Free Prostate Cancer Screening - It's a Man Thing

The purpose of prostate cancer screening is to detect prostate cancer at its earliest stages before any symptoms have developed.  As with any cancer, early detection is key.

The screening process involves a digital rectal exam (DRE) and a PSA blood test.  PSA stands for prostate specific antigen and it is a substance released in small amounts from prostate gland cells.  Other things besides cancer can cause an elevated PSA so the combination of the lab test and the DRE is used to determine if a man needs further work up.

During the month of July you can get a free prostate cancer screening if you mention that you read about it on this blog.  Your exam will be free and we will bill your insurance company for the PSA test.  Just call for a time:  it doesn't take long, you can even run in on your lunch hour if that works for you.  

It's better to know.

Father's Day

For all the fathers who are no longer with us

And all the fathers who are

And all the fathers-to-be

Happy Father's Day with love.

First Day of Summer

Today is officially the first day of Summer.   It is also known as the Summer Solstice and is the day of the year with the longest period of daylight and the shortest night.   This marks the first day of the season of Summer and will last until the first day of Autumn which falls on September 22 this year.  After the first day of Autumn the period of daylight will get shorter each day as the earth moves in its rotation around the Sun.

"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere" meaning to cause to stand still.  This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day.  On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount compared to the day before.  In this sense, it "stands still."

People around the world have observed spiritual and religious seasonal days of celebration during the month of June. Most have been religious holy days which are linked in some way to the Summer Solstice.  Some of these  Summer Solstice celebrations are: Alban Heflin, Alben Heruin, All-couples day, Feast of Epona, Feast of St. John the Baptist, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Johannistag, Litha, Midsummer, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide and Vestailia just to name a few.   

And of course, there are many different forms of celebration of the Summer Solstice that have no religious connection at all.   These range from art festivals, parades, concerts and all kinds of parties.  Some of these parties involve quite a bit of nakedness.  There is a famous celebration at Stonehenge in England that brings thousands of visitors each year.  This is the only time that visitors are allowed to park for free, get free access to the monument and spend the whole night at Stonehenge.

We are happy to see the sun in the sky for so long these days.  We'd like to wish everyone a very wonderful first day of Summer and leave you with a little "mom-like" list of things to do to stay happy, healthy and safe:

1. Wear sunscreen

2. Wear your seatbelt

3. Wear clean underwear if you are going out

4. Drink lots of water

5. Don't smoke

6. Be kind to one another

7. Tell the people you love that you love them every chance you get

 

Father's Day thoughts.... to snip or not to snip?

Vasectomy. This word can make a grown man nervous and instinctively reach down to protect "the boys". Totally understandable. The idea of somebody cutting on your scrotum doesn't rank very high on many lists of favorites. But it doesn't have to be terrifying thing. Here is a short "True or False" quiz to take to see how much you know about a vasectomy. The answers follow below.

1. A vasectomy is the same thing as a neuter. The dog had a neuter and he came home with no testicles. T or F

2. If I have a vasectomy it will make my voice high and ruin my sex drive. T or F

3. A vasectomy is very painful. I will certainly suffer post traumatic stress disorder. T or F

4. You can resume sexual relations immediately after a vasectomy. T or F

5. Having a vasectomy is 100% effective in preventing pregnancy. T or F

And here are the answers:

1. False: A vasectomy involves the removal of a small part of each tube that carries sperm from each testicle to the penis. The testicles are NOT removed.

2. False: Testosterone is produced by the testicles and is responsible for sex drive and thickening of the vocal cords at puberty (leading to a deeper voice). Because the testicles are not removed, the amount of testosterone produced before the vasectomy will be the same afterwards.  The vocal cords will stay the way they are and your voice will remain as it was.

3. False: A vasectomy does not have to be painful - before, during or after. There are many very effective pain medications that are used to ensure your comfort. Dr. Roesel believes strongly in making any procedure as painless as possible and will explain this to you during your vasectomy consultation visit.

4. False: You must refrain from ejaculation for one week after the vasectomy to let things heal, and then you must continue to use another form of birth control until your semen is tested and found to be free of sperm.  Men who do not follow this advice may possibly be called "Dad" 9 months later.

5. False: Other than abstinence, there is no method of birth control that 100% effective. Vasectomy failure rate is between 0.5% and 1%. It is possible for the cut ends to grow back together and "recanalize" or reform a channel that sperm can get through. This is why the postop semen checks are so important.

If you are interested in having a vasectomy we encourage you to make an appointment to talk to Dr. Roesel. She will explain the procedure to you and if you like, she will put you in contact with patients who are willing to talk about their experience having their vasectomies done in our office.

Most insurance companies cover vasectomies but it is always a good idea to check your specific policy to see if this is a covered benefit for you. Our office is always happy to check for you and if needed, will obtain precertification or provide a letter of medical necessity to the insurance company. We can make the entire process as painless as possible... just give us a call.

We Have Made the Change to Electronic Medical Records!

No more this.

Our office is now using electronic medical records.  There are many reasons for this change and we hope that after we get past our initial learning curve it will make everything more effcient and convenient for everyone.

For all our current patients, everything in your paper chart is scanned into your electronic chart and can be retrieved with the click of a mouse.  If another doctor needs your records we can easily send them to him or her and if you would like a copy of your records we can easily transfer them to a CD for you.   

For our new patients, we will continue to have you fill out the initial paperwork which will help us get your record started in the new system.  If we have your paperwork prior to your appointment we can have it already loaded into the system and ready when you arrive.

The system we are using is called Meridian.  It has a number of excellent safety measures for patients built into the program.  For instance,  the medication checking feature allows us to make sure any new medicine we prescribe for you does not interact dangerously with anything you are already taking or allergic to. Soon we will be able to transmit your prescriptions from our office to your pharmacy electronically as well. 

For those of you who remember the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey - look how far we've come!

Two liters a day helps keep kidney stones away

One of the biggest risk factors for developing kidney stones is chronic dehydration.  We are not talking about this kind of dehydration:

We are talking about mild, chronic dehydration.  This type of dehydration does not result in a parched and thirsty feeling.  However, your body knows how much fluid it needs to function correctly and will adjust the amount of urine you produce in order to make sure it gets enough water for the basic life processes.  The end result is if you do not drink enough fluid or get enough fluid through the food you eat, your urine will be more concentrated and in turn, the minerals that cause stones will be more concentrated in your urine.

When minerals are more concentrated in urine it is easier for them to form crystals by sticking together.  Calcium and oxalate make up the majority of kidney stones and these two things love to bind together in concentrated urine.  Usually the crystals are washed out with urine flow but if they are lodged in the kidney they can stay there and act as a place for more crystals to be deposited, eventually resulting in a visible stone.  Small stones may pass on their own with urine flow.  This could be something you are totally unaware of, or if the stone is big enough and gets stuck, you would be VERY aware of it.

Working or playing outside when it is hot will cause sweating and increase your fluid requirements.  A good rule of thumb is for every hour you are sweating you should increase your fluid intake by at least 16 ounces or one pint.   Drinking alcoholic beverages speeds up urine production and can make dehydration worse, so if you are out in the sun enjoying a cocktail (or two... or three...) you should drink extra water as well.

Concentrated urine is obviously yellow and may have a strong odor.  Here is an easy chart to look at to tell if you are dehydrated or not based on the color of your urine:

If you make around 2 liters of urine a day this will help protect you against dehydration.  The problem is, in order to make that much urine you need to drink a lot.  Very few people really do drink enough to do this.  A little more realistic goal may be to try to drink at least 2 liters of water or other fluid a day.  This will ensure a good production of urine unless you are sweating heavily, have a fever, diarrhea or other source of fluid loss.

Drinking at least two liters (about 2 quarts) of water a day can be difficult.  It is better to drink it gradually than all at once, and preferably not just before bed unless you don't mind getting up at night to go to the bathroom.

We recommend starting out slowly, adding a glass of water to each meal and one or two in the midmorning and midafternoon.  Work up to the two liters a day slowly and you will be more likely to be able to continue to do this on a regular basis.  Drink up!