From Heart Surgery to Happy Pelvis: Connection Between Erectile Dysfunction and Heart Health
Hey Heart Buddies! Our five-part series with pelvic health expert Dr. Kelly Sadauckas continues this week as we explore the surprising ties between erectile dysfunction and cardiac health. Discover why sexual health matters more than you might think and how it serves as an important marker for your overall wellbeing.
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Transcript
If you can stick with me and you can understand the
Speaker:science behind what we're going to talk about, it is applicable to
Speaker:every human. And we're going to specifically talk about the
Speaker:fact that erectile dysfunction by itself is
Speaker:an independent risk factor for having a major
Speaker:adverse cardiac event. Holy sh t.
Speaker:So even if you have no family history of heart disease, if
Speaker:you exercise, you don't smoke, you don't drink, if you're having a
Speaker:little problem in the bedroom, attaining an erection or
Speaker:maintaining an erection, it could indicate that you might be
Speaker:at higher risk of having a major cardiac event in the next
Speaker:three years. Welcome to open Heart Surgery with Boots,
Speaker:where this February we're going below the
Speaker:belt. That's right, we're diving into the
Speaker:surprisingly connected world of heart surgery and
Speaker:pelvic floor health in this five part series.
Speaker:Join me and our special guest expert, Dr. Kelly
Speaker:Sudakis as we talk about everything you're too embarrassed
Speaker:to ask your cardiologist. From what makes a happy
Speaker:pelvis to getting your groove back after surgery,
Speaker:to yes, even the great post op poop
Speaker:debate. With candid conversations, practical
Speaker:advice and plenty of laughs, we're exploring the
Speaker:ups and downs of recovery because let's face it,
Speaker:healing happens from top to bottom. So
Speaker:buckle up for some real talk about the parts of recovery nobody
Speaker:warned you about. Hello, Boots Knighton
Speaker:here with open heart surgery with Boots. And Kelly
Speaker:Sudakis is back for episode two
Speaker:of our heart and pelvis series.
Speaker:Wow. I hope if you're just now finding us, I hope you'll go back and
Speaker:listen to the first episode because it really does help
Speaker:set you up for understanding all things
Speaker:pelvis. I asked Kelly to start us off
Speaker:with 101 pelvic health. What it looks
Speaker:like, feels like, how it should operate and then what
Speaker:happens when it goes arai. And so that now brings
Speaker:us to our second installment, which is
Speaker:erectile dysfunction. Hey, we get to talk
Speaker:about penises.
Speaker:This is important because. Hi, I'm Dr. Kelly
Speaker:Sadowskis, double board certified pelvic physical therapist. If you didn't meet me in the
Speaker:first episode, and my goal in life is
Speaker:to break down barriers that are preventing you
Speaker:from understanding your body and the bodies of the people you love
Speaker:love. So most likely you either have a penis
Speaker:or you love someone with a penis. So this is going to be
Speaker:very important information. Boots and I were chatting a little bit and
Speaker:she's like, well, is this erectile dysfunction in men and women?
Speaker:Which is a very valid question because yes, the
Speaker:we ladies, we actually have like Little. Our clitorises are actually little,
Speaker:tiny penises. They arose from the same
Speaker:embryonic tissue as a male penis. So we can still
Speaker:also have erectile dysfunction. But guess
Speaker:what? This will not shock you. We don't study erectile
Speaker:dysfunction in ladies. And we being the scientific community at
Speaker:large, because we don't study anything in women, because hormones.
Speaker:And that's bull crap. But that is the reason
Speaker:that most of the studies and the things that I'm going to talk to you
Speaker:about today are a little bit more leaning towards
Speaker:male anatomy, people with penises. But. But if
Speaker:you can stick with me and you can understand the science
Speaker:behind what we're going to talk about, it is applicable to every
Speaker:human. And we're going to specifically talk about the fact that
Speaker:erectile dysfunction by itself is an
Speaker:independent risk factor for having a major
Speaker:adverse cardiac event. Holy shit.
Speaker:So even if you have no family history of heart disease, if
Speaker:you exercise, you don't smoke, you don't drink, if you're having
Speaker:a little problems in the bedroom, attaining an erection or
Speaker:maintaining an erection, it could indicate that you might be
Speaker:at higher risk of having a major cardiac event in the next
Speaker:three years. So you got to get your cute pelvis, or if this is your
Speaker:loved one, get their cute pelvis into a cardiologist for some
Speaker:primary preventative screening. Okay. All right, that
Speaker:being said, let's dive into what is an
Speaker:erection and what is erectile dysfunction? So, okay, so
Speaker:you just talked about why we should care, but let's go even more
Speaker:basic than that. Like, why is sexual health
Speaker:important? Why should we even be talking about this?
Speaker:I know about the cardiac risk factors, but just for the
Speaker:overall, like, picture of health and
Speaker:thriving as a Homo sapien. Oh, my gosh, that is
Speaker:a fabulous question. Like, so, first and foremost, even at, like,
Speaker:the most basic level, why do we care about sexual function?
Speaker:Even before I talk about, you know, the risk factors of that erectile dysfunction,
Speaker:Sexual function can be an important part
Speaker:of any human's life journey,
Speaker:right? There are legitimately some individuals that it is not a
Speaker:priority. And that's fine. If it's not a priority for
Speaker:you, you're not alone. But more, I would say a
Speaker:greater percentage of people start to lose interest
Speaker:in sexual activity because it becomes either painful
Speaker:or challenging to do physically, either because the actual pelvic
Speaker:parts are no longer up to snuff, or orthopedically,
Speaker:perhaps we have back pain or hip pain, and we don't know about how to
Speaker:change positions. Ladies and people with vaginas,
Speaker:as we age, our hormones change. That
Speaker:can be one part of a puzzle that makes intimate functions
Speaker:a little painful or less enjoyable. And so we might tend, rather than
Speaker:trying to fix the problem and make them just as enjoyable as they
Speaker:were in our younger years, we might tend to not do that anymore.
Speaker:And why that matters is
Speaker:sexual function could be something that you can enjoy again. And when
Speaker:you can enjoy it, it is a powerful bonding experience
Speaker:between you and your partner. It's good exercise, whether
Speaker:you're with a partner or by yourself. And it
Speaker:involves a release of endorphins that is good for overall
Speaker:mental health and pain management. So the
Speaker:ability to achieve an enjoyable
Speaker:climax. It's kind of a litmus
Speaker:test, so to speak, as far as how the whole system
Speaker:is working the brain, body connection for that sexual
Speaker:response, the physical health of the muscles around the pelvic floor to
Speaker:have that appropriate sexual response regardless of your
Speaker:anatomy. And if we can't do that, then maybe it's a
Speaker:sign that, ooh, this is an opportunity for us to get a little
Speaker:bit better. And then, and then we look at the science of
Speaker:specifically erectile dysfunction. Being able to potentially
Speaker:be a risk factor for heart problems down the road.
Speaker:Ooh, now that's interesting. And if we do have open
Speaker:heart surgery, the recovery of that sexual function, that's
Speaker:another piece that sometimes is overlooked in your cardiac
Speaker:rehab. Right. And so we want to, in later segments, actually dive into that.
Speaker:About sex is a endurance event. How do. Is your heart ready for it?
Speaker:Is your pelvic floor ready for it? Okay, yeah.
Speaker:So that. Thank you. Yeah, that sets the scene because I think it's just
Speaker:so important to have buy in, especially for those who may,
Speaker:like you said there. And no, feel no shame if, like, this isn't a
Speaker:topic that maybe is super passionate for you.
Speaker:But. And I. That's fine. But it, it, it is. It's
Speaker:okay to go through the emotions,
Speaker:feel all that you need to feel. There is. You're all are welcome
Speaker:here. And this is a safe place. And I know
Speaker:Kelly personally, and I can't think of another person
Speaker:that you can safely explore this topic with.
Speaker:Oh, thank you, Boots. Thank you. And, you know, the topic's
Speaker:important because, you know, if we look at, for a
Speaker:number of reasons, the, the prevalence. Oh, so what
Speaker:is erectile dysfunction? Right. Let's make one more step back. So,
Speaker:hey, here's Peter the pelvis or Philip the pelvis. Hi,
Speaker:We. We met Patty and Randy the rectum in the last
Speaker:segment. Here is a pelvis with traditionally
Speaker:male anatomy Right. In the last segment, you met Patty.
Speaker:The pelvis, which showed you all the cool bony rings
Speaker:and the muscles that exist
Speaker:to form the base of your pelvis. And we talked about how
Speaker:those muscles worked along with other body functions
Speaker:to control a basic pee and poop
Speaker:functions. Now, intimate functions in someone with a
Speaker:penis. Usually the penis is nice and relaxed down here, like
Speaker:so what is an erection?
Speaker:What an erection is, is there are these cool little pelvic floor
Speaker:muscles at the base of the penis. They look the. I'm
Speaker:blocking this hole because I can't find my male pelvic floor right now. But it's
Speaker:pretty much the same as this right here. But there's these little muscles at the
Speaker:base of the penis that when we are sexually
Speaker:aroused or during key times of hormonal
Speaker:changes, sometimes for no reason whatsoever, these
Speaker:muscles at the base of the penis will constrict. And
Speaker:when they constrict, they are preventing blood from
Speaker:leaving the penis so it will engorge and form.
Speaker:Ready? Ready, Ready? Oh, can I do it? I think. Oh, I don't
Speaker:want to break it. And it
Speaker:was point upwards. Hello. And the funny thing is, is
Speaker:like everybody's different, right? So please,
Speaker:whatever you look like, whether you're circumcised or not, or your partner's circumcised or not,
Speaker:everybody looks different. Sometimes erections are pointed straight,
Speaker:sometimes they're a little hooked to the side, sometimes totally fine. You
Speaker:are normal, I promise. Okay? If you ever have a
Speaker:pain free lump or a painful lump that feels
Speaker:like a little raisin in your testicles, then we want to get that checked out
Speaker:right away. But when you have an erection, it might look like this
Speaker:straight soldier or it might be a little to one side or the other and
Speaker:you're fine. And I want you to know that because we don't as with everything,
Speaker:pelvic health, we don't talk about this stuff enough. So
Speaker:that's what an erection is, is an engorgement of these blood vessels within the penis
Speaker:to trap blood in there and then make the soldier stand tall
Speaker:and proud. That is a muscular
Speaker:effort, right? For these muscles.
Speaker:I just. And this
Speaker:is Kelly everyone. And you know when you. I'm a
Speaker:doctor, you've got to follow her on Instagram
Speaker:because it's like this all the time.
Speaker:Really. I think one of my first posts about penises,
Speaker:I like trouble raising the main sale.
Speaker:And it's not funny. I don't wish eating anyone but
Speaker:my God, let's have a little fun while we're at it. God, we have
Speaker:to. We have to. Because you know what, Boots? Like I am
Speaker:reaching. Like we are reaching people because we can talk about this and have this
Speaker:conversation if we just talk so scientifically we make it uncomfortable and
Speaker:we lose that chance to help someone. So that's, you
Speaker:know. Yeah. This muscular effort of these pelvic floor
Speaker:muscles, again, specifically in the penis. And yes, it also happens to a lesser degree
Speaker:in the clitoris. They are going to constrict at the base of the penis and
Speaker:cause this to engorge. Okay. To then potentially allow
Speaker:for penis in vagina or penis and something else. Penetration
Speaker:and then stimulation of all the amazing nerves that go
Speaker:along with that happen. Magic happens. And we
Speaker:can have this beautiful, fulfilling climax that typically is going to
Speaker:result in ejaculation. If you've had a type of prostate surgery, sometimes
Speaker:it's called a dry ejaculate. Again, that's a little too in depth for this
Speaker:talk. But we have a beautiful, fulfilling climax. Everything
Speaker:relaxes back and cycle resets for
Speaker:the next time. Erectile dysfunction is the
Speaker:inability to attain or
Speaker:maintain that erection for the
Speaker:task at hand, so to speak. There
Speaker:are some puns I think possible in there. And if you were around
Speaker:for the first talk, we talked about how these pelvic floor muscles are
Speaker:like a hammock at the base of your pelvis. And,
Speaker:and they're like an elevator. An elevator and a hammock. So they're a hammock at
Speaker:the bottom of the pelvis and have an elevator like function. And they're
Speaker:meant to actually live on the ground floor of a four
Speaker:story building and kind of move up and down depending on the task at
Speaker:hand. But always come back to rest and even be able to
Speaker:relax into the sub basement to have a good poop and then come back to
Speaker:rest. If these pelvic floor muscles are
Speaker:resting on the third or the fourth floors. And we talk
Speaker:in the last, we talked in the last segment about why that can happen.
Speaker:That can contribute to PE leaks or poop problems. But from a sexual
Speaker:perspective, if they're always working, if they're always
Speaker:clenching on this third floor and then the
Speaker:time occurs or the mood occurs where you need them to do a
Speaker:little bit more work to get this erection, they might not be
Speaker:able to because they're tired. You know, we use a
Speaker:wall sit analogy. If I boots, if I ask you to go and run up
Speaker:the stairs right now, you could, what if I put you in a wall sit
Speaker:for six hours and then ask you to Run up the stairs. You're not running
Speaker:anywhere. And that's what can happen in these muscles in
Speaker:the pelvic floor. They're too tired from being tight all the time, so they don't
Speaker:have the energy to constrict further to cause this
Speaker:erection. And then when we build,
Speaker:so. So we get the erection in either the clitoris or the penis,
Speaker:and then there's this building, this period of excitement before we have the release and
Speaker:the climax. So it's the climb and then the climax. The climb
Speaker:requires healthy nerves. If all of the pelvic
Speaker:muscles are tight all the time, they can irritate the
Speaker:nerves and make the climb hard or impossible.
Speaker:And then to actually climax is a plyometric
Speaker:contraction of your pelvic floor. I bet you didn't know that.
Speaker:So that means it's. It's a really fast dynamic. Contract and relax.
Speaker:Contract and relax to have this climax feeling. If
Speaker:your muscles are not healthy enough to do that, you can't have a
Speaker:climax. Oh, my gosh. Or you can, but it hurts.
Speaker:So, wow. Like, that's all of the parts that are
Speaker:required for a normal erection. And then, like, any difficulty
Speaker:with any of that is considered erectile dysfunction. Long
Speaker:road to get why we care on the Open Heart
Speaker:Surgery with Boots podcast. Heart
Speaker:disease. The same changes in our
Speaker:arterial systems that can lead to ischemic heart disease, that
Speaker:can lead to stroke, that can lead to coronary artery
Speaker:blockages. Guess what? Those coronary arteries, how big are
Speaker:they? Okay, brain arteries,
Speaker:pelvic floor arteries, and those of you that are
Speaker:just listening, I'm showing the relative size. Coronary
Speaker:arteries are big. Brain arteries are a little smaller.
Speaker:Pelvic floor arteries are tiny. So they're like our little
Speaker:canaries in the gold mine. And the same
Speaker:changes in life that are going to lead to some of this
Speaker:atherosclerotic change, stiffening of arteries, blockage
Speaker:of arteries. They're going to present in these little tiny arteries
Speaker:first. It's so powerful. And
Speaker:what evidence has shown is that the presence of
Speaker:this erectile dysfunction in a man, yes,
Speaker:it can be due to a lot of factors, but it can be that hypertonicity
Speaker:of the pelvic floor, but it also can be a
Speaker:primary change in the pliability of these arteries. And
Speaker:as such, it is an independent risk factor for
Speaker:a future major adverse cardiac event.
Speaker:And even in the absence of any other risk factors
Speaker:of family members having heart disease, you can exercise, you can eat well,
Speaker:drink well. If you're starting to have problems hoisting the Main
Speaker:sail. We need to get everything checked out because this could be an issue
Speaker:with your underlying circulation and we might just save your life.
Speaker:So. Wow, it's crazy pants. And
Speaker:now if you have this erectile dysfunction and some
Speaker:diabetes and some family history of heart disease, or
Speaker:you're a smoker or you occasionally have some alcohol or have
Speaker:alcohol a lot. Holy shit, friend. We gotta change some
Speaker:stuff or you're not gonna be around four years from
Speaker:now to be enjoying this beautiful life. So, like, it's a.
Speaker:It's a cool thing to be aware of because we actually can
Speaker:save lives when we get people to the right spot. So
Speaker:if you haven't been doing regular wellness checks,
Speaker:or maybe you have because you're watching this podcast, but maybe your best
Speaker:friend Bill doesn't go to the doctors. And Bill
Speaker:and you are talking about, oh, things aren't going so well in the bedroom.
Speaker:Yeah, Bill could go to pelvic pt, but if they're a good pelvic pt,
Speaker:they're going to ask Bill if he's been to his primary care provider, and if
Speaker:he hasn't, they're not gonna treat his erectile dysfunction until he goes and
Speaker:gets his heart checked because of this. And if you have been
Speaker:going to a pelvic PT for ED and it's getting better, but you
Speaker:haven't had your heart checked, you need to. It is exquisitely
Speaker:important. And I think earlier I might have said. But I don't
Speaker:remember. Cause I say a lot. The prevalence of this
Speaker:erectile dysfunction has doubled in the
Speaker:last 30 years. And perhaps some
Speaker:of that is more normal reporting.
Speaker:But what's happening with colorectal cancer
Speaker:rates? It's shooting through,
Speaker:skyrocketing. Okay, what things are
Speaker:associated with colorectal cancer? Reduced fiber intake.
Speaker:Right. Dietary changes. All. Increased stress
Speaker:in the world. Perhaps a more sedentary lifestyle, especially
Speaker:since pandemics. Right. So all of these same things that
Speaker:are just killing our overall holistic
Speaker:health, they're the same things that might contribute to
Speaker:higher rates of erectile dysfunction, but, you know,
Speaker:underneath that, contributing to reduced health of our
Speaker:circulatory system, which then is, you know, erectile
Speaker:sexual dysfunction, then possibly stroke or heart attack. So we
Speaker:need to be talking about this. It's not just about getting jiggy in the
Speaker:bedroom. It's about not dying three years from
Speaker:now. So, like, that's. It's so powerful, right?
Speaker:Yeah. Where I sit and just. I try not to
Speaker:watch commercials. I don't really watch TV anymore. But in the past, I mean,
Speaker:a classic commercial UC Is for Viagra.
Speaker:Right. And. And in the bathtub.
Speaker:Yeah. You think it's just about that. And they don't. They don't
Speaker:talk about any of this background you just gave and,
Speaker:like, all these other things you need to be thinking about. Totally. Well, do
Speaker:you know Viagra was a blood pressure medicine? Like, that's a whole. Like, nobody
Speaker:knows this. Or. You might, but, like, it's hilarious. It's like, oh, we found this
Speaker:amazing drug to help with your hypertension and small side effect. You're gonna get
Speaker:a giant boner for four hours.
Speaker:Really? Let me. Let's talk more about that. Like, that's
Speaker:amazing. Like, but again, if
Speaker:that's the only thing. If you go in and you. Well, we
Speaker:won't even get into the difference between males and females when we
Speaker:report sexual dysfunction. Well, yeah, I will.
Speaker:I will. If, you know, we go in and, like, say a dude is like,
Speaker:oh, I'm having trouble with an erection. The. If the doctor's
Speaker:not educated about the. This research. Right. And that study, I
Speaker:think it's from 05 Montorsi. I'll get
Speaker:you all links to it in 05. That found that the
Speaker:ED could pre exist before a major
Speaker:cardiac event. Three years. If the doctor doesn't know that study.
Speaker:If they are all in, they're the best cardiac doctor in the
Speaker:world. They honestly might just be looking at the heart. And that doesn't
Speaker:make them a bad doctor. Right. Like, maybe they never even learned about pelvic
Speaker:floor in medical school. They might not know about all of
Speaker:those parts. So we need to educate you to take the primary
Speaker:steps. I got a little off tangentially right there. I kind of lost my. No,
Speaker:you're. We're citing studies and then talking. Talking about men versus women
Speaker:and. Oh, men versus women. Thank you. Thank you. But I just wanted to
Speaker:mention. Make sure. Just a timeout. If you haven't already, be
Speaker:sure to go in the show notes to sign up for my newsletter
Speaker:because. Oh, yeah, I will be linking to and I'll have
Speaker:things in the show notes for you also listeners. But
Speaker:if you sign up for my newsletter and also sign up for Kelly's,
Speaker:you will get these studies and there will be more
Speaker:in the newsletter each of these weeks talking about why you need
Speaker:to care about your pelvic floor. Oh, totally. Time in,
Speaker:Boots. Thank you. Time out. Time in. Thank you, Boots. So. So
Speaker:if I'm a man and I come in to my doctor and I say, oh,
Speaker:I'm having trouble with sexual function, that doctor might not know
Speaker:about this important correlation. And if you look healthy,
Speaker:they might just prescribe you something like Viagra. And that
Speaker:might help this small piece of the puzzle in the short term. But
Speaker:you do need a cardiac workup to make sure that things are okay to keep
Speaker:you good in the long run. If I'm a woman and I come in and
Speaker:I report sexual dysfunction, I'm not even gonna lie, you will be
Speaker:told to just relax, have a glass of wine, which is a
Speaker:neurotoxin. Thanks, doc. And that's about it.
Speaker:Usually, like, if your doctor's very aware, you'll be prescribed pelvic floor
Speaker:pt. But there's this huge kind of difference in
Speaker:how everyone, you know, males versus females, are treated in
Speaker:this realm. But it's important for everyone that we address
Speaker:and what we can do about it. There's
Speaker:actual things that you know, if this is present and
Speaker:we know that this is, can be an independent risk factor
Speaker:for future heart issues. If
Speaker:we're post heart surgery, guess what, like, and you're having erectile
Speaker:dysfunction, this is still indicate indicative that things
Speaker:aren't 100% awesome. So, so let's work
Speaker:holistically on the whole system. You're going to
Speaker:love this, everyone. It's the classic sleep,
Speaker:diet, exercise, and now
Speaker:awareness of your pelvic floor. Pelvic floor relaxation, pelvic floor,
Speaker:general health and well being can make
Speaker:positive changes to improve this erectile function, the sexual
Speaker:function, which then we have lowered our risk
Speaker:factor for that future adverse cardiac event by
Speaker:improving this one function, which is great. You don't have to be
Speaker:Chris Helmsworth, right? Like in the gym 20 hours a day. I think one
Speaker:of the studies in 2018, 40 minutes of
Speaker:moderate physical activity four times
Speaker:a week, within six months it reduced
Speaker:erectile dysfunction. So you can read that a different way. If we don't
Speaker:care about the erection function, 40 minutes of moderate
Speaker:exercise four times a week for six months improves your
Speaker:overall cardiovascular system and reduces your risk of heart attack
Speaker:and stroke. And that's doable, right? And I'm
Speaker:such a geek. I love what I do. I do a ton of teaching. I
Speaker:also have a new online program called Dr. Kelly's Treasure Chest that has
Speaker:workouts there for you. Right? And I started off with 40 to 60 minute
Speaker:workouts. Nobody watched them. It's hilarious when you look at like the data.
Speaker:Everybody was watching the 10 minute workouts. And you know what? A 10 minute
Speaker:workout done is way better than nothing. And you could do that
Speaker:one workout and get proficient at it and do it twice. In a row for
Speaker:20 minutes. Like something is better than nothing.
Speaker:Diet and exercise, right? I don't like the word diet. I like lifestyle food
Speaker:choices, generally. A Mediterranean
Speaker:diet, fruits and vegetables, heart, healthy fats,
Speaker:boots. You had the whole nutritional segment, right? So
Speaker:they can go back and look at that. Hugely important
Speaker:for arterial health, heart health. So, and that's
Speaker:not just for today. That's like a lifestyle change.
Speaker:And it's nothing that we have to do, but it's something we want to do
Speaker:because we feel so much better. And then if you
Speaker:do smoke, stop. Don't be an asshole, idiot, stop.
Speaker:There's nothing good about it. Stop. If you drink
Speaker:alcohol, try to stop, please. It is just as bad for you as
Speaker:smoking. There's no safe amount of alcohol. It's a neurotoxin and it
Speaker:causes mental health issues. Nothing to be good from that,
Speaker:okay? So just stop, please. We are going to be
Speaker:amazed when we look back 10, 15 years from now at how
Speaker:normalized alcohol consumption was in the world right
Speaker:now. And so to help you be healthy, pre heart surgery,
Speaker:post heart surgery, eat real food, not too much
Speaker:exercise, and don't smoke or drink. Okay? I think
Speaker:if you need help with all of that, go back and
Speaker:listen to my episode in December of
Speaker:2024 with Dr. Laura
Speaker:Suarez Pardo. She is a cardiac
Speaker:psychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic. And I
Speaker:asked her, treat me like, I just came into your
Speaker:office and I'm trying to stop a habit. Where
Speaker:do we start? And it was absolutely
Speaker:brilliant how she. It is. It is just
Speaker:so simple. Like, basic small
Speaker:changes every day that add up to big
Speaker:changes. And I, I just want to say, like,
Speaker:I see you, I hear you. Like, if you're listening and you smoke
Speaker:or you drink or, or have any habits that aren't healthy for the
Speaker:body, you know what, have you ever thought that maybe you're
Speaker:worthy of a vibrant, healthy life? You
Speaker:are. Amen. Deserve to be healthy
Speaker:and ask for help, ask for support. You deserve to
Speaker:have a healthy sexual
Speaker:lifestyle. You deserve to have a healthy
Speaker:pelvis. You are worthy of all of this. And
Speaker:I really think that a lot of people out there
Speaker:just really just say, I'm not worthy.
Speaker:Maybe not, like, consciously, but I want to be
Speaker:that person in your ears that say, you know what? Your heart deserves to
Speaker:thrive and so does your pelvis. Yes. And so
Speaker:many, so often those times when we are drinking or
Speaker:smoking, we're not doing it because we're trying to be bad. We're doing it because
Speaker:we're suffering and we're Using it as pain management.
Speaker:And we're using it to hide the feelings, to not feel the
Speaker:depression and the anxiety. And so
Speaker:addressing those underlying factoids can help.
Speaker:And removing that product, that
Speaker:chemical, can set the stage for you to finally love
Speaker:yourself again. So good. I'm so glad that you have that
Speaker:podcast. Another book I love is
Speaker:who I Forget Her Name. Oh, my gosh.
Speaker:Complete mind blank was like, it's like a woman's guide to not drinking
Speaker:or something. Do you know of that one? Oh.
Speaker:Oh, gosh. Okay. I'm going to have to put. I'm going to have to put
Speaker:the name of it in the show notes because I can't remember. Oh, quit like
Speaker:a woman. And doesn't matter if you're not a woman. It doesn't
Speaker:matter if you're, you know, trying to quit alcohol or cigarettes or just
Speaker:reducing because, again, yes, we do want you to stop completely, but.
Speaker:But even reducing can be beneficial. She
Speaker:talks all about that, about how. And she talks specifically how about
Speaker:like, AA didn't work for her. And it's. I think it's
Speaker:valuable because it talks about approaching these lifestyle changes from
Speaker:a position of love, like you just said, and not,
Speaker:oh, my gosh, you suck.
Speaker:And I think is really cool. So. Got a little tangential there, but
Speaker:awesome. Thank you. That's what I needed to do because I was
Speaker:depressed and, you know, not getting the most
Speaker:out of life and AA just for me just caused
Speaker:a shame spiral. It didn't work for me either. But you know
Speaker:what? Some of my really close friends, it works really
Speaker:well. So it. It's your own personal
Speaker:journey for what is right for your. Your
Speaker:history and what you need to heal. Just. Just
Speaker:try. Exactly. You deserve to try.
Speaker:Love yourself enough to try. Yeah. And I think, you know, in
Speaker:my journey. Yeah, in my journey, I stopped
Speaker:two. I was drinking very heavily during COVID times.
Speaker:Right. To cope. And I mean, recognized it, and then was like, oh, this
Speaker:is fine. It's just a coping mechanism. It's not fine. You
Speaker:know, and I recognized it and just cut
Speaker:way back and then have now stopped. And again, all
Speaker:things in my life coalesced to the point where I could make that rational
Speaker:decision. And I had the support that I needed to do that. But you recognize
Speaker:that not only do you drink, sometimes to. For me, it was to
Speaker:cover up anxiety that was undiagnosed for sure,
Speaker:and some depression that was then coming from that. But even on, like, just
Speaker:good days, it would be like, oh, like, this was already a great day. And
Speaker:like, why and my total turning point crux, as I
Speaker:was educating my kids, that, like, alcohol is really bad for you,
Speaker:and yet I was still having a couple glasses a month. And my son
Speaker:goes, well, why do grownups do it then? And
Speaker:I had no ration. There's no response to
Speaker:celebrate. Like, would I have a cigar or a cigarette in front of them to
Speaker:celebrate? Like, there was no good answer for me to give them. And that's what
Speaker:made me finally turn the corner to, like, cut it out. And so, yeah, that.
Speaker:That's interesting. And it's this whole other level of just pelvic health and overall health,
Speaker:but open heart surgery, alcohol and cigarettes, they're so
Speaker:inflammatory. They're not serving you to heal, and they're not serving you to show up.
Speaker:And so there are people there who can support you and love you. And if
Speaker:you go to try to help, you know, get help with these habits and you
Speaker:don't feel loved and it's not the right place for you, even if it's the
Speaker:right place for your bestie, that's fine. Go someplace else until you
Speaker:feel heartwarming.
Speaker:Podcast and of having like, heart stuff is. The
Speaker:opportunity for puns is endless. That's really,
Speaker:really. It is, dude. I'm here for the puns.
Speaker:All right, cool. But yeah, that is in a nutshell. That's why we want to
Speaker:talk about penises on the open heart surgery podcast.
Speaker:And if you don't have a penis, but you are noticing
Speaker:changes in sexual function,
Speaker:you know, they. This could be something to work on as a
Speaker:canary in the gold mine to improve your overall circulation. And if
Speaker:you are post heart surgery, especially if you're diabetic,
Speaker:the reduced blood flow to the pelvic floor can be a
Speaker:contributor to pee problems, poop problems, and sexual
Speaker:problems. So seeing a pelvic floor PT in person or
Speaker:online can be really help that part of your life. So please
Speaker:just don't think, oh, I've had heart surgery, my sex life's over. If it's something
Speaker:you're interested in or, oh, I'm just getting older, I guess it's normal that I
Speaker:pee my pants, right? Not true. There's help available. So
Speaker:I have a great blog with lots of information. You can work with me or
Speaker:one of my staff online. I have a blog about how to find a PT
Speaker:near you. You can reach out to Boots or me if you need
Speaker:help finding a PT near you. And like I said, my treasure chest really
Speaker:is a good trove. Literally a treasure chest of
Speaker:exercises to get yourself moving to improve
Speaker:this blood flow for not only better sexual health, but better
Speaker:overall health as well. Oh, and we're giving you guys a coupon.
Speaker:OHS 2025 open heart
Speaker:surgery 2025 will give you guys 25% off any of my online
Speaker:programs, including 25% off the first three
Speaker:months of that Treasures Trust subscription, which is already a killer
Speaker:deal. And that goes over how to connect and relax to your pelvic floor, as
Speaker:well as these exercises to help improve your blood flow. So I'm glad
Speaker:you're here. Boots. Thank you so much for this opportunity to talk about
Speaker:Peter the Pelvis and. Heidi the Pelvis and Randy the
Speaker:Rectum. If you missed the first installment, I'm
Speaker:telling you, you just. We were having so much fun during Heart Month
Speaker:and. And thank you, Kelly. All that you need will be in the
Speaker:show notes. Again, be sure to sign up for the newsletter. That's another way to
Speaker:stay in touch. And if you haven't, make sure you hit subscribe. And you know
Speaker:what will really make my day and my Heart month and
Speaker:my year would be as soon as you're done listening to this episode,
Speaker:do two things. Share this with a friend.
Speaker:Perhaps one with a penis or someone with a penis. And then
Speaker:secondly, leave a review. I would so
Speaker:appreciate that because that is how people find this podcast.
Speaker:So definitely. And ask us questions. Yep.
Speaker:Blow up the email, please. We love questions.
Speaker:But in case no one has told you today, I love you.
Speaker:You are loved. You are worthy of a thriving
Speaker:pelvis, healthy pelvis. And be sure to come back next
Speaker:week for more pelvic wisdom from Dr. Kelly. Bye.
