“Men put off visiting a urologist until the last minute.” Talking about male menopause
No matter how much we pretend that men are much more lucky with their gender than women, we have to admit: two X chromosomes have their advantages. For example, most girls don’t need to shave every day, and having a bust at hand also makes you believe that nature is a chauvinist. But today we’ll talk about another injustice at the gender level: the need to visit a urologist. For a woman, going to the gynecologist, if not akin to brushing your teeth in the morning, is certainly no worse than going for a manicure. With men everything is different - from the mere thought that you will have to undress in front of a completely stranger(often the same sex as you), our knees shake, sweat profusely appears on our foreheads and our Adam’s apple trembles. Why does this happen and what are we really afraid of in the urologist’s office?
1. Fear of finding out a fatal diagnosis
The point here is not so much about urology, but about fear for your life. It is difficult to find people who, having discovered uncharacteristic sharp pains, imagine pictures of recovery in their heads followed by running across a green meadow in slow motion. But it’s much more difficult to get rid of the funeral march and wreaths with ribbons fluttering in the wind from your mind while sitting in a hospital corridor. That is why many of us, realizing that the sooner we contact a specialist, the higher the chance of quickly curing the disease, still postpone a visit to the clinic until the last minute.
2. Fear of admitting illness to your wife (friend)
Even if you just honestly made excuses for not feeling well so as not to wash the dishes, when you find yourself face to face with sex on the same day, you don’t want to lose face. Therefore, telling your woman about emerging health problems is often not so much difficult as it is embarrassing. This behavior is completely devoid of logic, because by being a hero you can survive until the moment when a bed for lovemaking is no longer needed. It's worth thinking about loving girl will not treat you worse because of your illness. Women tend to take care of sick men.
3. Fear of doctors
Many people are simply afraid of people in white coats. Maybe in childhood you had a tooth pulled out unsuccessfully or your finger was sloppily sewn on. The fact that many men are ready to scream in panic when they see white coat, - this is not our observation, but the opinion of practicing doctors. It would seem that women should be more sensitive to sterile rooms, couches and shiny steel instruments of doctors.
It's time to take a little break from the horrors and look at the photo of our nurse. We always do this after we come across the phrase “brilliant steel instruments of doctors” in texts.
Surprisingly, men are much more impressed by this whole hospital setting. “Do not rush to accuse yourself of cowardice, unworthy of an adult - just take these weaknesses for granted and endure the unpleasant situation,” our expert advises.
4. It will go away on its own
You reassure yourself that the pain will subside on its own, so you shouldn’t go to the doctor, there’s no point in causing panic. Is this a familiar story? “This is banal illiteracy, coupled with a negligent attitude towards one’s own body. - Alexander assumes a stern look. - It’s worth remembering once and for all: if painful sensations does not go away within a few days, then you should immediately run to the doctor.” Our body is endowed with a “pain alarm clock” that informs you about certain health problems, so ignoring it is the height of recklessness.
5. No time
In the century high-speed Internet and high concentration of bars on square meter Every minute counts. And you can easily while away the evening in traffic jams. Families, children, work, friends - going to a urologist most often does not have a place on this list. But it will be useful for a stoic like you to step out of your comfort zone for a while and go for an examination. There is a good chance that by devoting a couple of hours to your health now, you can avoid months of painful and depressing treatment.
6. Medical illiteracy
Green bumps on the penis are not normal. Do not make a diagnosis on the Internet (especially since you will have to look at a lot of disgusting genitals there for a similar request on Google). Anything else that needs to be explained?
7. Fear of the examination itself - it will be unpleasant and extremely awkward
And finally, the fear that we sometimes unconsciously associate with doctors - the examination will hurt. In some cases this is true, but this has nothing to do with urology. During the examination, the urologist will carefully and carefully palpate the scrotum and penis (with awkwardness, alas, nothing can be done; anesthesia has not yet been invented for it), examine the opening of the urethra and check The lymph nodes. Many men are also concerned about a rectal examination of the prostate gland. We hasten to make you happy! Progress does not stand still, and this procedure is now carried out using a gel with an anesthetic effect. And a complete secret: you have a choice - this simple examination can be replaced with a more humane ultrasound analysis.
When I came to the urologist, I arrived and in front of me was white Shaquille O’Neal, his mother. A guy about 2 meters tall, with huge hands and fingers like Bavarian sausages (let’s remember here).
I told him everything, he felt it and so on, and he tells you a referral for a prostate ultrasound, a blood test and another test you will take from me (like a smear from the pussy).
Well, I think it’s okay to pull the cat by the balls, I have to do it. The next day I took time off from work in the morning and went to this clinic.
First, I quickly ran in and donated blood from a vein. Next I go for an ultrasound. I go into the uzist’s office. There's a guy sitting there, mustachioed like a cockroach, I show him the direction, so he says, let's get on the couch. Well, fuck it, said done, climbed on. I'm lying there thinking about how spaceships they roam the expanses of the Bolshoi Theater and about the cutlets that my beloved collected for me at work, since I did not have breakfast (fasting blood test). He even finished writing there and comes up to me, looks at me like I’m an idiot, and says, you motherfucker, why did you come to a psychologist, why are you lying down, let’s take off your trousers, lie on your side and bend your knees to your stomach. I came and asked, excuse me doc, but why do I need trousers, let them be on me... To which he sighed sadly and took out a tube of gel.
My heart began to beat faster, I felt some kind of shit in my ass. As it turned out, the ass’s instincts did not let us down. I lay down on my side, curled up, and then I felt my chocolate eye being smeared with cold gel, I closed my eyes and began to read the Our Father. After the doc’s words “relax” and spread your buttocks, I felt hellish pain from the asshole and, as if with the sound of the crunch of the first snow under my feet, they even stuck it in me and led me in my ass. Tears slowly began to flow from my gasping eyes, the size of a 5-ruble coin. I thought then not to die as an anal virgin...
And then a minute later, the procedure was over, and with the words “here, wipe yourself off,” he gave me a napkin. I wiped away my tears with this napkin, he looked at me in surprise and said to wipe your ass, not snot, and gave me more napkins. I wiped myself off and dried myself off, I went up to him, he gave me a printed picture of the prostate and some descriptions of it, go to the urologist.
He went out into the corridor and barely hobbled to the elevator. I was waiting for the elevator (it was the 2nd floor). The elevator arrives, there are grannies. I walk in and hear a whisper from behind, saying, the bitch is so young, but I can’t help but go down to the first floor from the second. I thought to myself, if only you knew what I’ve been through right now.
I go to the urologist. I sit down. I provide pictures and descriptions. He looks at the pictures, then at me and says, why are you so depressed? nice pictures. I answer, they say, Valentin Petrovich, you are a fucking traitor, why the fuck didn’t you warn me that this would be shit. He says he didn’t warn me, I told you, and even in the direction it says that the ultrasound is rectal. I fucking didn’t even attach any significance to the word “rectally”, because I heard it for the first time. In short, he says, well, the last analysis remains (the one from the pussy, remember). He points his finger at the door in the wall and says go to the treatment room, I’ll be right there. Well, I went into the next room and sat and waited. He comes in and says take off your pants and lie down on the couch with your side and your knees to your stomach. Somewhere, damn, I already heard this and reflexively my anus shrank so that not even a needle would have passed, as if begging me not to betray him a second time. Then I realized that they were going to fuck me twice in a day. I say, doc, your instructions scare me, because about 10 minutes ago I already heard this, it’s a smear, why the hell should I go to bed. Here he explains to me that he must stimulate the prostate until there is discharge from the prostate. I turned pale, my legs gave way and I lay down on the couch waiting for anal punishment part 2.
I lie there, look at the wall and think, where the fuck did I spoil my karma like that? I turn my head and see him pulling his gloves over huge Bavarian sausages (remember the fingers at the beginning of the story). Life flashed before my eyes. Again I smell the cold gel in my ass, and the doctor’s finger started to do its job. To be honest, the ultrasound device was baby talk compared to the fingers of my tormentor. I’m lying there, tears are flowing again, I’m thinking about how I’m going to look the boys in the face. Then he began to remember his beloved and the fact that she refused to give it to the ass for almost half a year, after the first attempt...
Then I feel the feeling that I’m going to piss myself, and then he says, there will be feelings that I want to write, but you have to be patient. I lie there patiently, but in my thoughts I want to piss everything on my dick and him in addition. In general, it lasted about 40 seconds, then I stood up and he stuck some kind of stick into my pussy about 3 cm. Fuck sparks from the eyes, wild pain, darkness….
Well, that’s all he says, put a napkin on you, wipe yourself off and come into the office. I asked for 2 napkins. One wiped his tears again, the other wiped his ass. I go up to the office, he’s already writing there. I’m standing, he says to me, why the hell are you standing, there’s no truth in your feet, sit down, I kindly refused, because my ass was burning like the Pindos’ farts during the work of our “dryers” in Syria. I took all the pictures and agreed when I would come back for the results.
I left the office, for some reason I wanted to smoke, but since I don’t smoke, I shot a cigarette on the street. With a sluggish gait I walked to the car, sat down and drove to work.
After the smear, peeing all day was painful as hell, but the doctor warned me about it. For the benefit of the people, I’ll tell you, I shit normally, nothing fell out)))
In short, they say, I went to the urologist.
By the way, I will say that after receiving the tests, some kind of bad thing was found in this smear, I took a course of antibiotics and shoved more suppositories into my ass. But it really helped, I didn’t suffer anymore)))
Cats with lamps go to hell - because the story is real.
Associated with many fears and concerns. They can be formulated in the form of an appeal to oneself: “don’t go to the urologist unless absolutely necessary”, calls to the doctor: “don’t fumble “there” with rubber gloves” or a warning to a friend: “Keep quiet about this, otherwise you risk encountering disgusted glances and contemptuous laughter from your friends.”.
Dr. Martin Resnick, professor and chair of the department of urology at Case Western University, clearly understands these fears. "In my experience,- he admits, - women are much more open than men to discuss issues related to sexual health» . Does this mean that men are basically avoiding sensitive topics? Not really. As Martin Resnik notes: “Men think about it, but women also talk about it”.
Men are reluctant to go to the doctor - any doctor. But especially to the urologist. After all, if it really turns out that they have a problem, the man will regard this as
. He already feels threatened. Because a man's vision of himself is closely related to sexual health and activity. If a man remains sexually active, "then maybe he doesn't really age".
Fear of hearing "bad news", - Certainly important reason. But not the only one. The very thought of a urological examination is scary. Any grown man has little understanding of what happens when a doctor puts on gloves. Remember the movie "Fletch" - the moment when Chevy Chase's character dryly says: "Use your whole fist, Doc.".
“This is one of the most common fears”, confirms Dr. William Gee. The specialist says that rectal examination, carried out using a finger or an ultrasound probe, is, however, “a simple and important part of urological examination in an adult (and especially elderly) man”. This method is usually used to check the condition of the prostate and rule out prostate cancer. This procedure is mostly painless.
What makes men even more anxious is the thought of a doctor inserting a rubber tube into the opening of the penis or performing a catheterization. Bladder to determine the volume of residual urine. Dr. Gee assures that such procedures are performed infrequently today. Instead it applies ultrasonography. The doctor determines the volume of the bladder using ultrasound. If catheterization is necessary, then an anesthetic is first injected into the urethra to reduce discomfort from the procedure.
In addition, urologists perform many other clinical and surgical procedures, important for maintaining sexual and physical health men. Therefore, remember: .
Make an appointment with a urologist in your city:
Translation and adaptation of Christopher Kayal's article “Why do men fear the urologist?”
It just so happens that the word “menopause” is associated with women. However, it is equally characteristic of men. At what age do the first symptoms appear, and what threat does menopause pose? male body- We talked about the nuances of this period with a urologist.
Artem Vilyukha
urologist medical center"Michelle"
Candidate of Medical Sciences
Assistant at the Department of Urology and Nephrology BelMAPO
- In men, the production of sex hormones, in particular testosterone, decreases with age. However, unlike women, men are not characterized by a sudden cessation of the activity of the gonads. In principle, a man remains fertile, that is, capable of conceiving throughout his entire life, right up to old age.
However, the peak activity of the gonads and their peak production of testosterone occurs between the ages of 20 and 30 years. After 30, the intensity of testosterone production gradually decreases with slight dynamics. Every year this decrease fluctuates around 1%.
Along with a decrease in testosterone levels, a man’s fertility decreases, as well as the quality of his sperm. But at the same time, it potentially still retains the ability to fertilize. Women, as we know, if they go through menopause, unfortunately, lose the opportunity to have children.
- Is there any relationship between impotence and male menopause?
Yes, definitely. Impotence, or, as it should be said, erectile disfunction, may be one of the symptoms of male menopause.
In general, the concept of “male menopause” is not entirely correct; there is a special term - age-related androgen deficiency, or androgen deficiency.
- At what age do men experience androgen deficiency?
In some patients it can be diagnosed from about 45 years of age; in some men it can be observed only closer to 60 years of age.
- What do men start complaining about? What changes occur in the body?
Most often, andropause in men is manifested by complaints of increased fatigue, sweating, and emotional lability(mood swings). A decrease in testosterone levels in the body can lead to decreased libido and erectile dysfunction. Metabolic disorders are manifested by the deposition of adipose tissue in female type, which contributes to the development in patients metabolic syndrome. With severe androgen deficiency and estrogenization of the body, a man may develop gynecomastia - an analogue of the female mammary gland.
- Does how early a man goes through menopause depend on his predisposition or lifestyle?
Genetic predisposition matters for any disease, and, probably, if you examine patients and try to learn from their anamnesis about the health of their closest relatives, then you can find some parallels. However, in our time, of course, lifestyle is of enormous importance: nutrition, bad habits, irregular daily routine, work and rest.
- Do men often turn to a urologist during menopause?
Men in general have a rather strange attitude towards their health. On the one hand, they are very anxious, on the other hand, they can put off a visit to the urologist until the last minute. Considering that male menopause does not have any specific manifestations, all these symptoms may not always lead to the idea that a man has androgen deficiency.
As a rule, men go to a urologist only when problems occur in the sexual sphere, sexual desire and erectile function.
True, now there is a slight tendency that young guys, entering serious relationship, understand that they are responsible not only for own health, but also for the health of their partner and future children, so they often go to the doctor without complaints for a routine examination.
-What about men 50+?
According to my observations, they most often come when some questions arise, or those men who have already identified a problem come for a routine examination. Some people see a urologist for the first time in their lives at the age of 60-65.
- If a man is embarrassed to go to a urologist...
If for some reason a man is embarrassed to see a urologist, then you can come to an appointment with a general practitioner or endocrinologist, who will prescribe necessary list examinations.
- How can a urologist help with menopause?
The condition of male menopause can be treated conservatively. In this case, the urologist can prescribe, if necessary, hormone replacement therapy, i.e. synthetic analogs of the hormone testosterone, or other drugs that can stimulate the production of your own testosterone.
Expert:
Roman Redko, urologist-andrologist, dermatovenerologist, dermato-oncologist in multidisciplinary clinic"MedicCity", Candidate of Medical Sciences
Are you, like many other men, trying to independently find answers to all the questions that life poses to you? And of course, yours faithful assistant in this matter - the Internet. When you have health problems, you probably also open your laptop first. Indeed, it is very simple: I discovered some symptoms in myself, “put” keywords into a search engine - and received answers for all occasions. And most medicines in our country you can buy it without a prescription - you went, purchased it and took it. Fast, cheap and cheerful. Do you think you cheated the disease or circumvented fate? Unfortunately, such self-medication can backfire on you. Eventually:
1. The disease can become chronic and, as you already guessed, will not leave you throughout your life.
2. Complications may arise that will lead to serious disorders both in a single organ and in the body as a whole.
3. There is a high probability of “missing the diagnosis” (you are not a specialist!) and being treated for another disease.
4. Severe problems may occur. allergic reactions for medications.
In general, you shouldn't risk your men's health. Today we’ll talk about the 10 main symptoms for which it is better for you to visit a urologist-andrologist for an in-person consultation.
1. Discharge from the urethra (urethra). Normally, urine and sperm should be released from the urethra, but only on the condition that you yourself want it (and you are not at a young age, and you do not have a long period sexual abstinence, which is already bad in itself). Of course I have, physiological secretions secretions from the glands of the urethra and prostate gland, but these secretions are so insignificant normally that you may not even notice them. If you have discharge from the urethra, this does not mean that “you are in trouble.” They may be associated with inflammatory phenomena in urethra and prostate gland after hypothermia. A complication of any disease of other organs may also occur. In any case, if you notice something abnormal, visit a specialist.
2. Cutting, burning, itching in the urethra. Periodically, some sensations in the urethra may also occur in healthy person, which is associated with the frequency of sexual activity, the use of condoms and lubricants, and the use of spices. But if this happens on a regular basis and the severity of symptoms increases, then you can’t delay - it’s time to see a doctor.
3. Pain in the perineum, testicles, around the anus, lower back. This is a sure sign that you have problems (unless, of course, you rode a horse yesterday, took part in no-holds-barred fighting or a street fight).
4. Urinary disorders. Have you noticed that your flow, which used to be able to write words in the snow, has weakened greatly? Do you constantly want to relieve yourself or, on the contrary, cannot do it? Let's go see a doctor. These symptoms may be signs of serious illness.
5. Change in color, appearance of any impurities in urine or semen (pus, blood). Why is this happening? Only a specialist can figure it out.
6. The appearance of rashes (spots, erosions, ulcers) or formations (“growths”) on the external genitalia. It's not from dirt or heat. Most likely, you have become infected with something (read about sexually transmitted infections).
7.
Decreased or absent libido (desire, passion). If you have already read an article about that, and it still didn’t help, then it is possible that something is wrong in your body - you will have to get treatment.
8. Weakening of erection (increase in the size of the penis and its hardening as a result of filling with blood cavernous bodies) . Perhaps the fact is that you are tired, did not get enough sleep, or are stressed. Or maybe there is no “good annoying object” nearby or you. But the problem may be deeper, related to the violation hormonal function, vascular diseases, internal organs or genitourinary system.
9. The so-called astheno-vegetative syndrome- weakness, increased fatigue, decreased performance, irritability, unstable mood, sleep disorders, sweating, increased heart rate, etc. This syndrome is very common in men with chronic prostatitis.
10. Any symptoms and questions that concern you(unsatisfactory size or color of genitals, inability to meet women, pressure from parents, dissatisfaction with sexual positions, etc.). I have been seeing patients with various urological diseases for 20 years, sometimes with very unusual complaints. And here's what I'm sure of: it doesn't happen stupid questions, there is only an inadequate reaction to them. And if a man consults a doctor, it means he needs one.
Therefore, if you have any problems or questions, it is better to contact a urologist-andrologist. You need to respect yourself and value your health. Even medicine does not know the answers to many questions - not like the Internet.