What if the little blue pill isn’t the answer, and never was?
In this powerful episode, I sit down with a man who opens up about his real-life struggle with erectile dysfunction. From the first unsettling signs to the emotional toll it took on his relationships and self-worth, he shares what most men are too afraid to talk about out loud. But this isn’t just a story about challenges, it’s also one of hope, healing, and discovering alternatives that go far beyond medication.
If you or someone you care about is dealing with ED, this episode could be the turning point. Tune in and find out what’s possible when you stop settling for temporary fixes and start looking for real solutions.
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Resources mentioned:
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Curious about how you can boost your bedroom game and build lasting confidence? Check out the course at getwoodnow.com and start your journey to feeling like yourself again!
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For all links and resources mentioned on the show and where to subscribe to the podcast, please visit https://truongrehab.com/erectile-dysfunction-treatment-without-pills
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Want to regain control of your sex life? It’s time to reverse the effects of ED on your life. Join the Modern Man Club and embark on your journey to complete recovery and community.
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Reveal the FREE treatment most men ignore that solves thousands of erectile dysfunction cases every year, plus the 5 biggest mistakes you must avoid if you want to say goodbye to your ED. Uncover it all in my free eBook, available to download now.
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.