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Providing more information about Repatha for cholesterol

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 75-year-old woman who’s in very good health. Since my early 50s, I’ve had issues with my cholesterol. My doctor has put me on several statins that caused very sore joints and muscle aches, to the point that I finally had to stop them. I felt that it just wasn’t worth all the aches and pains. My doctor decided to put me on the drug Repatha by self-injection every other week. This has worked amazingly well for me. I have no aches or pains from it, and we are both thrilled at my recent blood tests. I understand that Repatha is a fairly new drug. Do you have ...

Iran: Winning ourselves into another defeat?

Letters to the editor

Tim Mannello Williamsport Iran doesn’t need to defeat the United States outright to win a long war. It only needs to make the cost of staying in the fight unbearable. That is the uncomfortable truth at the center of any extended conflict with Tehran. Iran can strike American positions across the Middle East through proxy militias, launch waves of cheap drones that force the United States to burn expensive interceptors and threaten the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global energy supplies. The imbalance is stark. Iran can spend thousands to launch a drone; the United States ...

Dear Annie: Holding firm on boundaries with estranged family

Columns

Dear Annie: I am a woman in my early 40s, living several states away from the town where I grew up. My relationship with my parents has always been complicated, especially with my mother, and for the last 25 years I have also been estranged from my older sister. She still lives near my parents, while I built my life far away. The issue comes up whenever I consider visiting. If my parents know I’m coming, my mother almost always tells my sister and tries to arrange some kind of family get-together. What she doesn’t seem to accept is that I do not want contact with my sister. Our ...

Repudiation of taxpayer money a disservice to council halls

Our View

You can argue against the alleged merits of taxation if you so desire — certainly there are reasons to do so. Nobody enjoys the experience of paying taxes — of watching your hard-earned money, the literal fruits of your labor, going to pay for society’s upkeep. But we live in a world where we do, in fact, have to pay taxes — and at that point, we may as well see some benefits from at least some of our money coming home. Instead, we are forced to sit here, yet again, watching other towns whose leadership is less indecisive reap the rewards of our labor. Monday night, Lock ...

Pittsburgh is just built different

Columns

Art Rooney II was standing on the pitch of the brand-new U.S. Steel Community football field, located on the sprawling 178 acres where the men and women who lived in the slopes overlooking Hazelwood Works labored in the mill. It doesn’t seem that long ago when those massive steel structures were churning out steel for over 100 years, playing a significant role in building this country. Off in the distance stands the U.S. Steel Tower, the tallest building in Appalachia. Closer to the field are the skeletal remains, now repurposed to house Carnegie Mellon University and its ...

A combination of BP meds can be more effective than just one

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 69-year-old woman who’s been on different blood pressure medications for a very long time. I was on 20 mg of lisinopril and 5 mg of amlodipine for a while, but my blood pressure spiked to 190/100 mm Hg. My doctor then increased the amlodipine to 10 mg, which brought my blood pressure down somewhat, but I still was often in the 150-170 range. I also had a fast heart rate often, so metoprolol (50 mg) was substituted for amlodipine. This didn’t really work, so 12.5 mg of hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) was added. Now I’m suddenly having low blood pressure — the ...