{"id":385,"date":"2010-06-11T17:59:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-11T17:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/11\/the-turek-clinic-and-a-fascinating-look-into-the-males-experience-with-infertility\/"},"modified":"2026-11-05T17:43:20","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T17:43:20","slug":"the-turek-clinic-and-a-fascinating-look-into-the-males-experience-with-infertility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/11\/the-turek-clinic-and-a-fascinating-look-into-the-males-experience-with-infertility\/","title":{"rendered":"The Turek Clinic and a Fascinating Look into the Male\u2019s Experience with Infertility"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>A couple of months ago I spoke at the annual dinner of a Bay Area REI (Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility) Nurses organization sponsored by Flora Koch of MDR Pharmaceuticals<\/a>. One of the other speakers was nurse Paula Chavez, LVN, of the Turek Clinic<\/a> and her talk gave us a fascinating glimpse into the male\u2019s experience and emotions with infertility. <\/div>\n

\nShe talked about how the woman drives the process and men try to support and go along (no surprise there), how the men feel helpless in the process, like failures. Unlike women, men don\u2019t share what they\u2019re going through with their buddies; for them infertility is a very isolating experience. Men want to have babies too, they want their DNA to live on.<\/p>\n

After her talk, I was hungry to hear more. I felt that if we women better understood what our male partners go through and how they handle and cope with fertility issues\u2014which is very different than how we ladies cope\u2014then we could find ways to lessen the tension that exists between couples struggling with fertility issues. We could create new pathways of communication, and we could learn ways to better support our male partners who, yes!, need our support too.<\/p>\n

So, I made arrangements with Paula to speak to her and Paul Turek, MD and Medical Director of The Turek Clinic in San Francisco, which specializes exclusively in men’s reproductive health care. As a distinguished and internationally recognized urologist and reproductive microsurgeon, Dr. Turek is very familiar with the unique needs of his male patients and how best to treat them.<\/p>\n

Just walking into his clinic you can see even visually that Dr. Turek gets it. The lobby has a high-end, clean modern look, with a surfboard and a stunning, modern painting of a racing car which stretches throughout the room, giving the illusion of speed. It\u2019s a place men can come and feel safe.<\/p>\n

WHY A MALE ONLY FERTILITY CENTER?
\n\u201cBecause there\u2019s a sore need for it,\u201d Dr. Turek responded. \u201cYoung men with reproductive health issues is the largest underserved population in America today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Turek and Paula explain that the natural path for an infertile couple is to go to a gynecologist and then to an IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization) center, and from there, straight to IVF, without an evaluation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a couple is infertile each partner should be evaluated, and that\u2019s not what\u2019s happening. \u2026In Massachusetts IVF is covered [by insurance]. They get six cycles: bam-bam-bam-bam, and after six cycles have failed the guy is finally evaluated,\u201d Dr. Turek said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Turek is concerned. \u201cI\u2019m publishing papers\u2026that say these [infertile] men are getting higher rates of prostate cancer, testicular cancer\u2026 something is going on to show that infertility is a marker of a later disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a guy come in with low sperm count. They had gone for an IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) and it failed. It turns out he had prolactinoma, a benign brain tumor\u2026 and now his testosterone is low, and he\u2019s feeling crappy. You don\u2019t know what direction he\u2019ll go in; he could go blind, get suicidal, depressed. So we scooped him up and got him going again. Happens regularly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy worry is that infertile men get terrible care because of IVF\u2026 Because [the clinics] just go right by them, \u2018oh you have sperm, go to IVF\u2019 and the guy never gets the exam.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT THE MALE’S PERSPECTIVE?
\n\u201cThere is none,\u201d Dr. Turek said. \u201cThey don\u2019t know how to deal with it. So that\u2019s the secret to this practice. [We say] that it\u2019s OK, you\u2019re still a guy, nothing\u2019s changed. Because this is something they assumed they\u2019d have no trouble with, and a lot of it is genetics so this it isn\u2019t something they\u2019ve done. There\u2019s a lot of guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is the male\u2019s experience and attitude as he goes through the infertility process?<\/p>\n

\u201cHere it is,” Dr. Turek said. \u201cMen are encouraged to work hard, shut up, be culturally invisible, get the work done, not complain and deal with it.<\/p>\n

“So in the man\u2019s world you see several reactions to infertility: deep depression, self blame and guilt \u2013 lots of guilt. Or you see men brush it under the rug with no idea of how to deal with it, and it comes back in a destructive way such as divorce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paula added, \u201cThe wife is driving [the process] and [the men] just go along with the program to get things done\u2026 It\u2019s kind of a denial issue, but they go through the emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then there\u2019s the guy who takes the reins: I\u2019ll go on a diet, lose 30 pounds, and we enable that,\u201d Dr. Turek said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there\u2019s nothing in society that helps these guys. There\u2019s no place to go. Paula is best friends with these guys, because she\u2019s private, outside the house, one person they can confide in. She learns a lot about these guys that no one else knows. When they call, they want a person. They ask for Paula. \u2026She\u2019s better than anesthesia.\u201d <\/p>\n

WHY IS THIS CLINIC DIFFERENT?
\n\u201cThey get a serious amount of care here. They\u2019re #1 and they know it. You get an hour with me, a super specialist and have total access to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Turek also makes a point of treating men the way they\u2019re built. <\/p>\n

\u201cMen are not women, they don\u2019t follow up. This is a little of an insult to their manhood, so it\u2019s something they want to go away. \u2026I see them once and teach them everything on that one visit\u2026 how to examine themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMen are supposed to be busy and working. Treat men in the environment in which they live. Don\u2019t pull them out of their environment and expectant them to do miracles.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHAT KIND OF CONFLICTS DO YOU SEE?
\n\u201cThere are always conflicts! How about the patient who doesn\u2019t tell his wife for a year that he\u2019s had a vasectomy and she\u2019s going through IVF?\u201d Dr. Turek said.<\/p>\n

Paula told a story of a guy who was doing a semen analysis and then heating it up, so the sample was bad. \u201cHe finally said that he really didn\u2019t want to go through this process but didn\u2019t have the balls to tell her.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are a lot of secrets, they explain to me. \u201cMen aren\u2019t as in touch. It\u2019s hard for them to express themselves. We handle it by being open and forward about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paula shares the story of a guy going through IVF who can\u2019t produce ejaculate at the critical moment. His wife was freaked out, screaming at him, which of course didn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n

Paula said, \u201cI took him in the room, took his cell phone away\u2026 and said she can\u2019t talk to him until he\u2019s done. After talking to him for 20 minutes and letting him vent and catch up on gossip, I said OK I\u2019m going to leave you alone.\u201d Five minutes later, he emerged with cup in hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a typical story,\u201d Dr. Turek said.<\/p>\n

There have been so many dramatic stories that a well-received play, Sperm Warfare, written by a former patient of Dr. Turek\u2019s, was based on this clinic\u2019s collection room.<\/p>\n

Dr. Turek uses his experience and knowledge to solve problems. \u201cA good urologist understands getting the kid is not the same as fixing the man.\u201d He gave an example of a guy with low sperm count. \u201cWe could increase his sperm count, but with the time it takes to do that, her eggs get old, so we have to look at other solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Turek admits that in the end what he wants is the Christmas Card. The one with the baby in it.<\/p>\n

HOW DO MEN HANDLE FERTILITY ISSUES? …AND CULTURAL, RELIGIOUS CONSIDERATIONS…
\n“Quietly, secretly.” <\/p>\n

You also have to look at cultural and religious differences, Paula said. \u201cThere are some cultures in which it\u2019s so intense that they have a baby that they don\u2019t even tell their families they\u2019re going through this because they\u2019re afraid of the response. And some cultures don\u2019t believe in IVF or any assisted reproduction, so they keep the secret between them because they don\u2019t want the families to find out or else they\u2019ll be disowned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Turek added, \u201cThere\u2019s a measurable suicide rate among infertile Hispanic men. Divorce rates are definitely appreciable and suicide rates are measurable. \u2026Same thing with the Middle-Eastern community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Turek relayed this story: \u201cI\u2019m treating this guy from the Middle East, and for 10 years he could not accept no. People took advantage of him and did a lot of IVF procedures.\u201d When he came to Dr. Turek, he had to tell him he simply had no sperm.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Infertile men represent] a very quiet 15% of the population, much quieter than diabetics, which is about the same,\u201d said Dr. Turek.<\/p>\n

SUPPORT FOR HOLISTIC APPROACHES
\nIn his practice, Dr. Turek supports natural methods of optimizing fertility and health, recommending acupuncturists and others. His handout on a holistic approach includes maintaining a well-balanced diet low in fat and sugar, emphasizing whole grains, fruits and vegetables; antioxidants (vitamins A, C, E); stress reduction (massage, yoga, acupuncture, with biking being OK), and more.<\/p>\n

Visit his website, and library of resources, to learn more! http:\/\/www.theturekclinic.com\/<\/a> and his blog http:\/\/turekonmenshealth.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple of months ago I spoke at the annual dinner of a Bay Area REI (Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility) Nurses organization sponsored by Flora Koch of MDR Pharmaceuticals. One of the other speakers was nurse Paula Chavez, LVN, of the Turek Clinic and her talk gave us a fascinating glimpse into the male\u2019s experience […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50,136],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-male-fertility","category-turek-clinic","entry"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/DrTurek2.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/DrTurek2.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"baileycom","author_link":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/author\/baileycom\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":387,"href":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385\/revisions\/387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fertilekitchen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}