Hello Everyone,
My name is Sean Quigley, a Chinese Medicine acupuncturist now living in the amazing city of Kingston, Ontario – home to wonderfully friendly people and crisp clean air. I grew up not too far from Kingston and have returned to Ontario with my family after twenty years away.
Some of this time away was spent travelling and living in Tainan, Taiwan where my interest and education into Chinese medicine was sparked and cultivated.
Most men experience some sexual function loss or dips in libido at some point in their lives, and it’s not always because you’ve had one too many at the pub last night. In fact if the subject weren’t such a taboo, experiences and solutions could be shared more openly leading to improved quality of life and better sex. There is a ton of pressure on men to perform these days with pop culture, the prevalence of internet porn and other cultural expectations playing a role in everyone’s perceptions of what is a healthy and mutually satisfying sexual experience. Not to mention the magic of the little blue pill that has become the go to prescription since its release to the public in 1998; Viagra has become one of the largest selling drugs on earth. In terms of long term health, sexual dysfunction can be a precursor to potentially more serious conditions connected with circulation, blood flow and blood health (heart conditions, stroke, diabetes, etc.). By confronting sexual health conditions you may save yourself from other serious issues down the road. Male sexual issues can play out in a variety of ways, namely erectile dysfunction (ED), premature ejaculation (PE), and low libido.
How Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Can Help Reduce Pain, Solve Urinary Problems, and Improve Sexual Function. Male Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS) is a well-established condition known for the pain and discomfort it causes. It was long thought to be connected specifically with prostatitis or inflamed prostate gland and differentiated from acute bacterial prostatitis or chronic bacterial prostatitis. However, more recently it has been re-defined as abdominal and/or pelvic pain lasting for 3 months, without evidence of a urinary tract infection.
Natural Treatment for Chronic Prostatitis / CPPS (Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome) Read More »
As our cultural and medical understanding of sperm health and male fertility grows, our sperm quality and quantity declines. A study published last year (https://academic.oup.com/humupd/article-abstract/23/6/646/4035689?redire…) found a hefty decline in sperm counts between 1973 and 2011, a 50-60% drop in this time; dramatic to say the least. Most disturbing is there are only theories and notions as to what is the actual cause of this steep decline. Sperm production is a complicated biochemical process and to assess the variables that are in play in it’s healthy production is difficult. Usually studies will look at one or two chemicals or variables to see how they affect sperm health. These types of studies will often show concrete correlations between phthalate exposure and sperm health (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29024969), or stress levels and lower testosterone (https://militarymedicine.amsus.org/doi/pdf/10.7205/MILMED-D-11-00053). However, to have a full picture of the situation is extremely difficult, and all we can do now is investigate trends and specific factors that may be contributing.
What You Need to Know About Male Infertility Read More »
Testosterone is the force behind our sex drive and erectile health, it’s the reason we make sperm. When deficient it can cause fatigue, weakness, depression, lower sperm count and concentration and other symptoms.
Men’s mental and reproductive health is tied to our testosterone levels, which can decrease for a variety of reasons including injury to the testicles (ouch), testicular cancer or treatment for testicular cancer, hormonal disorders, infection, HIV/AIDS, chronic liver or kidney disease,
Evidence that Stress affects our Testosterone levels Read More »
There are numerous situations, habits, or conditions that can affect different factors of male fertility – including sperm count, sperm shape, sperm movement, libido, or erectile function. Some of the more common things to avoid are heat around the groin area, excess alcohol or recreational drug use, stress or anxiety, too much or too little exercise, and poor sleep quality. The coordination of male fertility is quite complex, including the ability to get and maintain an erection,
Medication and Male Fertility Read More »
Does this zebra looked stressed to you? The real reason zebras don’t get ulcers…
Dammit, why won’t you work? Now? Now you fail me? NOW? Well, this internal dialogue is more common than we may realize. In fact, I would wager that nearly every man has experienced or will experience erectile dysfunction at some point in their lives, making this a shared experience.
At any given time, one in 10 men can’t get it up –
As James Brown would say, Get On Up Read More »
Autumn doesn’t spring, rather it falls. Summer changes to winter and a crisp dry coolness creeps into the air somewhere between the extremes of the year. The days shorten as we adjust to less sunlight and cooler temperatures, and it is time to organize for the winter and prepare for a long hibernation ahead. For many of us, autumn is also a time for transition and renewal as we return to work or school after enjoying some summer freedom.
How to Live in Harmony with Autumn Read More »
The role of stress and fertility is unclear, and it’s important to remember that stress itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It allows us to move faster, think clearer and is essentially a life-preserving response to external stimulus. Life without stress would be unusual indeed as even positive experiences and happiness will elicit a type of stress response in the body – most profoundly the release of the hormone cortisol. This hormone, released by the adrenal glands has a cascade of effects in the body,
How Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can Help with Stress Read More »
Affecting over a fifth of pregnant women, there’s often little information available about what went wrong in the case of miscarriage. In Canada, this translates to over 100,000 in a single year and that is only including those from known pregnancies. Further statistics tell us that potentially 70% of all pregnancies could result in miscarriage, with either a failure to implant or implantation with a failed pregnancy. Clearly a miscarriage is always a difficult time,
How Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can help with Miscarriage Read More »
Interested in having support but do not live in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland? Dr Spence Pentland is now offering Natural Fertility Coaching! To learn more and book an appointment CLICK HERE.
We acknowledge with gratitude and thanksgiving that we live and support our patients on the the unceded territory of the Coast Salish First Nations of Salt Spring Island and surrounding areas, including the Quw’utsun Tribes (Cowichan), Spune’luxutth (Penelakut), BOḰEĆEN (Paquachin), MÁLEXEȽ (Malahat), SȾÁUTW̱ (Tsawout), W̱JOȽEȽP (Tsartlip) and W̱SIḴEM (Tseycum) nations, and the sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) nations of the greater Vancouver area.
Learn how to optimize your fertility with Traditional Chinese Medicine dietary principles. Includes lots of great fertility-boosting recipes!
