Assisted Reproduction: A Two-Edged Sword
Almost 2 decades ago, just about the time when my fellowship ended and I was starting on the faculty of UCSF, along came ICSI. Short for intracytoplasmic sperm injection, ICSI involves using a single sperm…
Why I Love Medicine-Redux
I was recently asked why I love medicine by a health care blog. They published what they could, but there is really more than my response to them revealed. I’d like to set…
The Skinny on Obesity and Male Fertility
You have often heard me say that sperm production is an engine that really wants to run hard and fast. And, that by not taking great care of yourself, sperm quality and fertility…
A Year Without Answers II
This is the second of two guest posts from a patient who lives in Europe. He recently recontacted me about his experience with male infertility and how it affected him. Moved by his…
It’s in the Steak
In quiet moment on the couch, I recently asked my 8-year old daughter what the word “hope” means to her. “If life were a meal, hope belongs in the steak,” she said. The…
The Ins and Outs of Male Fertility Kits
A man’s sperm count. One of the most misunderstood tests in all of medicine. Like naming stars in the sky to help order the universe, we assign “normal” ranges to the features…
Your Hair or Your Hormones
It’s the perfect drug for 40 million men in America who are going bald. Take it once a day to keep the hair on your head and shrink the prostate, which also commonly…
A Dozen Funny Reasons for Vasectomy
As a vasectomist, I realize that a vasectomy, that iconic way to stop family building in its tracks, is not simply a 10-minute procedure. In a man’s life, it is a significant cultural…
The Artificial Testicle: Funded!
It is the stuff of dreams in academic medicine: an NIH (National Institutes of Health) research grant. Get one of these and you’re pretty much assured of getting tenure and succeeding at…
The Wall of Holiday Cards
I always tell grateful patients that the kindest thing that they can do for me is to send a holiday picture of the family. We have a wall in the clinic that…
May 20, 2012
Arthur — This is a wonderful reply - I can relate in so many ways. As a cancer survivor, I had...
May 13, 2012
Paul Turek, MD — Dear Shahid, That is quite a story! I must admit, the reaction that your husband is having to hearing the...
May 13, 2012
shahid — Dear Doctor,
I live in Pakistan. I am 32 and my husband is of 33 years old. We got married in...
