Men\u{2019}s Health in Freshwater: What Comes Through the Door

What men actually come in with here, and what we do with each.

Most of it is musculoskeletal. Surfers\u{2019} shoulders, tradespeople\u{2019}s backs and elbows, runners\u{2019} knees and Achilles tendons, and the necks of everyone driving over the Spit. That is straightforwardly in scope: assessment, treatment, and a loading plan.

Then the male-specific things, usually mentioned last. Urinary symptoms — a weak stream, hesitancy, getting up at night — which point at the prostate and need a GP assessment, because they overlap with prostate cancer and infection. Erectile dysfunction, which is an early vascular warning and belongs with a GP for blood pressure, glucose, lipids and a medication review. Low libido with fatigue, which is a morning blood test. Premature ejaculation, which is common, treatable and almost never raised. And fertility, where a semen analysis is simple and routinely left until far too late.

Urgent, same day. Sudden severe testicular pain — go to an emergency department, because torsion is time-critical and measured in hours. A testicular lump — assessed that week. Blood in the urine. Inability to pass urine at all. Chest pain or breathlessness on exertion, which around here gets dismissed as being unfit.

And the two nobody mentions. Alcohol, counted rather than estimated, which in a sociable beach suburb is easy to undercount by half. And mood, which in men shows up as a short fuse, more drinking and withdrawal rather than as sadness. Lifeline is 13 11 14.

What we can honestly do with the male-specific conditions is narrow: sleep, the physical side of stress, and pain that has stopped someone exercising — and exercise does more for prostate symptoms, erectile function and mood than anything else on the list. We will not prescribe a herbal preparation for sexual function or the prostate without your full medication list, because several interact seriously with nitrates and blood pressure tablets.

We are in Freshwater, ten streets from Balgowlah and about twenty from Manly. Appointments are private.