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"Male menopause is a lot more fun than female
menopause. With female menopause you gain weight and get hot
flashes. Male menopause - you get to date younger women and drive
motorcycles." ~ Anon
We know males under go many changes in their
50's just like women do. I don't think it's fair to say they
are exactly the same as the hormonal and emotional changes for
women during menopause but men endure a lot with the modern woman
going through menopause today. Physically over 50 year old men
notice within themselves more changes, erectile dysfunction
and moods deepen also depression in males is common in this age
group. Most men are not aware that they will under go emotional and
physical changes just as a woman does and are in many respects
expected to endure aging with little or no drama attached. Women on
the other hand make it common knowledge of their mid life changes.
The reality is both genders experience big hormonal changes in the
45 - 60 years age group.
Male menopause
(=Andropause)
Introduction:
Male menopause is a lot more subtle than
menopause in women. Many men have male potency until late in life.
However, there are a significant number of men who get male
impotence, also termed "erectile dysfunction" (=ED). This problem
usually occurs in middle aged men.
Diagnostic tests:
A significant number of these men have low
testosterone levels when they are tested as well as increased
levels of LH and FSH. It is generally accepted that the reason for
this is that the testicles no longer produce enough testosterone.
However, there might be a significant number of men who are
producing less testosterone due to inhibitory mechanisms of the
gonadotropin hormone production at the level of the pituitary
gland.
If the man is overweight and has a history or
diabetes or hypertension, there is a good chance that this man
would suffer from the syndrome of insulin resistance. In this case
there is an inhibitory action on the pituitary gland by interfering
with cyclic
AMP production, which
in turn leads to lower testosterone production. As I outlined under
the link above, this knowledge has some practical implications as
the low testosterone in this case is only a symptom, not the cause
of the erectile dysfunction. This has also some therapeutic
implications as we will see below.
Symptoms:
Men with male menopause have often similar
psychological symptoms that menopausal women also have such as
irritability, a lack of energy, mood changes and depression. Most
annoyingly though for them is that their sex life is suffering.
There is a diminished sex drive, sexual interests are also
diminished, erection problems are more common and erections do not
last as long.
Other health problems such as cardiac
problems, pulmonary problems like emphysema, hypertension and
diabetes have a lot to do with erectile
dysfunction.
However, all of these medical ailments are
usually treated with a variety of drugs causing impotence. Such
drugs as diuretics, many antidepressants, pain medications,
alcohol, cocaine, anxiolytics and cimetidine (an anti-acid
medication) are all known to cause erectile dysfunction. Some
hormonal problems such as hypo- and hyperthyroidism as well as
Cushing's syndrome are also known to cause erectile dysfunction.
Diabetes and impotence are also connected.
Impotence Treatment:
It follows from what was said above that all
the factors that can be identified , which have a negative bearing
on erectile dysfunction, should be treated first. This includes a
thorough history and physical examination by your family physician,
a review of drugs, alcohol consumption and
medications.
Can testosterone restore the ageing male? TRT
- tosterone replacement therapy can have a dramatic effect in
restoring energy levels, erectile dysfunction and general well
being. Testosterone levels decline 1% a year after men reach the
age of 40. At age 70 men generally have half of what they had in
their 30s. Some medical experts believe men with existing prostrate
cancer should avoid TRT. For online help with male health and TRT
go to andrologyaustralia.org
Next there should be a life style change,
which includes a zone diet program (Ref.1 and 12), a regular brisk
walking program and relaxation exercises including meditation and
hypnosis. Often the change of all of these factors will have a
beneficial effect on the hormone balance to the point where within
3 to 4 weeks a normal sexual function returns due to the returning
of the normal gonadotropin function (insulin resistance is
disappearing).
If all of these measures do not help alone,
then an impotence pill
such as sildenafil (brandname: Viagra) and
others of that type can be considered. However, there are a
significant number of side effects with this medication such as
headaches and clotting problems that limit the use for certain
patients. Other ways to treat are testosterone replacement therapy
with low doses, which can stimulate libido significantly (Ref. 13).
However, like with all potent medications, there are testosterone
side-effects, namely hepatic toxicity and with longterm use the
risk of liver cancer. Also, blood gets thickened (secondary
polycythemia), which can cause a stroke. Patients on testosterone
need to be monitored for these side effects accordingly. Viagra
might be useful in some patients, if cardiovascular problems allow
this and erectile dysfunction is a prominent symptom. Ask your
doctor about this who can explain to you side-effects in more
detail.
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