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Dear Annie: Love at full volume

Dear Annie: My husband and I both work from home and each have our own offices. The problem is our walls are thin and his voice is LOUD. It travels through walls and doors and can even be heard by colleagues I’m speaking with when we both have meetings at the same time. It honestly sounds like he’s screaming in there. I’ve resorted to noise canceling headphones while doing focus work, but even then I can sometimes hear him. I love him dearly, but I feel like I’m co-working in a sports bar. Is there any hope? — Drowned Out Dear Drowned Out: There are ways to solve your ...

Support stockings should be removed before tucking in for bed

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m 70 years old, and my whole family is prone to edema, varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis due to venous insufficiency. I’ve been wearing support pantyhose for 45 years whenever I get dressed, and I recently increased the compression. While I’m sitting, I elevate my legs. I am otherwise healthy and not overweight, and I have no cardiac issues, just the edema. Usually I’m OK except when I’m traveling (especially in airplanes) or when I’m dining in restaurants as I must avoid salt intake, so it’s easier to stay home. My question is whether it’s OK to ...

It takes a village to protect libraries, literacy

When I was president of the Downtown Lock Haven Rotary, my signature project was to create a system of Little Red Libraries for the Lock Haven community. Literacy has been a huge part of my entire life. I was a kid who regularly visited the bookmobile and local library as well as the school library where I grew up. I was always reading a book any time I had a spare moment in my busy spiritual, academic and athletic life. The Downtown Lock Haven Rotary Club provided the money and then found a builder for the little libraries. Tom Brown and Sons accepted the assignment and built two of ...

Hey, America: Stop complaining

Whatever the outcome of the “deal, or no deal” scenario with Iran, the public attitude toward the war has been disturbing. Despite President Trump’s constant admonition that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon, a majority of those polled oppose the intervention. A side effect of the war has been complaints about higher gas prices. That grumbling caused me to do some reminiscing about a different America and different Americans. Over Memorial Day weekend we again heard about “The Greatest Generation,” but do we take the time to consider what made them great? While ...

Dear Annie: Missing the sisterhood beneath the scorekeeping

Dear Annie: My sister and I grew up sharing everything: clothes, secrets, bedrooms, even blame when one of us broke something in the house. For most of my life, she was my first phone call and my safest place to land. But in the last few years, something has changed. Every conversation with her has started to feel like a contest I never agreed to enter. Last month, my son came home thrilled because he made the travel lacrosse team after months of practicing in the driveway until dark. I was so proud of him that I mentioned it at Sunday dinner. Before I even finished my sentence, my ...

Know the difference between certain types of cholangitis

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your recent column on primary sclerosing cholangitis. What is the difference between this condition and primary biliary cholangitis? Where can I find information on how to get on a waiting list for a liver transplant? — C.V. ANSWER: Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are similar in some ways. They are both chronic and progressive liver diseases, whose initial symptoms can be vague (such as fatigue or skin itching) and can be found incidentally on laboratory testing. They are both largely thought to be autoimmune diseases ...