Male menopause?

Posted on December 4th, 2007 by olga

Have ever heard about male menopause? Is it really true or just one of many myths?
Let’s try to discus and find any answers to this not easy question.
Sometimes men note that they begin to avoid sex, become very quickly tired and grumbler than normal. And may be the real answer is hormone changes as a result of a natural part of aging for men.
However in my opinion, male menopause is not a perfect explanation. Hormone variety in men take place increasingly, over a period of many years, the effects of which are often slight and not noticed until much later in life.
But on the one hand, some men are never influenced by lower hormone levels at all — at the same time as some have physical and psychological symptoms that can consist of changes in sexual function, energy levels or mood.
I’d like to revise words of a famous endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.,Todd Nippoldt, M.D. He suggested using the term “andropause” instead of the term “male menopause.” He pointed that there is a big difference between these terms. He draws our attention to that in women, ovulation comes to an end and female hormone production plummets over a relatively short time frame though in men, there’s a steady decline in the production of male hormones.
Do you want to know the symptoms of andropause?
As mentioned above men can feel less sexual desire, infertility, a reduce in spontaneous erections (such as during sleep), swollen or tender breasts (gynecomastia), loss of body and pubic hair, small or shrinking testes, height loss and thinning bones, lessen muscle bulk and force, hot flushes and sweats.
Sometimes it can be the following symptoms:
Men feel less energy, motivation and self-confidence; they are sad or demoralized, they can suffer from poor attentiveness and memory, sleep apnea or other sleep problems, a low red blood cell, count (mild anemia), raised body fat, reduced physical or work presentation.
Let’s revise some statistics:
Let’s call our attention that after age 40, testosterone levels in the blood start to turn down steadily — approximately 1 percent a year. And as a matter of fact, older men have lower testosterone levels than younger men. At the same time as there’s a sudden fall between the ages of 45 and 50, lessening in testosterone levels are seldom significant enough to be obvious in men younger than 60. But it’s really true that by the time men achieve their 80s, about half have low testosterone. However it’s very important that testosterone levels vary greatly among men — and some men keep standard testosterone levels into old age. Other men who have low testosterone levels don’t have troublesome symptoms.
What can men do?
From the very beginning:
-Eat right and stay active.
-Talk to your doctor about sexual problems.
-Seek help if you feel down.
Then you should find your level of testosterone.
More studies need to be done to conclude the usefulness and security of the medicine your doctor will prescribe you.
And of course you should talk with your doctor if you decide to take any herbal supplements, as some can cause side effects or cause problems with medications.