Dr. Turek's Blog

It’s in the Steak

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

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 food metaphor didn’t surprise me, as with most kids her age, she thinks about it a lot. What did interest me was […]

The Ins and Outs of Male Fertility Kits

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

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 of semen because we can. Unfortunately, except when there are no sperm in the semen (azoopermia) its power to predict male fertility is […]

The Testosterone Tipping Point

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Your car is not running well. It just doesn’t have the pick up it used to have. It’s low on gas so you fill it up, but it runs the same. OK, so it’s not the gas…it must be something else, so you begin looking for other causes. Yes, I’m an “old car guy,” but […]

Your Hair, HRT & the Male Reproductive System

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

This magic pill is finasteride (trade names; Propecia, Proscar, Avodart). It represents a class of drug called the 5-alpha reductase inhibitors. These pills act as enzyme blockers: they prevent the male hormone testosterone from converting to its metabolite dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Although testosterone is responsible for a lot of our “male” features, DHT is more potent […]

How is a Medical Visit Like A Ball Game?

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

The world came to San Francisco this weekend. The 49ers hosted the NFC Championship football game at Candlestick Park and it was a day for ages. Friends clamored for tickets, taking seats at any price. Some bought tickets like they were playing the stock market: buy sooner if it rains, later if it doesn’t, or […]

A Dozen Funny Reasons for Vasectomy

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

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 event. I dare you to describe a more personal, scary and misunderstood part of a man’s body with which to meddle. And, […]

Rise of the Instant Family

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Using sex to conceive, the chance of having twins or higher multiple births is about 1-2%. With assisted reproduction, including intrauterine insemination (IUI) in the office and in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the lab, the chance of twins, triplets or high order births ranges from 30-50%. That’s quite a big difference! Twins have fascinated us […]

The Artificial Testicle: Funded!

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

& 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 any major U.S. university. It is the ultimate stamp of approval from the government and society that your thoughts and ideas have […]

The Wall of Holiday Cards

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

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 is dedicated to this once a year event. Well, you have outdone yourselves this year! The wall is full of cards and The […]

Why Urology?

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

I am a men’s health specialist, but I started out as a Why Urology? Admittedly, urology is a small, unusual and low-key medical specialty. In fact, for the longest time, my parents didn’t know exactly what I did as a doctor. I kind of like that about it. Feel free to choose a more glamorous, […]