Breaking the Stigma: Men Seeking Healthcare

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543-2153
Hello and welcome to Real Men

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Feel.
I'm your host, author, coach and

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healer, Andy Grant.
We have conversations that most

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men are not having, but that all
men and the women who love them

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can benefit from.
My guest today is me.

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I recently had abdominal surgery
recently.

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Yesterday I had abdominal
surgery to repair a hernia on

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umbilical hernia in my stomach
and I believe it was caused or

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at least made worse by the
bungee jump that I did earlier

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this year in Africa.
A few months ago I noticed my

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belly button turning from an
innie into an Audi and it was

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much firmer than usual.
You know, I'm a man.

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I ignored it.
Then about six weeks ago I woke

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up with serious abdominal pain.
It felt like I overnight had

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done 100,000 sit ups, which I do
not do, and when I touched my

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own stomach it was like a solid
mass from my belly button all

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the way up to almost my rib
cage.

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It was like something out of
alien and I googled hernia

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symptoms and I nearly had all of
them except the typical cause,

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prior abdominal surgery or a
prior injury.

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And that's why I decided to
blame the bungee jump.

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I'm very lucky the pain was bad
that day because otherwise, like

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many men, I would have ignored
it.

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But that morning was enough to
push me to call my doctor and my

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primary care doc confirmed
myself diagnosis.

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And then a week later I met a
surgeon he agreed to and he said

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I was his first bungee jump
related case.

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But it did sound plausible.
So the pain went away after a

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few hours on that first day and
never came back.

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So I was very fortunate.
But my stomach did continue to

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change shape and they said the
the only solution to this was

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surgery.
But I made sure to schedule this

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after my three Metallica days in
April.

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Priorities.
Yeah.

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So in the morning of the third
show, Saturday April 26th, I

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think I'm in Toronto, 5 AMI wake
up, stomach pain.

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And I'm like Oh no, please.
And I'm literally praying for my

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guts to hold together just one
more day.

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And I went and walked around the
city before breakfast and the

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pain, you know, disappeared.
So I literally walked it off.

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That's not just saying sometimes
it works.

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So I made it through all my
shows.

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I flew home, had the surgery
yesterday and I'm in a a video a

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day challenge for the month of
May and I must have been

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thinking about it post op
because I filmed a short video I

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do not even remember making.
Hi, I'm whacked out.

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My surgery was at 7:30 and I
woke up at 8:40 and already the

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thing I'm at home.
Yeah.

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I'll share more later.
Bye.

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Now this whole experience got me
thinking, why are men so

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reluctant to get medical help?
Is it fear of appearing weak?

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Losing our role as provider or
protector?

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Or maybe it's even deeper, you
know, a deep fear of aging or

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even dying.
So I looked at some stats and of

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course common sense men are less
likely to visit doctor than

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women.
ACDC report found that men are

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24% less likely to have visited
a doctor within the past year

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than women.
Most men won't seek care until

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symptoms become severe, which is
foolish. 60% of men only go to

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the doctor when symptoms are
serious.

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I'm one of them. 72% would
rather do household chores like

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cleaning the bathroom then go to
the doctor. 20% of men admit

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they aren't honest with their
doctors, mostly out of

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embarrassment.
And sorry guys, that's just

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stupid and dangerous.
So some more reasons why men

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avoid doctors.
The masculine norms.

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Social conditioning?
Man up, tough it out.

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Real men don't complain.
Fear of diagnosis or bad news?

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Loss of control and identity?
Seeking help?

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Can it feel like you're
admitting defeat?

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There's a poor doctor patient
relationship.

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Some men feel doctors don't
listen to them, take them

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seriously, especially if they've
been dismissed in the past.

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And finally, time and
prioritization.

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Many men put work, family,
responsibilities first, delaying

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care for themselves.
You are worthy of being put

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first.
You can't take care of anyone if

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you aren't taking care of
yourself, right?

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And I know this.
Ignoring symptoms does not make

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you strong.
It makes you vulnerable in the

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worst way.
It puts you at unnecessary risk.

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So if you are dealing with
anything physical, mental,

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emotional, please don't wait for
it to get worse.

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Get it checked out.
Catching things early can truly

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save your life.
And if it turns out to be

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nothing and you go to the
doctor, great.

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Laugh it off and be grateful for
your ideal health.

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Until next time, be good to
yourself.

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And I'm being good to myself
now.

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I've been holding ice against my
cesarean scar this whole time.

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All right, we'll see you soon.