Remember , remember to give for MO-vember

November has become Mo vember (portmanteau of 'Moustache' and 'November) in Australia and now all over the world. Things have become big since 30 men met in an eastern state aussie pub in 1999 coming up with the idea to bring back old testosterone driven fashion of a moustach , have some fun and at the same time collect money for a good charitable purpose. Since 2003 the event is run by the movember foundation of Australia a non for profit charitable organisation with the aim to change the face of mens health , get men talking about their health, and raise funds for the prostate cancer foundation as well as for beyond blue (national depression initiative). 125,000 Australians have collected 16 million Dollar for both organisations through Movember in 2008 already and all the while only spending 9% of the takings on running of the campaign, note most australian charities spent about 18% on running costs!. The idea and the positive outcome has taken off so well that now 6 countries run the event and thousands of international supporters are spread over the globe, the 2nd donation in support of my Mo growing this Movember came from the highlands of bonny old Scotland where my naked face seems all but forgotten.
Mo Bros, supported by their Mo Sistas, start Movember (November 1st) clean shaven and then have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their moustache. During Movember, each Mo Bro effectively becomes a walking billboard for men’s health and, via their Mo, raises essential funds and awareness for above Movember supported charities.
Money collected is spent by beyondblue and the prostate cancer foundation in Supporting the beyondblue info line for the”Don’t beat about the bush!” campaign , on the Funding of Indigenous Men’s Sheds/Spaces and the support of Men’s Sheds , in campaigns enhancing the awareness of prostate cancer and the risk of depression/anxiety , Funding new research into the link between depression and men’s cancers but also very concrete research projects into prostate cancer, biopsy tissue banks, prostate cancer treatment studies and countless more beneficial causes.
You can support the good cause by becoming a Mo Bro/Sista for a month and grow a beauty on your lip as well as actively promote men’s health and collect money for above charities Most Mo Bro and they supporting Mo Sista’s work in teams promoting themselves via email and posters. If you feel less fashionably challenged you can simple go to au.movember.com search for the mo team of your choice and donate generously and have a chuckle following the growth of natures works of mo-art. Alternatively you could support Eric , Mick, Nicholas and myself from the “Midwest GP Motivated” -team or link straight to http://au.movember.com/mospace/208817/ for donations.



Helko Schenk
Geraldton Mo-dical Group
3 11 2009

WEBSITES:

www.beyondblue.org.au
www.prostate.org.au
au.movember.com
au.movemberfoundation.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movember

Grumpy old Men - Male Menopause – fact or fiction

Women suffer it and get treated successfully for it, why not men too? Symptoms attributed to male menopause are:
- increased abdominal fat
- weaker muscles
- decreased motivation
- fatigue
- moodiness and irritability( grumpy old men),
- depression
- lack of concentration
- declining sexual interest erection difficulty

Fact is that from the 50ies onwards testosterone levels decline by about 2% yearly, testosterone is a hormone produced in the testis controlling facial hair, penile growth muscle gain and fat distribution. Some doctors claim that steady fall in hormone levels is responsible for above listed symptoms. Libido and Sexuality might decline with age anyway - no real correlation with testosterone levels has been proven. So it could only make you feel better, but not actually help.
Studies looking at benefits of testosterone replacement are inconclusive , some have shown increase in bone mass and strength as well as muscle mass. Testosterone is a risk factor for prostate cancer and long term studies on the safety of hormone replacement in men are limited.
Testosterone can cause breast cancer, kidney and liver damage, high blood pressure, worsen diabetes and migraines, anxiety and acne to name only some unwanted effects.
Testosterone supplementation is currently not recommended for older men with normal or low normal hormone levels. Replacement might be warranted for older men with markedly decreased hormone levels, regardless of symptoms and in men with mildly decreased levels and symptoms of testosterone deficiency. According to some experts, men who experience above age specific symptoms, lead unhealthy lifestyles (smoke, to much alcohol, not enough exercise, overweight) also chronic diseases of older age (diabetes , heart disease , depression) add to their symptoms. Saying this - discussion of above symptoms with your GP can be life saving, like for instance secondary erection difficulty is now a recognized warning symptom for small blood vessel disease and is known to precede heart attacks and strokes, so should prompt your good GP to explore heart risk factors and maybe put you on the tread mill. And there are alternative treatments for age or lack of testosterone related symptoms pending the underlying pathology ranging from Antidepressants to Viagra.
So does it all grind down again to do more exercise , stop smoking , drink sensible ? Probably right! but your doctor will help you to determine if you suffer an underling condition worth treating. Medicare currently only funds treatment of testosterone deficiency if there are 2 proven low testosterone blood levels. Options for replacement are tablets , injections ,implants, patches , gels. One thing for sure -beware of busily advertising and business hunting big private mens health clinics! You better off with your local doctor and specialist , as they know you better and are able to look at your health overall.

Sources:
- www.abc.net.au/health
- www.gpnotebook.co.uk
- www.patient.co.uk
- Australian Family Physician 6 6 2003

Helko Schenk
Geraldton Medical Group
Geraldton 30 3 2009