This podcast is for you, the Modern Man. I'm Dr Anne
Anne Truong:Truong, your host. I'm an intimate health medical doctor
Anne Truong:and best selling author of the book, Erectile Dysfunction Fix.
Anne Truong:I'll do a deep dive into sexual health and performance and how
Anne Truong:it affects men of all ages and backgrounds. So let's get
Anne Truong:started, and be sure to visit my website at
Anne Truong:sexualhealthformenpodcast.com for more information and
Anne Truong:resources from the show. See you on the inside.
Anne Truong:Hello there, Modern Man. In today's episode, we have Ken
Anne Truong:Schafer, and I'm going to interview him about what it's
Anne Truong:like to have ED and live with ED, and what's he done about it.
Anne Truong:Because I want to have real conversation and bringing this
Anne Truong:out of the closet and discuss this in prime time, because
Anne Truong:these are real issues that affect a lot of men. 50% of men
Anne Truong:over 50 have ED, and that's pre covid, and I believe that is a
Anne Truong:lot more. So this is a very common problem that men have,
Anne Truong:that I want to reassure him that he's not alone, but there are
Anne Truong:solutions for ED that you don't have to take that little blue
Anne Truong:pill. So Ken, welcome to the show.
Ken Schafer:Happy to be here.
Anne Truong:Okay, so let me ask you this, what did you first
Anne Truong:notice something wasn't right about your sex life?
Ken Schafer:Well, what I first noticed is that my erections in
Ken Schafer:the morning weren't. I used to have erections in the morning
Ken Schafer:and they were very sustainable. I didn't have to really try to
Ken Schafer:keep the erection. And I noticed that they were becoming
Ken Schafer:unsustainable. And it happened very rapidly. Within a few
Ken Schafer:weeks, maybe a couple months, I was having trouble getting an
Ken Schafer:erection at all.
Anne Truong:How old were you then?
Ken Schafer:I was 47. Roughly 47.
Anne Truong:And what occurred in your mind at that time when
Anne Truong:that happened?
Ken Schafer:Yeah, well, I couldn't believe it was
Ken Schafer:happening to me, and I was extremely embarrassed about it.
Ken Schafer:So this was like nearly, I want to say 15 years ago, if I'm
Ken Schafer:doing the math right. And I think 15 years ago, there wasn't
Ken Schafer:as much information out there, and it wasn't as accessible. And
Ken Schafer:I made the same mistake a lot of guys make. I went to my doctor,
Ken Schafer:who was a GP, and he referred me to a urologist, and I I made the
Ken Schafer:mistake of assuming that they knew what they were doing, and
Ken Schafer:all they did was test my testosterone and throw a Cialis.
Ken Schafer:At first, it worked great, but then after a while it stopped
Ken Schafer:working, and that's when I really had to start digging in
Ken Schafer:to figure things out.
Anne Truong:Okay, let me ask you this. What did you think at
Anne Truong:that time, when you first found out, you said it was pretty
Anne Truong:quick. What did you think was causing under performance? At
Anne Truong:that time, did you know it was Ed?
Ken Schafer:I think deep down, I knew it was ED. I wanted to
Ken Schafer:believe that it was just like a temporary dress or whatever, but
Ken Schafer:after a while, I began to realize it was ED, and it was a
Ken Schafer:pretty severe case of ED. So, yeah, I mean, I was in denial
Ken Schafer:for a while.
Anne Truong:Okay, like you said, What was the first feeling
Anne Truong:that you had when you found out they said ED? You said it was a
Anne Truong:shame. And what else denial? What else?
Ken Schafer:I was just very ashamed. I didn't realize at
Ken Schafer:that time how common it was. I thought I was alone. I thought
Ken Schafer:there were very few. I mean, I knew other guys had ED, but I
Ken Schafer:thought the numbers were quite small. So I went to the extent
Ken Schafer:of I created a special Google account to do my research so
Ken Schafer:that no one would know what was going on. I was being paranoid
Ken Schafer:about it, but I went to that extreme.
Anne Truong:Wow, wow. So what were the emotion that you felt
Anne Truong:that you didn't tell anyone that you were embarrassed about? I
Anne Truong:mean, did you tell your wife at that time?
Ken Schafer:Oh, my wife knew. My wife at the time knew she
Ken Schafer:wasn't particularly supportive. That's a whole other
Ken Schafer:conversation to have. But she wasn't very supportive. She knew
Ken Schafer:what was going on. Fortunately, the band aid of using Cialis, it
Ken Schafer:worked well for, quite well for a while, and I never thought to
Ken Schafer:look for anything beyond Cialis. It never even occurred to me
Ken Schafer:that there were other treatments available.
Anne Truong:Okay, so when you took Cialis, did you think your
Anne Truong:ED was gone? You don't have to worry about anything. I mean,
Anne Truong:you took Seattle, you're just like, Oh, I'm good. I'm 100% is
Anne Truong:that what it made you feel?
Ken Schafer:No. I mean, I wasn't happy about having to
Ken Schafer:take Cialis, but it did work. It had the desired effect.
Anne Truong:How long did it work for?
Anne Truong:It worked until I was in my mid, early 50s, and then it kind of
Anne Truong:worked okay for a while, and then eventually it just stopped
Anne Truong:working.
Anne Truong:So how did ED affect your confidence, not just in the
Anne Truong:bedroom, but in your life?
Ken Schafer:That's a good question. I don't know. I think
Ken Schafer:it didn't affect my life too much, outside of the bedroom and
Ken Schafer:outside of my marriage. I had this inner sense of being less
Ken Schafer:than a man because I needed to use Cialis, but I don't recall
Ken Schafer:like it affecting my work or anything else. This was a while
Ken Schafer:ago, so I don't really have clear memories of all that.
Anne Truong:Okay, so how did it affect your relationship with
Anne Truong:your wife, with your ED?
Ken Schafer:My wife at the time, it wasn't a very good
Ken Schafer:relationship to begin with, and this was kind of like the nail
Ken Schafer:in the coffin, one of several nails, but, yeah, it was not a
Ken Schafer:good situation, but it is what it is. It's over now.
Anne Truong:Got you, so did you think, and we do know that when
Anne Truong:there's relationship tension, that also affects sexual
Anne Truong:function. So was it the relationship sentence, or was it
Anne Truong:more physiological part that you think may have contributed to
Anne Truong:the ED 17 years ago?
Ken Schafer:I think not feeling supported definitely did affect
Ken Schafer:me. My ED was severe enough where I was going to have ED
Ken Schafer:regardless of whether or not I had support, but it just added
Ken Schafer:to the pressure and to the anxiety and to everything else.
Ken Schafer:So it didn't help. I'm not sure how much it directly affected.
Anne Truong:Gotcha. So the relationship ended. That was
Anne Truong:your ex wife?
Ken Schafer:Yes. That ended. And yes.
Anne Truong:Rght. So the ED, kind of like you said, kind of
Anne Truong:like one of the component that kind of pushed it over, that
Anne Truong:ended their relationship. Well, I'm sorry about that. I'm sure
Anne Truong:that's happened, but what you're selling me is not unusual. I
Anne Truong:hear that, unfortunately, most often than not, when I treat
Anne Truong:patients in your office, that the ED either affected their
Anne Truong:marriage or is now like the wife is giving them do something
Anne Truong:about it. So it affects two people. ED is a two person
Anne Truong:problem. If you're in a relationship. If you're a
Anne Truong:married, you're in a relationship, it's a two person
Anne Truong:problem. That at one. And we do know that a supportive partner
Anne Truong:is actually a treatment for ED as well. It's one of the
Anne Truong:treatment for ED, and then conversely, not a supportive
Anne Truong:partner, it contribute to ED. So partner relationship with the
Anne Truong:component of treatment for ED. So something to consider about
Anne Truong:and hope that in a future show that I like to have a man and a
Anne Truong:woman that are in a relationship with ED and have them discuss
Anne Truong:about this and share this as well. And I would love to do
Anne Truong:that another show. So you said you tried Cialis. What
Anne Truong:frustration did you have with the Cialis or the traditional
Anne Truong:treatment?
Ken Schafer:Well, at first, my frustration was just the limited
Ken Schafer:availability. I was given four pills a month. At that time,
Ken Schafer:there was no generic Cialis. So unless you wanted to pay a lot
Ken Schafer:of money out of pocket, you were limited to four uses. That was a
Ken Schafer:big frustration. Another frustration, most of my
Ken Schafer:frustrations developed once the cilis stopped working.
Anne Truong:Gotcha. So why did it only give you four a month at
Anne Truong:that time, that was what insurance covers?
Ken Schafer:That's what insurance covered, right.
Anne Truong:Right. I think at that time, Cialis its about $65
Anne Truong:a pill. It was quite expensive.
Ken Schafer:I remember it as being more than that, but it was
Ken Schafer:expensive. And, yeah, if you wanted to have sex more than
Ken Schafer:once a week, you were going to pay out of pocket.
Anne Truong:Yep. So that's what insurance company think, right?
Anne Truong:You should only have sex once a week, and you have more, you got
Anne Truong:to pay for it as well. And that no insurance company or no one
Anne Truong:should dictate how often you should have intimate relations.
Anne Truong:You brought up a good point. I didn't even think about that,
Anne Truong:because now Cialis is generic, so it's cheaper, but not
Anne Truong:necessarily is the best. When did you find out that
Anne Truong:traditional treatment weren't really helping you that much,
Anne Truong:and you needed to seek other options.
Ken Schafer:Yeah, so I got divorced and remarried, and I
Ken Schafer:began to notice with my new wife that it was working quite well
Ken Schafer:at first, and then over time, it was working, but it wasn't
Ken Schafer:working like it used to. And then eventually it just stopped
Ken Schafer:working. I was in panic mode. I was in a relationship with, you
Ken Schafer:know, good relationship, and I didn't want anything to risk
Ken Schafer:that. So I start that. That's really what got me started down
Ken Schafer:a long path of trying to find alternatives to these
Ken Schafer:traditional treatments that as. As you've pointed out, they only
Ken Schafer:treat the symptoms. They don't really treat the underlying
Ken Schafer:cause.
Anne Truong:And that's the thing with ED medication. I've
Anne Truong:been saying this over and over again, is that it's like putting
Anne Truong:a band aid on an infected wound. It doesn't treat the cause of
Anne Truong:why you have ED. And it may just be that time, maybe high blood
Anne Truong:pressure or stress or overweight, or diabetes, a high
Anne Truong:cholesterol, sleep deprivation, there's multiple common factor.
Anne Truong:That's why ED is so common, guys. Like the commonest thing
Anne Truong:affect you, like sleep, smoking, not exercising, overweight,
Anne Truong:those things can affect you as well. So that's why ED is more
Anne Truong:common than you think. What finally did you decide? You know
Anne Truong:what? Okay, pill doesn't help, and most guys will go, Well,
Anne Truong:let's try trimix or try implant. What made you feel like you need
Anne Truong:to achieve other alternative besides, you know, implant? Was
Anne Truong:that offered to you at that time?
Ken Schafer:No, I went to my GP, and she referred me to a
Ken Schafer:urologist, and to his credit, I was talking about an implant, he
Ken Schafer:was like, we're not there yet. To his credit, however, he
Ken Schafer:failed to impress me as a doctor. He gave me a
Ken Schafer:testosterone test, which is normal for men with ED. I looked
Ken Schafer:at the results and I could see that that was a problem. And
Ken Schafer:before I talked to him, I started digging through the
Ken Schafer:scientific literature to verify that that what I suspected was
Ken Schafer:true. He looked at the results, and because they fell within the
Ken Schafer:normal range, he felt there was no problem, even though my free
Ken Schafer:testosterone was right at the very edge between normal and
Ken Schafer:below normal. And I I knew at that point that I didn't respect
Ken Schafer:his knowledge on this subject, and I ceased seeing him for
Ken Schafer:treatment. I then went to an endocrinologist who specialized
Ken Schafer:more in diabetes treatment. She wanted to help, but she she
Ken Schafer:didn't understand the nuances of TRT. And I think I'm drifting
Ken Schafer:away from your question here, am I staying on track, or am I
Ken Schafer:drifting?
Anne Truong:No, no, I think you're there. But let's move on
Anne Truong:to the next one is that I know you have mentioned this before,
Anne Truong:that you feel that traditional treatment was urology was not
Anne Truong:addressing what you really needed. What did you mean by
Anne Truong:that?
Ken Schafer:Well, I wanted to find out what the root cause
Ken Schafer:was. I went into the urologist thinking, you know, I want tests
Ken Schafer:to find out what the root cause is. Even at that point, I
Ken Schafer:understood that there are many possible causes for ED and more
Ken Schafer:treatable than others, and if mine was going to be easy to
Ken Schafer:treat, I wanted to know that. And if it was going to be
Ken Schafer:difficult to treat, I wanted to know that as well. He had
Ken Schafer:absolutely no interest in in doing he just wanted to give me
Ken Schafer:Viagra or Cialis.
Anne Truong:I see, what were you afraid of before? Like,
Anne Truong:starting taking Viagra, were you, I mean, or Cialis, you
Anne Truong:said, were you afraid of anything before you started
Anne Truong:taking
Ken Schafer:No, no. I probably should have been, but I wasn't.
Ken Schafer:I just thought that. I just accepted what my doctors were
Ken Schafer:telling me. I didn't really, and I don't know what was publicly
Ken Schafer:available. I didn't realize what the side effects were so I
Ken Schafer:wasn't afraid, but I probably should have been right.
Anne Truong:So you said, Well, I stopped working. You went to
Anne Truong:your urologist, and your numbers were just at the bottom, but not
Anne Truong:yet insurance qualify as being low. So you weren't qualified
Anne Truong:for insurance coverage for testosterone replacement
Anne Truong:therapy. What was your journey? What did you do to kind of start
Anne Truong:taking over what you needed to do for your sexual performance
Anne Truong:again?
Ken Schafer:So at that time, my understanding of ED was much
Ken Schafer:more limited, but I strongly suspected that my testosterone
Ken Schafer:levels were the cause. I now know that that that wasn't the
Ken Schafer:soul class. It may have been a contributing cause, but and I
Ken Schafer:was looking for doctors who understood how to treat guys
Ken Schafer:with testosterone deficiency and understood that just because
Ken Schafer:you're within the normal range, that doesn't mean you're
Ken Schafer:healthy. I read a book by Dr Abraham Morgenthaler, which
Ken Schafer:confirmed a lot of my suspicions. In fact, I had
Ken Schafer:looked at a lot of the same studies he mentioned in the
Ken Schafer:book. I actually went to the clinic he founded. He had
Ken Schafer:retired from the clinic, but I went to the clinic in Boston
Ken Schafer:that he founded, and that was my first real bout with TRT. I was
Ken Schafer:able to get the testosterone I needed.
Anne Truong:But you pay for it. Insurance didn't pay, didn't
Anne Truong:cover it.
Ken Schafer:No, it was all out of pocket. It was a concierge
Ken Schafer:type service, actually, I take that back. They I was able to
Ken Schafer:get insurance to cover some of the costs, but not all of it.
Ken Schafer:Most of it was out of pocket.
Anne Truong:Right. So did that help with your ED, taking
Anne Truong:testosteron?
Ken Schafer:Oh, no, no. I got very frustrated, because at the
Ken Schafer:clinic, they were very good about helping guys with low
Ken Schafer:testosterone, but they were only offering traditional treatments
Ken Schafer:for ED. So they wanted to push Cialis and Viagra, or tri mix,
Ken Schafer:and if all else failed, they would recommend an implant. I
Ken Schafer:was a bit frustrated, because I felt like they also were if the
Ken Schafer:root cause wasn't testosterone, they weren't any better prepared
Ken Schafer:than the other urologist I had seen to recommend treatment.
Anne Truong:So when you started testosterone like you still were
Anne Truong:having some ED issues. What was your next step?
Ken Schafer:This is about the same time I met Dr. Rachel Ross,
Ken Schafer:who you've interviewed on this podcast previously, and she was
Ken Schafer:doing weekend intensives, and I didn't really know who she was,
Ken Schafer:but just listening to the kind of treatments she was talking
Ken Schafer:about, I was very intrigued. You know, they're very similar, very
Ken Schafer:similar to the kind of treatments I that you recommend.
Ken Schafer:And so I was very intrigued. And I went to the weekend intensive,
Ken Schafer:and then I started to work with her as a patient for a little
Ken Schafer:over a year after that.
Anne Truong:Gotcha, you kind of, your eyes were open to other
Anne Truong:alternative than implant and medication. What was the first
Anne Truong:thing you did that you've learned from that?
Ken Schafer:Well, you know, just simple things like your
Ken Schafer:health, you need to address your health problems, okay? And
Ken Schafer:although I wasn't particularly unhealthy, there was a lot of
Ken Schafer:room for improvement. You need to enjoy. I mean, that's basic,
Ken Schafer:and it's not rocket science. It's exercise, diet, sleep, all
Ken Schafer:the standard things that you learn throughout your life. You
Ken Schafer:really need to take that seriously. And then there is a
Ken Schafer:lot of things you can do at home, like pumping and Kegels
Ken Schafer:and in some cases, prostate massage and things like that.
Ken Schafer:There's things you can do on your own that are treatments for
Ken Schafer:ED and you know that it's not that expensive to do these
Ken Schafer:things.
Anne Truong:Yeah, absolutely. And oftentimes it's too good to
Anne Truong:be true, is what I call it.
Anne Truong:Okay, Modern Man. If you're struggling with weak erection,
Anne Truong:low energy, the food you eat could be the big part of the
Anne Truong:problem. One of the best research pathways to boost
Anne Truong:circulation, support healthy testosterone and improve sexual
Anne Truong:performance is the Mediterranean diet. It's packed with food that
Anne Truong:open up your blood vessel, lower inflammation, and fuel your
Anne Truong:hormone, naturally. I've seen men notice real improvement in
Anne Truong:both energy and erection within weeks when they shift to this
Anne Truong:style of eating. So check out the Mediterranean diet link
Anne Truong:right here below, and get that as soon as you can. Stronger
Anne Truong:testosterone and better erection.
Anne Truong:So listeners, you know, if you have ED, sometimes, just
Anne Truong:changing your diet to a Mediterranean diet, and check
Anne Truong:out the link below for the link to the Mediterranean diet and
Anne Truong:walking 30 minutes a week. Just move, move around, just at least
Anne Truong:30 minutes at a time. You know, four times a week. Sleep,
Anne Truong:getting adequate sleep, at least seven hours of sleep, whether
Anne Truong:daytime or nighttime. Because I know, Ken, you work nighttime.
Anne Truong:And then stress management, and I know sometimes that's hard for
Anne Truong:men, because men are not expressive people. You know,
Anne Truong:they internalize their feelings, and they don't express emotions
Anne Truong:and feelings like women are but oftentimes that kind of increase
Anne Truong:your stress without you really knowing it. And when your stress
Anne Truong:level is high, it produces a hormone called cortisol, which
Anne Truong:then affect the erection, which then kind of affect the nerve
Anne Truong:that create an erection. That's how stress affect erection. But
Anne Truong:oftentimes stress is not something that we measure
Anne Truong:objectively, and sometimes we don't even know that we're
Anne Truong:stressed as well. But stress shows up if you have one of
Anne Truong:this, like, you know, Apple Watch, or those, those monitors,
Anne Truong:stress shows up at increasing heart rate variance, which is
Anne Truong:the heart rate variability that you can see with stress. Even
Anne Truong:now, you're going to wear an Aura ring. Aura ring like this,
Anne Truong:to monitor your stress level. And they'll tell you if you're
Anne Truong:stressed or not as well. And I wear this every day. And
Anne Truong:oftentimes it'll say, tell me, are you stressed right now? Your
Anne Truong:heart rate is high. I don't even feel I'm stressed. So that's
Anne Truong:when I feel like I have to take a moment to breathe and to be in
Anne Truong:a meditative state. So you started doing, instituting
Anne Truong:lifestyle, you know, changes in your body. What did you notice?
Anne Truong:And of course, doing the penis pumping. I'm a big proponent of
Anne Truong:penis pumping, testicle massage, doing Kegel and breathing. What
Anne Truong:did you notice? And this is without Cialis, I assume.
Ken Schafer:Yes, I was actually not getting great results for a
Ken Schafer:while. I was a little bit panicked by it, because I was
Ken Schafer:expecting to start seeing results that I wasn't seeing. Dr
Ken Schafer:Rachel Ross then recommended that I go to another doctor to
Ken Schafer:receive shockwave treatment with the P shot and Botox. That was a
Ken Schafer:turning point for me. Within hours of receiving the sonic
Ken Schafer:wave treatment or acoustic wave treatment, within hours I was
Ken Schafer:getting erections. I mean, it was dramatic. It was a dramatic
Ken Schafer:change, and that that was the turning point.
Anne Truong:So you got shockwave Botox and the P shot,
Anne Truong:which is platelet-rich plasma injection into the penis. You
Anne Truong:got all three at the same time?
Ken Schafer:Over the course of two weeks. I don't remember
Ken Schafer:exactly, but I think I received four shockwave treatments, or
Ken Schafer:acoustic wave treatments, and, yeah, that sounds right. I can't
Ken Schafer:remember if it was more than one, but at least 1p shot. I
Ken Schafer:don't remember if it was multiple. And the Botox was just
Ken Schafer:once. And that was over, that was a course of treatment that
Ken Schafer:went over two weeks.
Anne Truong:Right now. That's awesome, because that is my Get
Anne Truong:Hard System of treatment is doing injecting your own stem
Anne Truong:cell would come from your blood, which is the P shot, using your
Anne Truong:own blood to help you rejuvenate the penis. And using shock wave,
Anne Truong:we use focus shock waves. I don't know if you if you had the
Anne Truong:focus shock. There are two shock wave, focus, shock wave and
Anne Truong:radio shock wave. Radio shock wave is more acoustic. Focus
Anne Truong:shock wave is extra corporal shock wave therapy, which is
Anne Truong:more strong.So we use focus shockwave, Botox and P shot in
Anne Truong:combination. And then we also now do electrical nerve
Anne Truong:stimulation to the pelvic muscle that similar to doing Kegel. So
Anne Truong:we do all the treatment in the office and have patient actually
Anne Truong:take the Kegel stimulator machine home to do at home every
Anne Truong:day. And then I always stress after the treatment. I always
Anne Truong:stress penis pumping, testicle mature pelvic muscles, as well
Anne Truong:as doing box breathing and instituting the diet, the
Anne Truong:exercise and stress management. And that's one of the reason why
Anne Truong:we have the modern man club to really help men give them a
Anne Truong:roadmap. And now we in the modern man club, we have
Anne Truong:nutritionist, we have you helping with the exercise. And
Anne Truong:now we're going to have a mindset coach that will help
Anne Truong:with meditation and that calming, that performance
Anne Truong:anxiety, so that way your erection can appear again.
Anne Truong:Because the more you are stressed, the erection will be
Anne Truong:harder to get. So I'm glad you got that, and getting that
Anne Truong:treatment is what kind of you know, help the erection return
Anne Truong:again, right?
Ken Schafer:It was amazing, because I had, literally, I was
Ken Schafer:going to go to this treatment. It wasn't cheap. I had to stay
Ken Schafer:in Philadelphia for two weeks, so put out a lot of money. And I
Ken Schafer:thought, if this doesn't work, I'm going to start looking into
Ken Schafer:an implant. Fortunately, fortunately, it worked. But it
Ken Schafer:worked great. It was a dramatic change.
Anne Truong:And how long ago was that?
Ken Schafer:I want to say, three years
Anne Truong:Okay. Three years ago, okay. And what maintenance
Anne Truong:have you been doing since three years ago?
Ken Schafer:Well, I am on TRT. I pump regularly. I probably
Ken Schafer:should pump a little bit more often, but I do pump regularly,
Ken Schafer:Kegels meditation, watch my diet and exercise and sleep. Because
Ken Schafer:I work night, sleep is issue, but I do the best I can.
Anne Truong:Of course, you do the best. How old are you now,
Anne Truong:Ken?
Ken Schafer:I'm 62. I'll be 63 in January.
Anne Truong:Okay, well, 62 then, you're not quite January
Anne Truong:yet. So let me ask you this question, what does it feel like
Anne Truong:now to know that you're able to perform in the bedroom?
Ken Schafer:Well, it feels great. It's been a relief. It's
Ken Schafer:just a relief, and there's room for improvement. Not everything
Ken Schafer:is perfect that way. I mean, I wish I was performing like a 20
Ken Schafer:year old, but that's not going to happen, but it's just one
Ken Schafer:less source of stress when you can't perform. Even if you don't
Ken Schafer:have a partner, you still have this constant nagging thing in
Ken Schafer:the back of your head, like you can't get an erection, you can't
Ken Schafer:have sex when you want to. You can't get into a relationship
Ken Schafer:because it's, it's not going to work out because of the, you
Ken Schafer:know, you have all these things making you feel like you're less
Ken Schafer:than a man.
Anne Truong:Interesting, very interesting. And what you said
Anne Truong:is very powerful to really understand what goes to a man
Anne Truong:thinking at that time. So what do you wish that you knew
Anne Truong:earlier? That you're finding out now, what did you wish that you
Anne Truong:knew earlier when you first had ED?
Ken Schafer:I wish I knew that most doctors do not know how to
Ken Schafer:treat ED. That would have saved me a huge amount of time and
Ken Schafer:given me a head start. I don't know what things were like 15
Ken Schafer:years ago when I first got ED, because I I didn't look past
Ken Schafer:what the doctors were telling me. But I think even then, there
Ken Schafer:was more. I mean, I think people pretty much knew you could
Ken Schafer:probably answer this. People pretty much knew how to treat
Ken Schafer:ED, the ones who who were like you, who looked into it, but
Ken Schafer:most doctors simply don't look past symptom management.
Anne Truong:Well, it's because they're not taught that, not
Anne Truong:because they don't want to, because they're not taught that
Anne Truong:traditional medical training in the US is more of disease focus,
Anne Truong:rather than disease prevention and not lifestyle prevention.
Anne Truong:We're focused on this is the disease, what medicine to fix it
Anne Truong:and the surgery to fix it, right? And believe me, I come
Anne Truong:from that fact. I came from that training. I came from the
Anne Truong:training that I need. I'm a pain management doctor by specialty,
Anne Truong:and I came from the training. But patient have pain, give them
Anne Truong:opioids, give them thyroid injection, if not, then send
Anne Truong:them to surgery. That was the mindset that I was trained on.
Anne Truong:And because doctors are not trained on sexual health, it's
Anne Truong:not even discussed upon during our training. There's no
Anne Truong:specialty that is sexual health alone that is a board
Anne Truong:certification. So like urologist do it, but then Family Medicine
Anne Truong:do it, OBGYN do it. And so it's kind of like a mixed specialty.
Anne Truong:Unless you're really interested in it, you have to seek your own
Anne Truong:information. So that is one and then two. It's also just
Anne Truong:uncomfortable subject. Sometimes, you know, it's
Anne Truong:uncomfortable for patients to talk about it, and it's
Anne Truong:uncomfortable for doctor to talk about it as well. And it also
Anne Truong:that aspect, and it does. The third part is that it's that
Anne Truong:just, they're just not aware of it. It's not awareness in our
Anne Truong:training that, you know, ED is so common, and that the way
Anne Truong:we're thinking, Well, here's the medicine take that. I can't tell
Anne Truong:you how many patients I treat, they take a medicine for
Anne Truong:diabetes, and they're thinking, their diabetes can't I don't
Anne Truong:have diabetes. All right, they will say, I don't have diabetes.
Anne Truong:I take Metformin. So that's not true at all. The medication just
Anne Truong:help you not get the long term side effects of the disease. But
Anne Truong:most disease we have now are really acquired, like high blood
Anne Truong:pressure is acquired, diabetes is acquired, and high
Anne Truong:cholesterol is acquired, and all those conditions can be gone
Anne Truong:with diet and exercise if you start on it early, and most
Anne Truong:patients don't realize the diet and exercise, you can get rid of
Anne Truong:all those medication if You just lose about 10% of your weight,
Anne Truong:and those conditions also contribute to ED as well. And so
Anne Truong:that was where I was leading. That is that doctor church are
Anne Truong:not trained. They're not aware of that like even now, what
Anne Truong:opened up my eyes was maybe, because I'm Asian, I was
Anne Truong:interested in learning acupuncture, and when I learned
Anne Truong:about acupuncture, it opens up my eyes on how the body heals
Anne Truong:and how the body operate, and there are other alternative to
Anne Truong:treatment, rather than just medication and surgery alone.
Anne Truong:And that's what went I went down the path of more functional,
Anne Truong:holistic healing. So Ken, thank you for sharing that, Ken. So if
Anne Truong:a man is watching this that has ED and is struggling alone, what
Anne Truong:would you want to say to him right now?
Ken Schafer:Do not just go to any doctor. You really got to
Ken Schafer:spend some time researching doctors who specialize in sexual
Ken Schafer:health or they are very knowledgeable about it. And if
Ken Schafer:you have low testosterone, lower than average, I would say you
Ken Schafer:need a doctor who understands the nuances of TRT and when it's
Ken Schafer:appropriate and when it's not appropriate. But that will be
Ken Schafer:the hardest part of your journey, is finding the right
Ken Schafer:doctor.
Anne Truong:You're absolutely right, because there's no like
Anne Truong:directory for that. And oftentimes, even if you find a
Anne Truong:clinic that does sexual health, it may not have the whole
Anne Truong:comprehensive of testosterone replacement therapy and the P
Anne Truong:shot and the focus shock and the Botox all that together, you
Anne Truong:kind of have to piece meal together and be a really an
Anne Truong:advocate for yourself, like what you did. But that journey is a
Anne Truong:long one, right? And it didn't just come overnight, and you
Anne Truong:have to be very persistent at it, so that that was one of the
Anne Truong:reason why I created the Modern Man Club, to give. Then a
Anne Truong:roadmap of what they need to do and be a resource for them,
Anne Truong:because I truly believe ED, when is aadressed early, can be
Anne Truong:totally reversed for life. You don't need the medication, and
Anne Truong:now you crave Viagra, Cialis, like opioids or pain medication,
Anne Truong:you just get addicted to them. They become a crutch until they
Anne Truong:stop working. Then you're worse off than you were when you're
Anne Truong:four. You started. And I truly believe that if you have ED, if
Anne Truong:you're a man, you have ED one to two years, stop taking that
Anne Truong:medication. Work on lifestyle changes that can really make a
Anne Truong:big impact. And when we talk a lot that we'll talk about taking
Anne Truong:your diet, your Mediterranean diet, start walking, moving more
Anne Truong:and sleep, and then do stress management. So that's why our
Anne Truong:Modern Man Club, we have all the resources for you to do this, as
Anne Truong:well as giving you clarity on what you need to do to get out
Anne Truong:of ED, because Ken here have to figure it out himself. He had
Anne Truong:to, kind of piecemeal things. We're hoping to be a resource
Anne Truong:for you. So what would you tell a man who are afraid to ask for
Anne Truong:help?
Ken Schafer:Well, that I think is become the most difficult
Ken Schafer:this has been a problem that I've really been focused on
Ken Schafer:lately is why are so few men actively reaching out for help.
Anne Truong:What do you think that is?
Ken Schafer:I don't know, because it's so different. I'm
Ken Schafer:the kind of person that if I have a problem, I'm going to
Ken Schafer:exhaust every possibility to solve that problem. I'm not
Ken Schafer:willing to let things go. Now, sometimes the problem isn't
Ken Schafer:solvable, but I'm going to try my best, and I'm getting the
Ken Schafer:sense that that is not typical, or at least typical anymore,
Ken Schafer:among men, and this is something that I think is a problem, and
Ken Schafer:I'm not really sure what the cause is or what to do about it,
Ken Schafer:but it's definitely something I'm interested in understanding
Ken Schafer:better.
Anne Truong:I agree with you, and like I said, some of it is
Anne Truong:just embarrassed denial, and there's just saying you don't
Anne Truong:know what you don't know. And I love that phrase. It's so true.
Anne Truong:You don't know what you don't know, or most men don't know
Anne Truong:that they don't have to take the pill that you know that they can
Anne Truong:just maybe change your diet. Stop eating pizza and hamburgers
Anne Truong:every day. Well you can eat that, but don't eat it every
Anne Truong:day, or french fries every day. Maybe that will also help your
Anne Truong:erection as well. For men, your erection the warning light in
Anne Truong:your car, the engine light, is warning you there's something
Anne Truong:going on, and if you fix it, then, and not only does it help
Anne Truong:with your sex life, it will also help with living longer and
Anne Truong:heart health as well. So it's also Mother Nature that if you
Anne Truong:are healthy, you can have an erection, then you can
Anne Truong:procreate. You can continue your DNA. If you're not healthy, then
Anne Truong:maybe your DNA shouldn't be continued. It's one thing to
Anne Truong:think about, and so let's end with this. What is the one myth
Anne Truong:about EDthat you have believed in the past that turned out to
Anne Truong:be wrong?
Ken Schafer:Now I think that is primarily a problem with
Ken Schafer:testosterone. I know testosterone contributes to the
Ken Schafer:problem, and it contributes to your overall health, and so it
Ken Schafer:should be if you have low testosterone, that should be
Ken Schafer:part of the treatment. But I thought early on that if I just
Ken Schafer:fixed my testosterone levels, everything was going to fall
Ken Schafer:into place and my ED would be cured. And that's just not the
Ken Schafer:case.
Anne Truong:And you said you're 62 and if you do the math, you
Anne Truong:said that this started about 17 years ago. So it started kind of
Anne Truong:like in your 40s, which is pretty early for a man in his
Anne Truong:40s at that time. And you didn't know what you didn't know,
Anne Truong:right? You didn't know that, Hey, maybe if I change my diet,
Anne Truong:maybe I exercise more and sleep, lose stress of that, you know,
Anne Truong:as well. But I'm really glad that you mentioned that ED is a
Anne Truong:compilation problem. Compilation of problems that is common in
Anne Truong:ED, it could be hormones, it could be your stress, it could
Anne Truong:be your sleep, it could be smoking, could be porn, could be
Anne Truong:no diabetes, your high blood pressure, your activity level,
Anne Truong:just a lot of things that contribute to that. And that's
Anne Truong:when I say you have ED stop and just kind of like do an
Anne Truong:introspection, just kind of do an inventory of yourself, be
Anne Truong:real with yourself. First thing is, I advocate, if you have ED
Anne Truong:go get blood work. Definitely get blood work. Check out your
Anne Truong:blood sugar, your cholesterol level, your liver function, your
Anne Truong:kidney function, because most men don't feel like they have
Anne Truong:high cholesterol or even pre diabetes until they get blood. I
Anne Truong:can't tell you how many times I see patients in my office for
Anne Truong:ED, we do blood work, and it shows that they're pre diabetic
Anne Truong:and they have high cholesterol and they haven't had blood work
Anne Truong:in like years as well. That's not men. You know, men don't go
Anne Truong:to a doctor. They go to doctor because their wife make them go
Anne Truong:to the doctor. I know my husband is like that. He won't go unless
Anne Truong:I make him go. And he had pre diabetes, he had high
Anne Truong:cholesterol, he had two steps in his heart, and that's what kind
Anne Truong:of got me into ED myself. What's happened with my husband? So I
Anne Truong:have lived through that as a partner with a husband that has
Anne Truong:cardiac issues as well. So having said that, we know the
Anne Truong:challenges that men face, and we are a resource for you guys.
Anne Truong:Check out our Modern Man Club if you're far away. And I'm here to
Anne Truong:help in my office. We do you know everything we do, the
Anne Truong:hormone replacement therapy and the shock wave and the Botox and
Anne Truong:the stem cell like the P shot as well to more of an integrative
Anne Truong:approach to restore function again. And like Ken, you know,
Anne Truong:he had ED in his 40s, and he's now functioning, and is a
Anne Truong:smarter man about his sexual health. And I know that part of
Anne Truong:your mission is to empower men to take control of their sexual
Anne Truong:health and to help them where you are now, without spending 10
Anne Truong:years or so trying to be your health advocate.
Ken Schafer:Absolutely, you know, I, I was passionate enough
Ken Schafer:about it to write a book called A Practical Guide to Managing
Ken Schafer:Erectile Dysfunction, and it's the synthesis of everything I
Anne Truong:And we'll make sure to put that link on Amazon for
Anne Truong:learned and experienced over about of 10 to 12 year period.
Anne Truong:that book as well too. So having said that, Ken, thank you for
Anne Truong:being here and sharing your story, your journey, and I hope
Anne Truong:all men feel good about listening to our conversation.
Anne Truong:And this is not something you should be ashamed of. This is
Anne Truong:very, very common. We're just not talking about, let's start
Anne Truong:talking about, let's raise awareness of this. Just know
Anne Truong:there are solutions about this as well. You don't have to take
Anne Truong:that pill. Yes, you have to do the work, I'll be honest. You
Anne Truong:have to do the work, but there is a light at the end of the
Anne Truong:tunnel. So thank you Ken for being here. And men, just know
Anne Truong:that we're here to help and we're here to get you out of ED
Anne Truong:into restoration again. Check out the Modern Man Club at
Anne Truong:NoEDMan.com and we'll see you in the next episode.
Anne Truong:Okay, Modern Man, you are not alone and you don't have to
Anne Truong:suffer anymore. ED can feel isolating, frustrating, and even
Anne Truong:defeating. The endless guessing, the quiet shame, the weight of
Anne Truong:not feeling like yourself is exhausting. But here's the
Anne Truong:truth, you are not broken. You are not alone. You don't have to
Anne Truong:figure this out alone anymore. The Get Wood Now Boost Program
Anne Truong:is your step by step, path to sexual confidence and
Anne Truong:restoration. No more suffering in silence, no more trial and
Anne Truong:error, just real solution, real result and the confidence you
Anne Truong:deserve. It's time to take back your power on your term. Let's
Anne Truong:get this journey started together. Check out the course
Anne Truong:at getwoodnow.com. I'll see you there.
Anne Truong:Thanks for listening to the Sexual Health for Men Podcast.
Anne Truong:If you love this episode, then please take a screenshot on your
Anne Truong:phone and post it on Facebook, Instagram, or wherever you post,
Anne Truong:and be sure to tag me and let me know why you like this episode
Anne Truong:and what you like to hear in the future. That will help me know
Anne Truong:what's great for you and I would love to give you the most
Anne Truong:incredible free gift designed to help you improve performance
Anne Truong:quickly. Go to my website at sexualhealthformenpodcast.com to
Anne Truong:get the book, The Five Common Costly Mistakes Men Make When
Anne Truong:Facing ED. I would appreciate if you subscribe, leave a review on
Anne Truong:Apple podcasts or wherever you listen. And just know that you
Anne Truong:can have sexual vitality for life. I appreciate you until
Anne Truong:next time.