Male Menopause Symptoms
Crossing the threshold of middle ages (35 - 40) and entering in early 50s brings with it several physical and psychological changes in a man's life. The physical endurance and strength, mental focus and concentration, both reduce, causing hosts of health concerns. While these symptoms can just be due to poor lifestyle continued for many years, increasing medical studies have proved that these are just male menopause symptoms. While we all are aware about female menopause, that generally occurs in women during 40 to 45 years, there are not many people who believe that anything like male menopause exists. The medical fraternity is still not very enthusiastic to conclude that male menopause is as pronounced as female menopause, but factually, it has not denied the possibility of men experiencing symptoms of menopause.
Symptoms
Technically referred to as andropause, male menopause is associated with a slow decline in the testosterone levels in a man's body. It is highly likely that not all men will go through andropause in their lives. But recent media attention has triggered a situation where many men are rushing to doctors for being diagnosed with signs of male menopause (also called andropause symptoms). So do men in andropause or hypogonadism (in medical terminology) experience symptoms that are equivalent in intensity to that experienced by women during female menopause? Many medical scientists refute the fact that andropause is in any way, similar to female menopause because, in females there is a significant variation in estrogen hormone levels, while in men, testosterone levels do not drop to a very significant level. Nonetheless, there are several signs of male menopause that can be considered to be a hint towards the possibility of andropause. Those symptoms are as follows:
- Loss of sexual drive (libido) is a prominent symptom of major physical and psychological changes a man is going through. Sexual frequency becomes very less to negligible.
- Unlike younger ages, now fatigue and tiredness occurs at a very fast pace. Just working for few hours may leave a man exhausted.
- Normal forgetfulness, that is although common among each of us, can become a habit in males over 40s who're showing symptoms of male andropause.
- Anger, feeling of worthlessness, depression, anxiety, irritability and hopelessness - when all these symptoms are being experienced by a man over 40, it is very much possible that male andropause is being experienced by him.
- Insomnia or sleep interrupted for a long time, is another significant symptom of male menopause.
- With numerous psychological and physical changes, comes lack of confidence, confusion and indecisiveness.
- One of the common signs is occurrence of hot flashes or excessive sweating at night. Night sweats in men over 40 are generally due to andropause. Although, there can be several other causes like stress.
There are no fixed causes of male menopause and while to men it may come naturally, in some cases, it can be due to various reasons. Low testosterone levels in men, that trigger male andropause can be due to various reasons like obesity, depression, dementia and a poor lifestyle. Men suffering from numerous autoimmune diseases are considered to be at a higher risk of male menopause.
Treatment
Just like it is difficult to diagnose symptoms of andropause, it is equally tough to chalk out a treatment plan or testosterone therapy option for men. Men who experience any of the above symptoms must refer to an expert doctor and discuss the case with him. The first step must be to go for a complete medical check up with focus on testosterone levels. Decline in testosterone levels must be a hint towards loss of energy, fatigue and lack of sexual drive. The doctor will suggest an appropriate treatment plan that can include taking testosterone injections or going for testosterone hormone replacement therapy (TRT). In fact, hormone replacement therapy for men is a popular treatment option, recommended by many medical experts.
So this was some brief information about signs of andropause. Men must understand that not everyone may experience low testosterone levels and even if one does, with proper lifestyle and treatment options, a normal life can be lived. Even men in their 30s should go for a medical check pertaining to testosterone levels, as normal testosterone levels in men are an integral part of proper men's health. Also, men with andropause may never lose the ability to produce sperms unlike female menopause, wherein females lose their fertility. So instead of panicking, it is advisable to take care of your body, from an early age so that you know about your body, its needs and health requirements.
