Dr. Turek's Blog

Drinking While Conceiving: How Booze Affects Fertility

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Why does 60% of the world’s population over 15 years old drink alcohol? Some imbibe for social reasons, to enhance sociability and enjoyment, and others bend an elbow to help cope with problems or stress. Regardless of motive, excessively hitting the sauce, which has been reported in 25% of U.S. adults, can have serious social and […]

Infertility, Genetic Infertility

Will My Son Also Be Infertile?

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

It’s only been about a generation or so since we have come to realize that a significant chunk of male infertility is caused by subtle genetic changes in male DNA. Sure, syndromes based on larger, chromosomal alterations such as Klinefelter syndrome have been known for 60 years, but the finding of smaller DNA mutations causing […]

HRT for men

Real Benefits of Male Hormone Replacement

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Is testosterone therapy really all it’s cracked up to be? Does it really help your sex life? Does it actually help you live longer? Is testosterone the medicinal Holy Grail for men? And how, pray tell, have we come to believe that anabolic-suffused competitive bodybuilders, those (spray) tanned Adonis’ with ripped, ballooned muscles everywhere, are […]

Best Medicine for Humans is Humanness

The Best Medicine for Humans is Humanness

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

I have to say that I have led a truly privileged life in medicine. Throughout my long and storied education as a physician and caregiver, I have stood on the shoulders of many great mentors. In high school I had teachers who imbued biology and physics with wonder, awe, and hard-to-see logic. And then there […]

urologist second opinion

Men Who Became Fathers Thanks to a Second Opinion

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Second opinions are commonplace in law, business, building and construction, and car repair. However, the idea that “two heads are better than one” really began in medicine. Second opinions should be considered when the diagnosis or treatment is unclear or when a treatment hasn’t worked. If the answer to “what should we do now?” is […]

Vasectomy Post-Roe V Wade Era

Rediscovering Vasectomy in the Post-Roe V. Wade Era

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

For the last 40 years, since Roe V. Wade, abortions have been a federally protected, constitutional right. But in June 2022 the Supreme Court ruled that there is nothing in the US Constitution that addresses abortion and handed the abortion issue to individual states to decide on its legality. And this has sent shock waves […]

Prostate Cancer Infertility Treatments LA & San Francisco

Prostate Cancer: A Rockier Road to Fatherhood?

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men, just behind lung cancer. While prostate cancer is a serious disease by any measure, most men diagnosed with it will survive it (98% overall 5-year survival). But in many cases, therapy for prostate cancer will be needed and surgical or radiation treatments […]

What’s the Skinny on Weight and Male Infertility

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Ok, so you’re a victim of the “quarantine-19,” the perfunctory weight gain associated with the (very real) stress of COVID. Maybe you pivoted to fast food and dropped your exercise routine. Or you began to relish those end-of-day ‘quarantini’ cocktails now that you’re not commuting anymore. Sure, you’ve been meaning to lose that pandemic weight, […]

Holy grail

When Should a Man Check His Fertility?

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Having practiced medicine for almost three decades now, I’ve learned quite a few things.  As one who always seeks to improve, the one thing that I would most like to change in our healthcare system is its “defensive” orientation. Medicine spends too much time reacting to health problems after they occur, like treating kidney stones […]