I’ll be 75 years old this year. My wife, Carlin, will be 80. Even our 5 children are rushing past mid-life. We’ve all had health challenges that we talk about with family, friends, and our health-care providers. But there’s one problem that remains hidden. It’s depression and bipolar disorder. My father suffered from them for...Continue reading
Dear Mr. Dad. We have an almost two-year old who keeps us pretty busy. Recently, though, my wife has been talking about having a second child. I’m honestly not that thrilled about the idea. We barely have enough time to take care of ourselves and our baby. How are we supposed to add a fourth...Continue reading
Ever wonder about the future fertility of children born with birth defects? As a urologist, I’ve treated hundreds of boys with two common birth defects: undescended testicles and hypospadias. Throughout my career, it’s been hard to address the question of a boy’s future fertility with these conditions. Until now. Missing in Action Birth defects occur in 3% of U.S. newborns....Continue reading
For more than 40 years I have been sharing my expertise about men’s health. As professions go, it’s a pretty good one. Everything I learn, I share with others through popular books like Surviving Male Menopause, The Irritable Male Syndrome, Stress Relief for Men, and my most recent book, My Distant Dad: Healing the Family Father Wound. (You can...Continue reading
Dear Mr. Dad: My daughter is in 7th grade has been coming home with stories about her classmates using the most bigoted and hateful language about other students and other people in general. Peer pressure is a big thing in middle school and we’re afraid that she’s going to pick up some of these attitudes. What...Continue reading
It’s an interesting time to be a man in America. While the progressive and evolving tone of gender equity has focused on women’s rights and empowerment in recent years, lost among the headlines about the #MeToo Movement, women’s equity and rights are the realities facing men in this country who are increasingly taking on more...Continue reading
Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Spoiled for choice. How do you decide which path to take to have children after a vasectomy? Do you do a vasectomy reversal or undergo a sperm retrieval and assisted reproduction (IVF-ICSI). Stuck between a pillow and a soft place now becomes a pillow and a laboratory. Analysis...Continue reading
We’ve bought into the greatest con job in human history. We’ve been taught that civilization is the pinnacle of human achievement and saved us from a life that was solitary, poor, nasty, and brutish as the philosopher Thomas Hobbs described it. In fact, it is civilization that is solitary, poor, nasty, and brutish. We’ve been...Continue reading
The recent “pink wave” swept into Congress an unprecedented number of women, many of whom put women’s health high on their list of priorities. There’s no question that much can—and should—be done to improve women’s health. However, there’s also no question that a legislative focus on women’s health continues to ignore a far larger problem:...Continue reading
It’s flu season. And you’re trying to conceive or maybe you’re pregnant. Should you get a flu shot? For those of you who never get the flu, here is the modern definition: A terrible sickness where you feel like you shouldn’t be able to walk, but somehow you can. For about a week, everything is...Continue reading