Male menopause symptoms
RESPONSE: Sometimes men at midlife are said to go to be experiencing male menopause. Men experience many of the same changes as women do during midlife: memory changes, fatigue, sleep changes, sexual changes, vision changes, irritability and depression. It is a well-known phenomenon that men like to buy sexy sports cars or date younger women when they reach midlife. And who said we were difficult? Men experience a general and slow decline in their testosterone levels as they age, but they don't go through the same abrupt changes and fluctuations in their horomone levels that women do. This makes you wonder, are these changes really related to male menopause symptoms or are they related to the good-old aging process?
RESPONSE: Because of the many changes that occur in men at midlife, such as a decrease in libido, weight gain, decrease in energy, midlife stress, decrease in mental ability and generally feeling less attractive, men can mourn these losses and their male menopause symptoms as much as we do. There is some controversy in the medical world if these changes are due to normal aging and/or low testosterone levels. His weight gain is related at least in part to a decrease in metabolism and muscle mass due to aging and possibly a decrease in his activity level. Diet and fitness will do wonders for him. But your question is if there is a hormone replacement therapy for him. The simple answer is yes, a few doctors (not mainstream doctors) will recommend testosterone therapy to balance out the testosterone and the estrogen in the aging male. It is not as popular as HT has been and still somewhat is for women. There are two reasons why HT for men is less popular:1) Men don't experience the same sudden decline in their male hormone levels,rather, it occurs slowly and gradually for them. 2) The possible side effect of HT for men is prostate cancer. 3) It is definitely not to be taken by men who already have prostate cancer. After midlife men are at an increased risk of heart disease (weight gain around the middle exacerbates this risk) and sexual dysfunctions. They are also at a slightly higher risk of osteoporosis, but not to the same extent as women. Some men may wish to treat symptom specific conditions such as erectile dysfunction with one of the many commercially available products. They may want to get their cholesterol levels and heart condition monitored and followed. The good news is that diet, exercise, relaxation, stess reduction, personal joy and ability to laugh at oneself will help men through midlife just as effectively as it helps women. Many of the suggestions made on this site will benefit your man. Kristi Runyan writes this article called "Male Menopause" for the "Live Right Now" online magazine, dated Friday March 26, 2010. She writes that testosterone levels in men gradually decline after their 20th birthday at a rate of about 1 percent.
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