James Woledge discussing Mens Health on RWSFM
During Mens Health Week, James went on RWSfm 103.3 and discussed sexual health issues; in both a broad sense of how it can act as a precursor to other conditions and also specifically how we at The Abbeyfields could help. It really was a very informative chat, so we wanted to share it and give you the chance to listen again.
If you are having erection problems, or your partner is, forget the embarrassment and talk. We can help.
Transcript
Adrian Copping:
It is men’s health week this week. James Woledge is the clinic owner and an osteopath at Abbeyfields clinic in Bury St Edmunds. And they specialise, well specialise in lots of things I believe, but they specialise in particular in some men’s health issues. Good morning to you.
James Woledge:
Good morning Adrian. Thanks for having me.
Adrian Copping:
That’s all right. It’s lovely to have you with us. You are I believe, the clinic owner and an osteopath at Abbeyfields clinic here in Bury St Edmunds.
James Woledge:
That’s right, yeah.
Adrian Copping:
And the reason that we’ve coincided on the airways this morning is that it’s men’s health week.
James Woledge:
So sexual health for men is definitely one of those things they don’t want to talk about. So there’s been lots of press over the last five, 10 years about checking your testicles and so forth. Prostate health. If you’ve got any change in your urine function at night, so forth. People are very keen about those sorts of things, but actually when it comes to sexual health, in terms of function and quality of life, that still is a moot topic. Things like impotence of what we now call erectile dysfunction and there can be signs there that your actual overall health is suffering. The first place that you get those symptoms is around impotency and erectile dysfunction.
Adrian Copping:
One of the things that men are reluctant to talk about is actually sexual problems or sexual issues. So talk us through that a bit.
James Woledge:
Well, for the word, tootsie, which was the word we used up until about 10 years ago, has now been replaced with something called erectile dysfunction. And that, for obvious reasons is a talking point you don’t hear down the pub. Because it speaks of men, the men’s ability and so forth. And I think that the key issue with that as far as GPs in particular, are keen to see men with this issue, because it speaks to two things. It’s one that when you start to get changes in your ability to push blood flow and to maintain blood flow into your penis, which is something just to actually just make a note of, because a lot of people they get confused. They think it’s a muscle or whatever else. It’s a chamber full of blood vessels that basically gauge and that’s what gives you the ability to hold an erection.
But those vessels are very specific and closely aligned with how the vessels of your heart are. They’re very small and they can withstand very high pressures, but because of that, they need to be really healthy. So actually one of the first signs that you might be… Your general health, your cardiovascular health is suffering is actually starting to get erection problems. You may just see it as a problem down there, but it probably is a sign that you have underlying health issues that may well affect general cardiovascular health and heart health.
So GPs are very keen, our private GP that work here, he talks through this all the time. The first thing they think of, a good GP, let’s have a look at your overall health when you’re having these issues. You should be triaged for blood pressure, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cholesterol issues and so forth and general obesity.
It should be a wake up call that things are not going well. So that’s one thing that men are not communicating that to their GPs and then perhaps things are being missed. And also, the fact that it has this huge impact on mental health and their relationships, the happiness and their relationships and so on. These are two things that lack of communication are going to impact potentially that person. So it’s really just a window in to seeing what other things that your GP or other people can help with. And that’s what we’ve started doing here at the practice.
Adrian Copping:
Right. I think if I’m right, that’s not completely unusual is it? Thing that’s been happening in medicine and professions allied to medicine and things like that for many years. I think I remember being surprised to discover that when I go to the opticians, I don’t know whether this still happens, but when I go to the opticians, one of the things that they can pick up is potentially high cholesterol levels.
James Woledge:
That’s right.
Adrian Copping:
Yeah.
James Woledge:
And hypertension.
Adrian Copping:
Oh right.
James Woledge:
Little vessels. Little vessels in the back of your eye. Again, not too dissimilar to the little vessels that supply penis and the heart. You’re getting a window in by looking at those things you see. So the problem really, Britain was the first country to privately allow people to buy Viagra. So now the treatment, which everyone knows, which is good for that, you don’t even need to see your GP. You can go online and you can buy it. So then some people argue, that’s a good thing. Some people argue that’s not so good because what it’s doing is allowing you to bypass all potential checks that might want to actually see whether you are healthy or not, never mind your sexual performance. So I think there’s a few people potentially going under the radar that would otherwise just self-medicate and continue along that line. But that’s for people higher up than me that have made that decision to allow that to happen.
Adrian Copping:
To allow that, okay. But other treatments are available.
James Woledge:
So other treatments and that’s where we come in, to people who are not wanting to go to the GP. A big thing of COVID of course, is not having that time with the GP to go through all of these checks. So I think another reason for people going under the radar. So we usually set them up with our GP here and we can order things like testosterone checks and you run through blood pressure, that sort of stuff, to make sure that there’s nothing else going on.
And then we offer this innovative new treatment called Focused Shockwave, which improves blood flow to the penis and increases actually your ability to respond to treatments like Viagra. So some people run out of options and they don’t respond to those medications, or it gives them headache side effects. We can actually enhance the health of the vessels in the penis by using that, which is a course of six or 12 sessions, but it’s really quite effective. And that’s what we do as long as they’re safe to be treated. So that’s why we have a GP working-
Adrian Copping:
Is that an invasive thing or?
James Woledge:
It’s not, no. It’s just sound waves that are passed into the tissue. So it’s non-invasive, it works through a little applicator that we put onto the penis and it just increases the quality of the blood vessels and it induces new blood vessels to grow into the area, which is also, obviously useful. And more blood, better erections. It really comes down to that, and good quality blood flow.
It’s now become common place in North America, Europe, and in the major cities of the UK and it’s growing at an enormous rate this type of treatment because it’s one thing that actually can permanently increase the health rather than having to rely on medication. But we always make sure they’re triaged first to make sure that they’re a good candidate for those reasons we discuss before. There could be other reasons for their issues or they just need to be checked out by their GP basically to make sure that they’re healthy in other ways.
Adrian Copping:
So I was going to say, so presumably if you are picking up on other problems, you are referring them on or at least getting them to self-refer or whatever’s appropriate.
James Woledge:
Absolutely. Yeah, because we say, “Look, we can treat this, but what actually will help the outcome is having your lipids dealt with properly by maybe statins getting your blood pressure down will also help. So instead of just taking a pill, if we can get your general health status better by all of these mechanisms, with the help of your GP, it makes our intervention with the Focused shockwave much better, better value for money for you and better health moving forwards.” Which is only a good thing.
Adrian Copping:
And the overall message, I think that I’m picking up from this, or one of the overall message is that there’s a real link between your physical health and your mental health. And you need to pay attention to, or look for the signs of both and get help and refer, self-refer. Because everything’s self-referred isn’t it, unless you go in through A&E or something like that, where you’ve had an accident, then you do actually have to kind of pick up the telephone and make an appointment or book it online or whatever.
James Woledge:
Yeah. And they’ve created even more barriers to men opening up about their problems. That’s really what COVID has done is that you have to pick up the phone, speak to someone, make the appointment, it’s very easy to put it off for a day or two. Next thing you know, two weeks have passed and you haven’t made the phone call and done anything about it. So it’s really important that that issue is talked about, start men just being really honest about what’s happening saying, “That’s not just because I’m getting old. It might be because I need actually a good checkup on my blood pressure and everything else.” Don’t put it off. Preferably don’t just take a pill and hope it all goes away. They should be checked by their GP even before they might decide to take pills of their own volition online, which is what you can do. But I think it’s always sensible to make sure your health is good.
Adrian Copping:
And in terms of people who want to know more, there’s things, presumably like big NHS kind of websites and things like that. But also you’ve got links into websites yourself and you’ve got your own website. Is that right?
James Woledge:
Yeah. So we are the Abbeyfieldsclinic.co.uk, but we’re a member of a nationwide chain called edclinics.co.uk. There’s plenty of good information on there. Particularly the edclinics.co.uk. I mean, even if you went onto the sites that sell Viagra and so forth, there’s a number of those sites. They all say the same thing, which is actually, you should have your general health checks as a part of you actually suffering with some form of erectile dysfunction. It should be that you check your blood pressure, your cholesterol, those things. And of course not take it too lightly that stress and psychological issues will also impact your sexual performance.
It’s probably once a month that we get patients ringing up because they’ve heard about us and done the research and I won’t treat them and I will signpost them off to psychosexual counselling. That’s obviously the biggest issue that needs to be dealt with. But with men, as we said, they don’t like to tackle these things necessarily so easily as women. And they would rather have a simple fix, like my machine or tablets, but actually you should all be doing the right job of triaging them off and making sure they get the best help that they need. And everyone’s different.
Adrian Copping:
So it’s been fascinating to talk about a subject, which indeed is not easy to talk about always or indeed easy to listen to. And it’s good to talk to use a phrase not just about mental health issues, because it’s all kind of tied up as you said to us. And if there’s anybody that’s been listening, worried or concerned about themselves or somebody else that they know very well, then the message is, don’t be shy, pluck up a little bit of courage and go to your GP or look up a clinic or there’s plenty of help available.
James Woledge:
Yes, absolutely right.
Adrian Copping:
Well, James, thank you very much indeed for joining us this morning, we kind of ran out of time. Anyway, James. James Woledge there, clinic owner and osteopath Abbeyfields health clinic in this men’s health week. Thanks very much for joining us.
James Woledge:
Thanks a lot, Adrian.
Speaker 1:
All day long. This is RWSfm 103.3.
Find out more about Erectile Dysfunction (Impotence) Treatment
Around 50% of men over the age of 50 are affected by Erectile Dysfunction (impotence) and the consequences to these individuals can be severe. There is often significant personal embarrassment and it can put a huge strain on relationships. There can often be associated with low mood, depression and anxiety.