man-o-pause

Understanding Male Menopause

If you've been wondering "What is a man's menopause,?" I just discovered another voice in the Midlife Movement over at FourOh.com, dedicated to taking the crisis out of mid-life. They offer a reasoned response.

". ...The important step to take in dealing with male menopause is to be willing to accept it as a part of life. Acceptance leads to understanding and the more information and knowledge you are able to gather about the condition, the better you will be able to handle it. It may be stressful for some, while others may look at it as a challenge and decide to turn a negative condition into something positive. It's all a matter of one's mindset."

How to Cope With Male Menopause and Depression

Author: Andrea Arnold

For years, people have only linked menopause to women. However, studies have found that males experience a similar condition. People often refer to this as a mid-life crisis. Male menopause has been found to have similar symptoms that women experience. Male menopause, also known as andropause, is a condition where male hormones naturally decline. This is also a time of life when many men experience drastic changes in their life, including reordering, career change, or divorce. These events bring physiological and psychological changes that can grow into full-blown depression.

Andropause usually occurs in men at age fifty and above. Some people ask whether andropause is real or just a myth. It is a fact that hormonal decline occurs as a person ages. However, the hormone decreases in men are more gradual than in women's menopause. That is why andropause is medically termed as A.D.A.M or Androgen Decline in Aging Males.

Like women's menopause, andropause in men is characterized by various symptoms. These symptoms can include erectile dysfunction, mood changes, general tiredness, heart palpitations, and night sweats. Palpitations and night sweats happen because the autonomic system of men is overactive responding to their falling testosterone levels. Many men consider erectile dysfunction to be the most important symptom of andropause.

Men often develop feelings of wanting to be closer to family and friends during andropause. In their earlier stages of life, men often focus on money, career, and power, but when andropause strikes, the transitions are clearly seen. Men became more concerned with their family and friends, and often appear as if they regret past attitudes.

Another symptom that is commonly reported is memory loss associated with the aging process. This symptom is typically minor, and does not affect daily functioning like Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.

However, because of the decline in testosterone levels, men who experience male menopause often report problems with depression. This can also cause anxiety and loss of interest in sex.

This is why you should think about getting male menopause treatment in order to alleviate the symptoms. One such treatment is called hormone replacement therapy for men. Usually, this treatment is done for men who have low testosterone levels. However, because of male menopause and the decline of the body's production of testosterone, the testosterone replacement therapy is now done on men who are going through male menopause.

By going through this process when you are going through male menopause, it will significantly decrease the effects of male menopause. You have to consider the fact that testosterone replacement therapy will not cure male menopause. It will just help in alleviating the signs and symptoms associated with low testosterone level and male menopause.

It is important that, before jumping in and get yourself treated with testosterone replacement therapy, you first consult with your doctor. The doctor will determine if you are indeed going through male menopause. By conducting a series of tests, the doctor will determine if your testosterone level has declined. If it has, the doctor will then recommend treatments, such as testosterone replacement therapy.

The doctor will be able to recommend a professional who is able to administer and supervise the treatment. You have to consider the fact that it is necessary for you to have the right dosage of testosterone in order to have maximum effect while getting rid of the side effects.

There are different ways that testosterone replacement therapy is done. There is the injection method, the oral capsules method, the patches method, and also the implant method. Professionals in testosterone replacement therapy will let you choose which method is right for you and which method you are most comfortable with.

Always remember that testosterone replacement therapy should only be done with the supervision of a qualified professional in the field of the testosterone replacement therapy. This is important in order to give you the best effect possible while minimizing or eliminating unwanted side effects.

So, get your life back on track, get rid of depression, and cope with male menopause through testosterone replacement therapy.

Article Source: Male Menopause and Depression at ArticlesBase.com.

About the Author: Andrea Arnold writes about male menopause (andropause) and hormone replacement therapy at Articles Unleashed.

Menopause Man - The Book

"Mel Mathews is a sensitive observer of the human condition, with an emphasis on the Male Human Condition of our time. He has created a character in Malcolm Clay that is a baby boomer Holden Caulfield, a variation on John Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom, and he manages to take us by the hand and lead us through the bumpy terrain of current interpersonal relationships as well as anyone writing today." Read more about Mel Mathews and this USA Today review. Or look in the sidebar under "Nick's Picks" for the Amazon info page.

Menopause Man is the middle of a trilogy about a mid-life man stuck in a boring but successful occupation. I don't ususally recommend books that I haven't read, but the review describes such fine writing ("the novel calls for pause to enjoy the sheer ebullience of the verbiage") and I'm been known to devour well-written books in one sitting.

Take a look. The Malcolm Clay Trilogy may make the perfect gift for the midlife man in your life.

Mayo Clinic On Male Menopause

Age-related hormone changes are very different in men than in women. Unlike the more dramatic hormone plunge that occurs in women during menopause, hormone changes in men occur gradually, over a period of many years, the effects of which are often subtle and not noticed until much later in life. Some men are never affected by lower hormone levels at all — while some have physical and psychological symptoms that can include changes in sexual function, energy levels or mood.

Learn more about male menopause: myth or reality at MayoClinic.com.

Mid-Life Changes in Men

"A wise man once said to me, “Men spend their twenties not caring who they are, their thirties becoming who they are, their forties figuring out who they are, and their fifties trying to change who they are.” I guess this is why he bought a Corvette, listened to rap music and wore gold chains in his fifties. He was being philosophical about a mid-life crisis."

From the Middle of Nowhere Land, Minnesota comes Skips Hip Quips. He lists four tips on how to alleviate the male, middle age crisis:

1. Be cosmopolitan. For example, if you are originally from the country, try to do things that city folk do like exchange niceties on your driveway before work.
2. Be a rebel. Doing little things like not following directions or manufacturers suggested cooking procedures can do wonders.
3. Embrace your inner child. He talks about his brother rewatching Bambi with an evil grin. Proceed with caution. [emphasis mine]
4. Adjust your bran intake. He advocates that every dinner party conclude with the type of vitamins, oils, and fiber substitutes you imbibe.

Any, or all of the above, will slow down the effects of male menopause, he believes.

Male Menopause, Irritability & Mood Swings

No longer the sole domain of women, Gail Sheehy, author, details the psychology of men over 40 in her book, Understanding Men's Passages: Discovering the New Map of Men's Lives. I haven't read the book yet, but I've been a fan of Sheehy's for years after reading her first, groundbreaking work, Passages. While the reviews are mixed, I offer it hear for those interested in a "cradle to grave map of contemporary American male life."

From Publishers Weekly ...

"The years after 40 offer men a "second adulthood," declares Sheehy, a chance to reinvent themselves. But first they must shift from competing to connecting, from incessant striving for external rewards to a quest for inner fulfillment through meaningful pursuits, after determining what they really want of the second half of their lives.... She probes men's feelings about death, spiritual hollowness, empty nest syndrome, separation anxieties, their envy of their empowered working wives, pre-retirement jitters and waning sexual potency. There are enough fresh angles in this searching exploration of male malaise to help men tailor their goals and dreams to real-life circumstances."

Menopause No Longer Just For Women

I spotted an article entitled, "Manopause aka Menoporsche", on a Neuroethics & Law blog of all places. While it's a biological certainty that women's estrogen levels drop sharply as they head toward mid-life, men's declining testosterone levels are much more subtle and not every man will fall into the low range. While there are safety concerns with testosterone therapy, if your energy level isn't what it used to be, it couldn't hurt to check things out.

Male Menopause or Ego

Have you experienced any of the following and remember how it felt?

• Scoring a financial deal
• Driving too fast
• Successfully taking revenge
• Seeing your enemy lose
• Very intense exercise
• A hard-fought sports victory, even watching your team win
• Being celebrated for mastery in your field
• Receiving a standing ovation
• Receiving unexpected praise
• Getting promoted
• Winning a championship
• Winning a tough political election
• Bragging about very expensive luxury toys
• Exercising power
• Getting mad at a bad driver
• Flying off into a jealous rage
• Achieving a sexual conquest

If you feel guilty for getting a rush from some of these behaviors, all the while thinking "Good god, I'm not in my 20s anymore. I'm not even in my 30s. Why do I care about this shit?"

Why? Because these activities actually raise testosterone levels. After a certain age, you need to jump start the battery. It's not that you're unevolved; it's a natural reaction due to declining testosterone levels.

For the first time in North America, doctors are identifying themselves professionally as andrologists, specialists in men's health, the counterpart to gynecologists. According to Shafiq Qaadri, M.D., M.P.P., men could experience as many as 50 symptoms as they approach and transcend mid-life.

For too long, men have suffered through this mid-life crisis, trying to self-medicate with alcohol or nicotine, throwing themselves into work, withdrawing from loved ones, having affairs, or the stereotypical treatments of changing a hairstyle, buying a new sports car, and replacing a former wife.

So how do you increase your testosterone levels—or the manhood chemical, which Dr. Qaadri calls it?

His book, by the same name, details lifestyle approaches, as well as natural, herbal, psychological and prescription remedies with no drug-marketing agenda. The Manhood Chemical will be released in the U.S. by Marlowe & Co. some time next year. Check back here for details.