I thought it was a little crazy to ask Dr. Jim McAndrew about E.D. (erectile dysfunction) at a social gathering. Quietly. I wanted him to come on Fireside Talk Radio. But he tells me I wasn’t the only one asking that night. Apparently, people ask him about E.D. frequently.
As soon as we started Fireside Talk Radio, we felt God’s leading to talk about tough topics —topics even the church gets skittish about. From the beginning men have quietly asked me when we would talk about erectile dysfunction.
With Father’s Day around the corner, this one is for the guys.
As crazy as it sounds, common sense tells us E.D. is a serious subject since sales for Viagra were off the charts as soon as it came on the market.
Fortunately for us all, Dr. McAndrew joins us today. There is so much to love about this guy. With a lifetime of experience as a urologist, Jim is also compassionate, professional, down-to-earth, and funny!
Recently retired, he’s definitely not pushing pills, procedures, or gimmicks. I try to ask good questions. He gives us straight answers. This is one episode you don’t want to miss.
First Some Highlights From His Story
Since he just retired, it’s the perfect chance to ask him why he chose urology in the first place. Plus, I love asking experts for their personal stories, so you’ll know the people we trust. Find more about life-long learning.
Everybody in his family was an engineer, he explained. So he started out studying engineering. But he took a job as a lifeguard one summer. An emergency rescue at the pool convinced him he wanted more medical training.
“So, I started looking into becoming an ENT and running on an ambulance service. I decided to switch from engineering to medical school,” he reports.
Never would he have considered urology, though, until one of his friends pointed out the obvious.
“You’re going to understand urology. It’s pumps, it’s filters,” he laughs, “So, I started pursuing training in urology and have never looked back. I have enjoyed it so much.”
Quoting Jim McAndrew: Philosophy of Medicine
“First and foremost I realize that I am just a tool of the Great Physician, God. Without His healing intervention everything I do would not work.” ~Dr. James McAndrew from his document entitled Philosophy of Medicine
Of course, Jim would be about the two-way conversations necessary to care for patients. Find more on patient care for breast cancer.
“Trying to tease out what a patient was really concerned about and then try to find out what was the best for them,” he says. “Inside the exam room I loved it. That’s where I loved being.”
Sadly, with medicine going more corporate all the time, doctors are hard-pressed to offer patients what they really need. Jim began to reexamine what he wanted to do next. Soon, he retired.
Now he’s back in school for a new skill.
Another Science Degree
“So I’m an undergraduate pursuing a degree in chemistry. Specifically, it was because UTTyler has a very unique program in the chemistry department in Fermentation Science. So, it’s a program mainly centering around beer brewing and wine making. But it’s the really technical aspects.”
He’s really enjoying his labs. They brew beer one week, then run extensive chemistry tests on their beer the next week.
“So, it’s just a lot of fun,” he adds. For more details listen in on our conversation above.
When the Doctor is the Patient
Speaking of lab tests, Jim feels strongly about PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) tests for men. Fortunately, he always watched his PSA score closely.
“A little over five years ago, mine rose to the point where it was concerning. And I had a biopsy and sure enough I had prostate cancer. Something I’d been treating hundreds of men for, now I had to choose treatment.
As a doctor he knew some of the side-effects of certain treatments can be serious, including incontinence, that’s leakage of urine, and impotence, the inability to have an erection.
As before, Dr. McAndrew emphasizes getting your PSA annually. Early detection means much less risk of side-effects. In fact, early detection can mean no long term side-effects.
More E.D. Questions for the Doctor
Here are the questions I asked Dr. McAndrew this week. Next week, we’ll share another episode with many more questions and answers. Stay tuned!
What age do you think is too young to be experiencing erectile dysfunction?
“It’s very common,” says Dr. McAndrew, at almost any age. He made it a point to ask early in the treatment room about erectile dysfunction, because it was such a confidential, but common challenge.
If your husband feels really shy about this, but you know something’s going on, how common is it for men to shy away from this conversation?
“Yeah, it’s an awkward conversation. It’s not the most common thing we see, but it’s very common. In fact, a lot of men we see for other problems bring it up at the end,” he says.
He adds it’s more common as men get older.
“It’s often associated with other diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease. Those are things that can affect the blood vessels. And the blood vessels even down in a man’s private area are affected. It can affect his ability to get an erection. But I’ve also seen young men coming in having trouble,” he says.
There can also be a psychological component to keep in mind, according to Dr. McAndrew.
“So if a man has trouble once, he is going to worry about it. So, if a man has problems, get in early because it may be as simple as taking a pill for a little while until he gets his confidence back.” Something simple may restore function.
Is there an age when men always age out?
“But I’ve seen men in their eighties who had no problem at all. So, you can’t just say at a certain point all men are going to have trouble. Although, if you live to your nineties, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to have trouble,” he says.
Reduced testosterone may affect older men more than young men.
“As men age, their testosterone goes down as well. So that’s going to reduce their sexual drive. So, yes, that will go down, some of their ability, their recovery time, those will all get worse as you get older.” Check out Chris Legg’s or his website for a wide-range of topics, including how to keep romance alive.
Could early reports about Viagra helping with dementia have any merit?
“Potentially. You know Viagra was found because it was as a way to help men with heart disease to get better oxygenation to their heart muscle,” he says. “All of a sudden, these men who were impotent were telling their doctors, ‘Hey, it’s working again.’”
Maybe a pill that increases flow to the brain and extremities may increase blood flow to the brain as well. Who knows? Researchers are not finished with their studies, so it’s too soon to say for sure. But for once here’s a side-effect we could all embrace.
What does Dr. McAndrew wish all patients knew?
When it comes to any health challenges, including erectile dysfunction, being proactive is helpful.
“It helps to be proactive,” he says. “From my standpoint. I can bring it up because I’m a urologist. If we talk about things, I’m free to say, ‘Now, are you having any erectile dysfunction issues?’ And they look at me like, How did you know?”
If someone wanted to bring up erectile dysfunction in a confidential setting, say like church, what’s the best way?
“I’m very open about it, so people come up to me. You weren’t the only one at that social gathering to talk to me about this issue. People come up to me and talk about it all the time,” he says. I can’t even imagine! But my dad was an OB/GYN, so I kinda get it.
“If a man is having trouble, the easiest thing for them to do is to seek wise counsel. And that usually means starting with their family physician,” Dr. McAndrew adds.
Healthy, Confidential Conversations
I was so happy to get Dr. McAndrew on the show to open up a healthy conversation about erectile dysfunction.
It can be frustrating and isolating to struggle with a challenge no one is talking about.
It’s so disheartening to discover later, as I did after my abortion, that several of your friends faced the same problem! Therefore, I tend to talk openly, especially at church, so others will know other imperfect people sit next to them in the pew.
This episode came under spiritual attack in some crazy ways. For instance, you may notice tech glitches and also my voice is practically gone. But we pressed through anyway!
Dr. McAndrew’s Testimony
Next week, Jim will be back to answer more questions.
Plus, in over five years of episodes, Dr. McAndrew is the first person to send his testimony to me ahead of time. I was blown away! I could really relate to what he shared about being an intellectual person with a prejudice against Christianity.
So, I asked him if I could share it with you. And he’s letting me share his Philosophy of Medicine, as well! His testimony and wisdom about medicine are cultural game-changers. They are some of my favorite things we’ve ever put on our blog! We’ll post them soon. Please, share them with all your friends.
🙂
cathy
May we pray together?
Dear good Father, thank You so much for experts, like doctors, who train to help us with our physical challenges. Give us ears to hear. Free up the doctors we know and love so they can prescribe the best approaches for their patients without so much outside interference. Give them courage in these crazy times we are living in. Thank You for people we know who have the heart and perseverance to listen to our troubles. Thank You, Lord!
You are the Great Physician and we praise You! Thank You for the way You ordered the universe and designed our earth and our bodies to be consistently following Your plan. Help us notice when something is off. Give us courage to have the hard conversations, as we care for our families. For anyone suffering with any ailment, we ask for healing. We ask for health and life and Your Spirit’s filling. Bless us now because that is Your heart’s desire. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
We LOVE to hear from YOU!
How do you help your spouse stay healthy? When has a doctor put you on a healthy path? What do you wish you could ask somebody, anybody, especially an expert?
“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.” ~Billy Graham
“The first wealth is health.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” ~Mark 8:36, NKJV
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Cathy Krafve, host of Fireside Talk Radio and author of The Well: The Art of Drawing Out Authentic Conversations and Marriage Conversation: From Coexisting to Cherished. We welcome your stories, ideas, and questions.
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