welcome to Asad do I'm Kathy buio now today it's all about Men's Health and self-care with some sports related medical advice we're gonna throw that in for good measure we have Dr mateline Kaho she's the chief Pharmacy officer for Baptist Health and welcome to Dr Branson Welch he is the clinical Sports Wellness coordinator also at Baptist Health and they're standing by ready to answer your question so on this episode of ask the doc let's get started send in your questions to questions allhealth tv.com or all Health go on Facebook or YouTube or visit the ask the do page on our website allhealth tv.com welcome to as the do it's the show where we encourage our viewers to send in all their health questions and today's first question comes from Nathan who just reached out to us through our website allhealth tv.com so Nathan's question is hey Doc I'm 55 years old and I've gained some weight recently I've also been unusually fatigued and not that motivated to do anything lately and I mean anything does this mean I have low tea or low to testosterone what are the most common symptoms and if it is low tea what can I do to get it back to normal so what's the deal Dr C are we talking low te here well Nathan before I address your question let's check out this video from the Mayo Clinic testosterone is a key male hormone that is responsible for characteristics like hair growth muscle mass and deepening of the voice as men age testosterone levels gradually decline particularly over 40 the main complaint I see is a ologist is a lack of interest in sexual functioning but fatigue uh changes in mental acuity less stamina and very often mild degrees of depression are associated with a falling testosterone in some cases infertility can be tied to low testosterone but presenting these symptoms or traits is not an automatic diagnosis Not all men need testosterone it's very important that this diagnosis is properly made it's made based upon symptoms but also the actual blood level the serum level of testosterone when it comes to treating low testosterone the most common way is a cream applied to the upper arm but injectable or pill forms of testosterone are also available what you should notice is that within 48 to 72 hours of your dosage that your desire has improved for the Mao Clinic News Network I'm Alex oitis so Nathan as you can see I would not be quick to jump to assumptions because sometimes low that you have low testosterone um because there are other medical conditions that kind of have the same similar symptoms and like an underactive thyroid or other autoimmune conditions but some of the symptoms you mentioned are indicators of possible low te now fatigue not interested in doing things weight gain loss and sexual drive then it's time to have a conversation with your primary care physici to do the blood work investigate and see what is the true underlying condition or issue and it is low te then you can get put on a medication regimen thank you Dr kameho now heads up we have a YouTube question from Matt and Matt asks hey Dr Kaho I love running marathons and I'm currently training for my next one but I recently started getting muscle cramps in my legs or more specifically my calf muscles is there anything I can take for this maybe some vitamins or supplements so I always I've always wondered about what causes these muscle that we all think get so Dro what do you think well hi Matt thanks for reaching out to us with your question uh I think I'm gonna let the rookie come off the bench this time and get some playing time Brandon you've got this one Matt great question the majority of muscle cramps I see in our athletes are a result of not getting the right amount of electrolytes to support the sport they participate in my general rule of thumb is choosing a sport drink that contains sodium chloride potassium and magnes magnesium and at least 6 to 8% of carbohydrates in our sports drinks these are key elements that keep our muscles firing and hydrated during intense workouts to prevent muscle cramps now a few sports drinks that I typically recommend that contain these key electrolytes to prevent muscle cramps Gator light rapid rehydration beverage is a great option to consider and then also sticking to our good oldfashioned sports Pedialite is another good option to choose room sometimes with sports drinks it can be trial and error with finding the right one that works best for you but ensuring those key electrolytes that are in your sport strings are my staple in preventing and limiting the amount of muscle cramps another option to consider if sport strings aren't the most accessible especially for my endurance Runners and my Weekend Warriors I like to recommend the electrolyte gels which are very handy and accessible option to use during a long race Dr Welch let me ask you can you talk a little more about these electrolyte gels how are how are they used so yeah they're nice quick and easy gels uh they come in a gel form exactly what the what the type is and I mean you can buy them at any sports uh Sports Center so you can get it at like a Dick Sporting Good and typically I see a lot of our Runners keep it in like the little fanny packs when they're when they're doing any of their they're half a marathon marathons are 10K races and it's something you can just you know on the go just pull it out it's a quick gel you put inside of your mouth and it's full of all those different key electrolytes that I mentioned to help delay or prevent Mixel cramps very easy and accessible I know sometimes with hydration drinks um you know you got to stop take off the cap you know pour it into your mouth to drink it but the electrolyte gels they're very quick accessible in handy thank you for that Dr Welch now we have another allhealth tv.com question I love this it's from Marshall and he asks hey Dr kameho I've been having a real tough time getting to sleep lately and I've tried over-the count of products such as melatonin doxy doxy lemon please correct me if I did not say that correctly and Valyrian Ruth my doctor said that he'd be happy to put me on ambient but I'm a little concerned about the potential side effects what are your thoughts on ambient and is there anything else I can take to help me get some Z okay so we all know sleep is the foundation of our health but when you can't get that sleep that is very bothersome so what do you have for Marshall so Marshall sleep is really important and so ambum comes with several side effects like most medication it also depends on on the person and how well they tolerate the medication but common side effects do include headaches uh drowsiness and sometimes a small incident of sleepwalking people have been known to Sleepwalk with ambient um but ambient is a popular option for insomnia but there are other sleep agents out there as well uh there's another sleep agent called Ramon which is a prescription and mimics the actual uh action of our natural producing hormone melatonin to help keep and promote sleep and this medication really has minimal side effects and works just as well as ambient but again you can also consider using over-the-counter supplements like melatonin which it sounds like you are doing so and also the doxylamine which is the Unisom and it is a sedating uh uh what I call a sedating antihistamine but it's not long-term solution so as your body develops tolerance um it it it works less so the important thing is really talk to your provider and decide what's best for you thank you Dr kameho now in case you missed it the first time here's another opportunity to find out where to send in your questions send in your questions to questions allhealth tv.com or allhealth go on Facebook or YouTube or visit the askthe do page on our website allhealth tv.com it sends in those questions when we actually have our first Instagram question and it comes to us from mallerie and she wants to know Dr Kaho my son Jason is 15 years old and he plays soccer his coach would like to see him build up his muscles but he's having a tough time doing it he's about 5'8 weighs 120 pounds are there any supplements that you recommend to help him build a muscle so this is a really great question so how can you build muscle when you're as thin as Jason well that is a good question mallerie and moms and uh soccer moms worry about that all the time how do you put a little bit more muscles on on their boys but I would think I'm going to pass the Baton to my favorite sports pharmacist which is Brandon who actually treats many athletes with this condition mallerie good question so whey protein powder is a great place to start whey protein is one of the most highly researched supplements when it comes to building muscle and strength it's rich in what's called our Branch chain amino acids which are essential for muscle building properties and strength as we age our muscles tend to shrink and carry more water weight and it places a larger emphasis and making sure we are getting enough high quality protein from our diet or supplementation now wait I got options for my vegetarian and vegan uh athletes as well who perform more plant-based products just make sure you are choosing a plant plant-based protein powder that is rich in those branch chain amino acids Lucine isol Lucine and veine these are both great protein powders Blends options to put inside of your morning smoothies as a breakfast meal or after a good post-workout snack I'm a big fan of the brand Garden of Life Sports wayy protein and they also have a plant-based option as well also adding creatine powder this is a naturally occurring amino acid which has plenty of research and evidence to support muscle building properties and has the benefits of improving cognition and focus so you get a two for one my general rule of thumb when it comes to how much protein a young athlete like Jason may need to help build muscle is anywhere between 1 to 1.2 gam per pound of weight so just in case for your for your son Jason who is 120 pounds I would say anywhere roughly between 120 to 144 pounds a day of protein and for creatine powder I typically recommend anywhere between 3 to five grams daily and it blends perfectly together so you can have your weight protein and your creatine powder together inside of a smoothie Dr Welch should everyone be taking weight weight protein or creatine if they want to build muscle especially as we age or is this mostly for athletes I think it's a great option for both I mean as we age just for your general population you know our muscles tend to break down and so it requires more high quality protein and so whey protein because it's rich in those key three branch chain amino acids it really helps you know again build some of those muscle defining properties uh which are really key to help build muscle and strength great back so heads up we have a YouTube question from Antoine and he asked Dr kameho I've been kind of down that I've been kind of down the past few months first I lost my job and then my cousin who was very close to passed away my doctor wants to put me on some anti-depressants I'm not big on the whole drug thing and if I'm being honest I'm a little worried about them causing issues in the bedroom if you know what I mean Dro what can I do to make sure that this doesn't happen now I'm not a doctor but I think I know what Anan means here and yes and Kathy I think I do as well and Anon if your doctor thinks you need to get help during this time period I can tell you that not all anti-depressants are created equally you know side effects are common with anti-depressants both in men and women so your concern is completely understandable and side effects do include uh a change in your sexual you know Drive uh erectile problem s orgasm problems even problems with arousal or satisfaction but the severity of the side effects depends on the individual and the specific type and sometimes the dose of the anti-depressant you know some people uh sexual side effects are minor and may ease up as their body gets adjusted to the medication but sometimes they don't so anti-depressants kind of with the lowest rate of sexual side effects would include something like Wellbutrin Remeron vibd or even uh Tren intellects um now if you're taking an antidepressant that does cause side effects your doctor may have some strategies for you uh something like waiting several weeks to see if it gets better as your body tolerates the medication he may have to readjust the dose to reduce the sexual side effects maybe switching you to another anti-depressant or adding medications to help improve sexual function like Viagra or Calis so the most important thing is really work with your doctor uh to find an effective anti-depressant or a combination of medications that will reduce your sexual side effects but will also help keep your depression under control and that's the most important pro issue to look at absolutely thank you Dr kameho we got a really interesting question here from Facebook it's from Elijah who asked hey Dr kameho my mom loves asked the doc and said I should email you I play midfield on my college soccer team and was rasily diagnosed with a stress fracture in my tiia I'm going through Physical Therapy but still in a lot of pain I was told by the athletic trainer to avoid nids which I sometimes take after games because they help a lot with muscle cramps but what can I take for pain now and should I be taking calcium or something for my bones Dr kameho and Dr Welch what can Elijah take for the pain it is such a great question and I think he has a question about calcium which is a really good one too so yeah Elijah I'm sorry to hear you're in pain um but let's see what we can get you on to get you back on that field um but Elija studies do show that nids like ipir broen or mine needs to be avoided when you have a stretch facture because it will interfere with the natural healing properties of bone and that really can delay healing of the fracture now Brandon I know you use a particular protocol in clinic with your athletes what would you be recommending um here so yeah I usually recommend my athletes to stick to Tylenol or acetab Benin and follow What's called the price protocol which is protection which is rest which is ice compression and elevation and I'll go through the the few protection is meant to prevent further injuries for example an injured leg or foot may be protected by limiting or avoiding weight bearing through the use of maybe crutches a cane hiking poles partially immobilizing the injured area by using a sling splint or brace may also be a means of protection rest R is important to allow for healing however many Sports Medicine Specialists use the term what's called relative rest meaning rest that allows for healing but is not so restrictive that recovery is compromised or slowed a person should avoid activities that stress the injured area to the point of pain or that may slow or prevent healing ice ice is recommended with the attent to minimize and reduce swelling as well as to decrease increasing the pain there are many ways to employ what's called cryotherapy at home the most common and most convenient is a simple plastic bag of crushed dice placed over a paper towel or cloth on the affected area it's important to protect the skin and limit the cold exposure to 10 to 15 minutes cycles of 10 to 15 minutes on and one to two hours off are G are generally agreed upon as effective and safer than longer periods of continuous ice application now for see compression the use of a compression wrap such as an elastic bandage to apply an external Force to the injured tissue this is comp this compression minimizes the swelling which you can sometimes get from stress fractures and provides mild support now lastly when it comes to Elevation we want to elevate the sight of injury it's recommended to help reduce the pulling of fluid sometimes that we get from the shk fractured in the injured extremity or joint controlling swelling can help decrease the pain and may limit the loss of range of motion possibly speeding up the recovery time because hey Elijah we want to see you back on the field as fast as possible elevation is accomplished by positioning the injured area above the level of the heart elevation is mostly best during the walking hours if possible positioning the injured limb on extra pillows I typically recommend too for my my younger athletes who get stress fractures get a wedge shaped pillow pillow for sleep is probably one of the most effective things you could do is sell it on Amazon and to answer your second question when it comes to calcium yes absolutely you are right making sure you're getting enough calcium and vitamin D are essential to help strengthen your bones and to prevent stretch fracture stretch fractures vitamin D is very common vitamin that we see deficient in a lot of our athletes and fun fact when it comes to a lot of when it comes to vitamin D that a lot of people don't are not aware of is that vitamin D is also a hormone and so it also helps support healthy muscle as well and good immune support so hey you're getting a two for one my general recommendation for young and growing athletes is 800 to 1,000 milligrams of calcium carbonate in divided Doses and anywhere between 1,000 2,000 international units of vitamin D lots of fantastic info there Dr Welch thank you for that okay so it looks like we got another question from the Graham this time it's from Clyde howdy Dr kameho cancer runs in my family both men and women this has obviously got me a little concerned especially now that I'm out of the all live forever phase I'd like to know what types of cancers are most prominent in men and what's the best way to reduce my my risk Dro that's an important question from Clyde what do you say I think Kathy you're right Clyde that's a great question it is a typical one as well um men are notorious for not being uh proactive about their health and as they should be but some of the cancers that are most commonly affect men are prostate colorectal lung bladder and skin cancers uh knowing about these cancers and what you can do to help prevent may also help save your life and the best thing is um always go to your doctor get screening tests you know we don't do that enough especially Sometimes women either but start screening going and getting done screening test and once you've done that the other thing is the best way to really reduce your risk is number one maintain a healthy weight um do exercises exercise regularly I would say three don't smoke use or use tobacco products that all leads to cancer um eat a healthy diet limit your alcohol stop don't go out drinking all the time protect yourself from the Sun with sunscreen we don't do that enough especially down here in South Florida we get a lot of direct Rays uh and we're exposed a lot to Sun all day long and the most uh and I would say the last thing is really protect yourself from sexually transmitted disease STDs wear protection that's really important because that also leads to a lot of cancers as well thank you Dr kameho now if you got questions we've got answers and just in case you missed it the first time around here's another chance to find out how to get your questions to us send in your questions to questions at allhealth tv.com or allhealth go on Facebook or YouTube or visit the askthe do page on our website allhealth tv.com now this question is from Leno who reached out to us on allhealth tv.com so you should really check the website out everyone when you get a chance because it really is full of such valuable information so Leno's question is Doctor I'm 62y old male and was recently diagnosed with the rectile dysfunction this has never been a problem before so I went to a urologist who prescribed talap it works but my heartbeats faster which makes me a little dizzy and then I ends up with a nasty headache are there any natural options I can take that'll help me keep me in the game without the side effects so doctors what can we do to help Leno so uh I would say the first thing we're going to do is watch this important video from the Cleveland Clinic when it comes to Men's Health as they age a survey from Cleveland Clinic found sexual health is a big concern of those pulled 44% are worried about erectile dysfunction 39% with loss of sex drive and 36% with low testosterone I think that this is something that men realize can change with age and many men may not realize that it can happen to Men of all ages urologist Dr Peter bich says the survey had some other interesting findings as well well like more than half of men about 58% incorrectly think low testosterone is the most common cause of a erectile dysfunction in fact most men who have erectile dysfunction particularly over age 50 it's much more likely to be a consequence of cardiovascular disease it can be due to diabetes and all sorts of different things a relatively small percentage of men have low testosterone as the primary cause of their sexual issues Dr bich says this is why it's so important for men to go in for routine checkups which the survey shows they are not doing 55% say they don't get regular Health screenings I think what we find is that men tend to be more reactive when issues arise and may be less proactive so by getting routine Health screenings by really understanding your your health status that things can be detected earlier on for Cleveland Clinic I'm Britney Harris Lorenzo sorry you're dealing with this and unfortunately yes one of the side effects of tadalfil can be headaches which is why I often recommend as my first solution is to make sure you are staying well hydrated while on this medication now to get into more lifestyle related option that can be contributing to make to your problem making sure you're getting one adequate adequate sleep so anywhere between 7 to n hours is important for healthy testosterone production so poror sleep has been linked has been highly linked to erectile dysfunction also if you have cardiovascular disease this is a risk factor that increases the risk of erectile dysfunction heart disease reduces blood flow and may contribute to easily 50 to 60% of the cases of erectile dysfunction make sure we are eating a heart healthy diet such as the Mediterranean diet can help reduce your risk for heart disease and a handful of cases that we see in erectile D function now if we want to look at some dietary supplement options there has been some very good research on this supplement called Tribulus terrestris which is a herbal supplement used in traditional Chinese medicine to improve sexual dysfunction it's rich in more than 70 healthy compounds to help support the male reproductive system the typical recommended dos is 500 to 750 milligrams of Tribulus terrestris and of course always voice check with your local pharmacist to make sure that there's no drug interactions with the supplement thank you so much Dr Welch well I mean we had some more questions and I'm so happy to have so many of you sent in questions to ASA doc they'll be back next week but I just want to say thank you for joining us Dr kameho Dr Welch thank you again for providing all your knowledge and information to all these fantastic questions and uh that's all the time that we have for today folks I'm Kathy Bo remember send in those questions we cannot wait to see you next time and I'll see you on Asad do next week send in your questions to questions allhealth tv.com or allhealth go on Facebook or YouTube or visit the askthe do page on our website allhealth tv.com e