Male Fertility

Male Infertility

There is no more confused medical care in our field than what is delivered by many urologists to the couple that suffers from "male infertility." In fact, many couples are told to delay the IVF treatment they should have had sooner (because of the wife's advancing age) in order just to wait for some dubious treatment of the male partner to increase his sperm count. Numerous control studies have demonstrated that administering clomid or nutritional supplements to the male, or performing varicocoele surgery, does nothing to improve his sperm count, and the often suggested testosterone supplements just lowers rather than raises his sperm count, and may eve n render him totally sterile.

Anatomy of the normal testicle.

Route of sperm transport from the testis to epididymis to the vas deferens.

Many husbands in infertile marriages are sent to urologists who then almost always in some communities recommend "varicocoelectomy." This is a procedure to tie off a varicose vein of the testicle. More than 15% of all men on the planet have a varicose vein of their left testicle, and most of these men are quite fertile. It is a completely benign and normal variant of testicular anatomy. Yet often the husband is subjected to this completely meddlesome surgery, often on both sides, despite the absence even of a varicocoele, and despite its ineffectiveness in anyway improving his sperm count. It is however ironically quite effective in delaying the treatment the couple really needs, all while the wife's eggs keep getting older. Furthermore, if done clumsily, bilateral varicocoelectomy can reduce the husband's merely low sperm count down to a zero sperm count.

A POEM OF HOPE FROM THE KING.

"THIS TOO SHALL PASS AWAY."

A MIGHTY monarch in the days of old

Made offer of high honour, wealth and gold,

 

To one who should produce in form concise

A motto for his guidance, terse yet wise —

 

A precept, soothing in his hours forlorn,

Yet one that in his prosperous days would warn.

 

Many the maxims sent the king, men say.

The one he chose: "This too shall pass away."

 

Oh, jewel sentence from the mine of truth!

What riches it contains for age or youth.

 

No stately epic, measured and sublime,

So comforts, or so counsels, for all time

As these few words. Go write them on your heart

And make them of your daily life a part.

Has some misfortune fallen to your lot?

This too will pass away —absorb the thought,

And wait; your waiting will not be in vain,

Time gilds with gold the iron links of pain.

 

The dark to-day leads into light to-morrow;

There is no endless joy, no endless sorrow.

Are you upon earth's heights? No cloud in view?

Go read your motto once again: This too

Shall pass away; fame, glory, place and power,

They are but little baubles of the hour,

Flung by the ruthless years down in the dust.

Take warning and be worthy of God's trust.

Use well your prowess while it lasts; leave bloom,

Not blight, to mark your footprints to the tomb.

The truest greatness lies in being kind,

The truest wisdom in a happy mind.

He who desponds, his Maker's judgment mocks;

The gloomy Christian is a paradox.

Only the sunny soul respects its God.

Since life is short we need to make it broad;

Since life is brief we need to make it bright.

Then keep the old king's motto well in sight,

And let its meaning permeate each day.

Whatever comes, This too shall pass away.

Early ritirement plans you must know

 

Early retirement sounds pretty good when you're stuck in a cubicle counting down the hours until the weekend. If you don't enjoy your job anymore and are looking forward to spending more time pursuing your own agenda, early retirement can be ideal. The challenge is that you need to save up for it and make that money last for several decades. Here are the financial milestones you should achieve before taking early retirement:

You have retirement cash flow. You need to calculate how much income you will have after leaving your job. Social Security benefits typically can't be started until age 62 at the earliest. If you retire before that, you will need income from somewhere else. You can withdraw from your 401(k) or Roth IRA, but you need to decide how much to withdraw per year and make sure you don't deplete your retirement fund too quickly.

Get into the habit of tracking your cash flow while you're working, and practice living on your retirement budget for 12 months. It's even more important to control your spending in retirement because you'll have a fixed income. Monitoring your spending will allow you to understand where your money is going and help control lifestyle inflation as the years go by.

You know how your expenses will change. Certain expenses can be eliminated when you retire such as commuting costs. But some retirees end up spending more money annually after they quit working. Many people want to travel now that they have the time, and that will significantly increase your expenses unless you travel creatively. Other people spend money on hobbies they have been putting off for many years. A retirement budget needs to take into account all the activities that you would like to do as well as the usual bills.

You have retirement health insurance. Medicare won't kick in until you're 65, and you'll need to fund your own healthcare until then. You can keep your employer-sponsored health insurance for up to 18 months under COBRA, but you will probably have to pay a lot more than you used to while working. If your spouse is still working, then it's usually a much more affordable option to get coverage though his or her employer. The Affordable Care Act provides another option for early retirees, and you can shop for health insurance at your state's health insurance exchange. After retirement, your income will probably be lower, so you might qualify for tax credits to help cover the premiums. However, health insurance isn't cheap, and you might get sticker shock if you don't do your research before retiring.

You have no debt. If you have consumer debt, then you're probably not ready to retire early. It's also a good idea to pay off your mortgage before retirement so your monthly expenses will be reduced. Downsizing or relocating to a more affordable area can be a good option to reduce or get rid of a mortgage.

How to Give Your Retirement Plan a Big Payoff Play Video

You have adjusted your portfolio. You need to make sure your asset allocation is properly targeted to meet your risk tolerance. Some early retirees have all their assets in stocks. That might be fine when you're still working because you can add money when the market is down. But that asset allocation probably needs to be adjusted after retirement. An early retiree also needs to be careful not to shift too much money into bonds because you need stocks for growth. When you're nearing retirement, reassess your risk tolerance and update your asset allocation accordingly.

You have achieved financial freedom. One way to estimate if you're ready for early retirement is to divide your investable assets by your annual expense. I call this the financial freedom ratio. If your financial freedom ratio is above 25, then you're in pretty good shape. You can use the 4 percent rule to withdraw from your portfolio, and chances are good that your money will last for 30 years or more. Of course, if you retire very early, then you probably need to be a bit more conservative and withdraw less until you're near 65, the normal retirement age.

If you have a healthy portfolio balance, no debt and a plan to deal with health care, then you might be ready to retire early. Try tracking your cash flow and living on your retirement budget for a while before pulling the plug. Once you retire, then you need to keep a good handle on your cash flow to make sure you don't overspend. Early retirement is a dream for many people, but it takes diligent saving and careful planning to make it real.

KEFEE, THE LEGEND GOES HOME

Multiple award-winning gospel singer, Kefee Don Momoh, has been confirmed dead. She passed on in the early hours of Friday, after being in coma for weeks in an undisclosed American hospital.
She went into coma, after collapsing in on 14-hour flight while she was on her way to Chicago for an event about two weeks ago. A close family source revealed she was diagnosed of having pre-eclampsia – pregnancy induced high blood pressure.

THE FLYING VAN PERSIE

Robin van Persie scored a brilliant goal to begin the Netherlands' comeback and remarkable 5-1 win against Spain and he looked like a flying seal while he did it. After the match, Van Persie said, "Considering the circumstances, it must be the goal of my career."