{"id":2360,"date":"2016-06-13T12:31:13","date_gmt":"2011-06-13T19:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.accessrx.com\/blog\/?p=2360"},"modified":"2011-06-13T12:31:13","modified_gmt":"2011-06-13T19:31:13","slug":"mens-health-month-vc0613","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/current-health-news\/mens-health-month-vc0613\/","title":{"rendered":"June is National Men’s Health Month: Special Guest Post by Jesse Mills, M.D."},"content":{"rendered":"

ADDRESSING THE SILENT CRISIS \u2013 MEN\u2019S HEALTH\u00a0 – June 13, 2011<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Written by Jesse Mills, M.D., men\u2019s health and male fertility specialist with The Urology Center of Colorado (TUCC)<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/strong>DENVER \u2013\u00a0 June is National Men\u2019s Health Month. \"\"<\/a>What is men\u2019s health and why should we only have a month of it in June? I think it has something to do with basketball and hockey winding down, baseball not quite heating up yet and football being a long, hot summer away. I\u2019m a urologist who specializes in male fertility, hormone therapy and sexual medicine. I\u2019m the doctor you need when man parts stop working well. It\u2019s difficult to get a guy to lower his blood pressure or cholesterol levels just by telling him it\u2019s good for his health. If you tell him it\u2019s good for his sexual health, well, then that gets his attention. <\/p>\n

For example, growing evidence suggests a correlation between impotence (erectile dysfunction) and early onset coronary disease. In other words, impotence can be a sign of impending or future heart trouble. So, the way to a man\u2019s heart may not necessarily only be through his stomach. Pay attention guys.<\/p>\n

As it currently stands, men don\u2019t have annual screening milestones until age 50. Women begin annual gynecologic exams at age 18 and are therefore indoctrinated early into the world of preventive care. Current screening standards suggest an annual colonoscopy at age 50 and PSA (a simple blood test to assess prostate cancer risk) and prostate exam at age 50. Urologists and the American Cancer Society recommend screening for prostate cancer beginning at age 40, especially for men with a strong family history. But by age 40, many men may have already developed a lot of health problems that can adversely impact their life spans. Not to mention no routine physician visits to help intervene before guys run into trouble. The three leading causes of impotence I see in my practice are high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. Smoking is a close fourth, but, fortunately, Colorado is a state with a smaller population of smokers. All four of these causes are preventable conditions. \u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Doctors know that the causes of impotence are difficult to change. My message is to start slow. I ask patients how long it took for them to gain 50 pounds. No one has ever said they did it in a month or two. Most commercial diet plans tout how fast their clients can drop the weight. This is wrong. We don\u2019t get fat fast, so we shouldn\u2019t expect to get skinny fast for a couple of reasons. First, most diet plans are drastic and difficult to maintain. Nearly every plan cuts out a major food group. That\u2019s tough to stick to. \u00a0Second, humans are good at storing fat. This is a survival mechanism that helped our ancestors survive days or weeks without eating and then over eat when food was plentiful to prepare for the next famine. Tomorrow, eat less than you ate today. Not much less. \u00a0Don\u2019t weigh yourself for at least two weeks. While you\u2019re at it, do more tomorrow than you did today. If your office is on the 6th floor, take the stairs to the 2nd floor and take the elevator the rest of the way for the first week. Then go up two flights the next week. And so on. If you stick with the simple stuff, you will start seeing benefits without having to drastically change your lifestyle. Trimming your weight and improving your fitness will serendipitously lower your blood pressure and greatly reduce your risk of diabetes. If you\u2019re a guy reading this and you\u2019re already noticing sexual problems, you may start seeing improvements just by altering your lifestyle and save yourself a visit to see me.<\/p>\n

What about male menopause\/andropause and its effects on men\u2019s health? Low testosterone is the most under-diagnosed hormone disorder today. Symptoms of low testosterone are not life threatening. Men with diabetes or thyroid disease typically have undeniable symptoms that often cause them to seek urgent care. Low testosterone (low T) is insidious and vague in its onset and symptoms. Whereas women have a sentinel event in their changing hormones when they stop their periods, men don\u2019t. Men with low T can be cranky, lethargic, lack sexual interest or ability, gain weight, lose muscle or lose interest in daily activities. Most write this off as \u201cgetting older.\u201d But low T can affect men of all ages. \"\"There are no established values for testosterone dependent on age. The normal range is extremely wide, which makes diagnosing low T tough for many physicians. This is where patients have a chance to take charge and inform their physicians that they may be suffering from this condition. I ask all of the guys who see me if they\u2019ve lost their morning erections. This is an excellent screening question for men with low T. If a man is diagnosed with low T, treatment is pretty simple. \u00a0First, I screen all men for prostate cancer with a physical examination and a blood test. If they are at low risk for cancer, I get them started on testosterone replacement. The vast majority of guys are prescribed a daily testosterone gel. It\u2019s easy to apply, absorbs quickly and men start seeing positive effects in days. By positive effects, I mean their sexual interest and performance increase, their weight loss improves, muscle mass goes up and fat mass goes down.<\/p>\n

I often see men whose wives or partners make the appointment because they notice a change where men don\u2019t. Again, men aren\u2019t the best at taking care of themselves or paying attention to their bodies. If men get the message that taking care of their overall health can benefit their bedroom lives, this may be a stronger motivator. So, for the month of June, see your physician, get your blood pressure checked, get your blood sugar and cholesterol checked, get screened for prostate cancer (in preparation for September, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month,) and talk with your doctor if you\u2019re feeling any of the symptoms of low testosterone.<\/p>\n

For more information on men\u2019s health and prostate cancer, please visit www.tucc.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ADDRESSING THE SILENT CRISIS \u2013 MEN\u2019S HEALTH\u00a0 – June 13, 2011 Written by Jesse Mills, M.D., men\u2019s health and male fertility specialist with The Urology Center of Colorado (TUCC)   DENVER \u2013\u00a0 June is National Men\u2019s Health Month. What is men\u2019s health and why should we only have a month of it in June? I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-health-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t