.

I’m sorry to hear about your mother. It is often the case that people with Alzheimer’s have insomnia. Many physicians tend to prescribe sleep medications under the category of what we call benzodiazepines. These may include Ativan, Valium and many more. The problem with these medications is that they can exacerbate Alzheimer’s, especially with the elderly.

Psychology, sleep hygiene is key. Another suggestion would be a medication called trazadone. I would suggest you inquire about the options with the physician overseeing your mother's care and stay away from any medications in the benzodiazepine family. You can find out what these medications are by doing a simple google search.

Some other advice I would give is to take care of yourself as well. All to often we see burnout from caregivers.

I hope this helps.

Thank you for your question. There seems to be a misconception about something called the naturalistic fallacy. Essentially, many people are misinformed that if it is “natural”, it must be good for you. Some natural supplements used to promote sleep are still psychoactive in the same way a pill is. However, poison ivy is “natural”.

From your description of your symptoms, I do not think sleep medications would be indicated. When post menopausal, it is typically normal to experience this. A consult with your family physician about estrogen may be very helpful

There is some controversy about this, however in my medical opinion, there is no shortcut to losing weight. It’s calories in and calories out. While it may be difficult, I would recommend exercise, especially cardiovascular such as running on a treadmill. It is also beneficial to lift weights as this builds muscle which helps burn off the fat.

Think about going to a gym, having your family GP test your thyroid, measuring the circumference around your waist instead of a BMI. Also, I would suggest gaining some objective insight into if you actually need to lose weight. Are you overweight? Or do you feel you need to shed pounds because of a personal belief that you think you are overweight when you are not?

This is very commonly missed by physicians partly due to perceived stigma, but it is quite common...it is just that nobody talks about it.

A good doctor will explore these areas. I would suggest that you set up an appointment with your physician to discuss the above.

It all depends. How old is your child? If they are capable of demonstrating good insight and judgment, then likely it will be confidential and it should be. It’s natural for a mother to care about her child, however there is something called codependence, which is unhealthily.

Given that I do not know the age of your child or any consent forms signed, I cannot give you a direct answer. However, let’s make an assumption that your child is 16 and deemed competent, has appropriate insight and judgment, then they have the right to confidentiality.

Your heart is in the right place, however sometimes children need to express their feelings in a way they feel comfortable which is where confidentiality comes in. You can certainly ask your child and be there as a parental figure and not their therapist. Also, if deemed competent legally, your child has a right to confidentiality and does not have to tell you, but they may decide to on their own volition.

In order to diagnose sciatica, you physician needs to do a specific test. Essentially, you lie down supine (on your back) and your doctor will raise one of your legs upwards. If you have sciatica, you will feel a radiating pain starting from your waist down to your leg.

Congratulations on quitting. You should feel proud of yourself.

To answer your question, YES. Studies show that depending on how much you smoked, your lungs do repair themselves. Infact, within the first week, there are notable changes in taste, fatigue and changes in mood, after you get over the withdrawal period.

Again depending on how much you smoked at 10 years, your risk of lung cancer essentially drops to the baseline of someone who has not smoked.