Dr. Turek's Blog

The Holiday Wall

What’s tall, quiet, colorful but messy, and hides bundles of joy? It’s The Turek Clinic’s traditional Wall of Holiday Cards. A highlight of our year, this wall of greeting cards is a delight to behold. And, it does far more than reinvigorate the Clinic staff who, while cuddling hot cups of java, read it, sigh […]

Babyless Holiday

“Buddy, it’s not like someone died! Get over this! Call me when you want to get together.” He’s right. It’s not like someone died. It’s worse. After death, the iterative process of healing begins. With infertility, the emotional rawness can last for years. No wonder why you’re not interested in any holiday parties. Men Are […]

Dr Turek having some Gluhwein

Oh Tannebaum

After lecturing at the International Congress of Andrology last week about my research in azoospermia, my wife and I explored Berlin beyond the campus of the

A Historic Clinical Moment

Walking around Berlin after my lecture to the European Congress of Andrology, I am struck by the how this European city is at once both indelibly historic and wildly modern. A profound reminder that history is really happening right now, with every breath we take. We are also making history! Clinic by the Bay in San […]

Never Say Never

The case of the month is an actual patient of The Turek Clinic. This month, we present the 2012 Case of the Year. Life on Wheels Mark is 45 years old and wants to start a family. He is an attorney who works as a public defender and is the absolute nicest guy you will […]

Freezing Your Fellows

Looking for a great investment in dire times? Our national fertility organization just declared that the technique of freezing a woman’s eggs now safe and effective. Banking fertilized eggs or embryos after IVF procedures has been de rigueur for three decades. However, freezing unfertilized eggs from the ovaries of young women to maintain fertility later in life […]

My Time with Lance

What do you think of Lance Armstrong? Are you disappointed, angry or simply indifferent about the accusations that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win seven Tour de France titles?  Maybe it hasn’t really crossed your mind. Regardless, many cancer patients, some dead and others alive, have drawn great strength from what Lance Armstrong has done […]

How to Choose a Vitamin

I just read the latest nutritional supplement guide from Men’s Health magazine. A little overwhelmed  (or maybe underwhelmed) by it, I picked the brain of noted San Francisco nutritionist Natalie Ledesma with whom I worked to develop the Essential Beginnings system of supplements for conception, to learn more. Who Needs a Vitamin? Your body needs over […]

Fun Without Laughing

The case of the month is a patient from The Turek Clinic. A 37 year-old man presented with his 35-year old wife describing a 2-year history of infertility. After trying for one year, the wife underwent medical evaluation that was normal. The couple then tried four cycles of intrauterine insemination (IUI) at UCSF, my old […]

Social Media Matters

This is a guest blog post from colleague Jennifer Neeley, web strategist and professor of social media marketing at San Francisco State University. Before WebMD or Wikipedia, I worked at ABC-TV and helped bring the content from Dr. Dean Edell‘s HealthCentral.com into ABC websites. Honestly, it was largely because of Dr. Edell trustworthiness that ABC even considered […]