Male menopause and treatment

The word menopause is almost synonymous with women.  Once the word is mentioned, a lot of men will term it women’s talk. Surprisingly, today, men are also going through menopause, so, women may not be the only ones who suffer the effects of changing hormones.

Some doctors are noticing that their male patients are reporting some of the same symptoms that women experience in perimenopause and menopause.   Male menopause has raised controversies, and the argument has always been that men do not menstruate, so how do they experience menopause.

Men do not go through a well-defined period referred to as menopause, some doctors refer to this problem as androgen,  a situation of testosterone decline in the ageing male, or what some people call low testosterone.  This is when men experience a decline in the production of the male hormone testosterone and this occurs with ageing and as a result of some health conditions such as diabetes. Along with the decline in testosterone, some men experience symptoms that include fatigue, weakness, depression, and sexual problems; such as low libido, which is some of the menopausal symptoms in women.

Unlike menopause in women, when hormone production stops completely, testosterone decline in men is a slower process. The testes, unlike the ovaries, do not run out of the substance it needs to make testosterone. A healthy male may be able to make sperm well into his eighties or longer.

Treatment

If testosterone levels are low, testosterone replacement therapy may help relieve such symptoms as loss of interest in sex (decreased libido), depression, and fatigue. But, as with hormone replacement therapy in women, testosterone replacement therapy has potential risks and side effects. Replacing testosterone may worsen prostate cancer for example.

If you or a loved one is considering androgen replacement therapy, talk to a doctor to learn more. Your doctor may also recommend certain lifestyle changes, such as a new diet or exercise programme, or other medications, such as an antidepressant, to help with some of the symptoms of male menopause.