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Dear Dr. Roach: My mother, who is now 81, has very low iron. She has to have iron infusions. The infusions last from six to eight weeks. Afterward, the iron level is fine for a little while, and then she has to go back again.

Dear Dr. Roach: I had a hip replacement seven weeks ago. Three weeks ago, I went to physical therapy, where the therapist stretched my leg. That evening, I was in severe pain. The surgeon checked my hip and said that the pain was muscular.

Dear Dr. Roach: Recently, I was diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia. The recommended treatment is the drug hydroxyurea because I turned 60 this past year and have a mutation in the JAK 2 gene.

Ask people what they know about vitamin C and some will reply it鈥檚 good for preventing common colds. Maybe, they would add heart attack, if they have read my column. But ask the same question about K2 and most people will give you a blank stare.

Dear Dr. Roach: I鈥檓 asking on behalf of my mother, who will be 80 in August. She recently had breast cancer. Her recovery was slow. She had only one chemotherapy treatment. She couldn鈥檛 handle any more, and declined radiation.

Dear Dr. Roach: There was some controversy recently in a medical journal about the risk of sugar intake for heart disease. What is your take? M.P.

Dear Dr. Roach: My A1c test on blood sugar is always higher (prediabetes) than my fasting glucose test (normal) on the same visit to the doctor. Which result should I believe? My latest test at a doctor鈥檚 office showed that my A1c is 6.

Dear Dr. Roach: I have chewed nicotine gum for 15 years with tea or coffee. What are the dangers? V.B. Nicotine gum contains nicotine, obviously, and excess nicotine can cause multiple symptoms, including nausea and vomiting, dizziness and headache.

You think constipation isn鈥檛 important? If so, an article in the American Journal of Gastroenterology suggests you鈥檇 better think again. Annually, in the U.S., 700,000 people are seen in hospital emergency wards for this problem.

Dear Dr. Roach: I have had an autoimmune disease called bullous pemphigoid for the past four years. I originally was treated with prednisone therapy for over a year, which was then tapered and changed to mycophenolate.