Male Menopause: Symptoms And Treatment

The first time I heard the expression Male Menopause from a counsellor I was as shocked as anybody else who hasn't heard about this phenomena.

I always believed that menopause was particularly characteristic of women, but recent research has shown that men also experience from menopausal symptoms and hormonal imbalance.

Male menopause is the period where a man experiences decline in the male hormone testosterone levels through aging. Some men also experience fatigue, weakness, depression, lack of sexual desire, poor concentration, memory loss and other symptoms.These symptoms may be linked to the decreased testosterone levels.

However, there are still controversies regarding this issue and the association of low levels of testosterone to the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Menopause in women is a period where hormone production stops completely. However, in males the testes still produce testosterone but in lower amounts.

A healthy male will still be able to produce sperm even upto eighty years old or longer. However, in some men changes happen in the testes, as a result of disease, as early as the age of 45 to 50 and even more after the age of 70.

The testosterone levels in men may decline very gradually and not all men are affected by the symptoms.

Sometimes it is hard to decide if it is male menopause, when a man experiences symptoms such as depression, anxiety, fatigue, poor concentration, poor memory, mood changes, low sex drive or loss of muscle strength.

There's a lot of differing opinions regarding the term "male menopause" , some people say we shouldn't term it this way because it is completely different than "female menopause" as females totally lose the production of the hormones, while men still do produce male hormones.

There are also controversies regarding the symptoms experienced by some men and how sure can they be that it is not due to other factors.

Some men who suffer from various diseases, experience dramatic decline in the testosterone levels. It is these men in particular who should seek testosterone replacement therapy. The experiences of people with testosterone replacement therapy differ from each other, some people report great results and relief of symptoms and some report no change at all.

The diagnosis of male menopause is done through various blood tests to check the hormone and testosterone levels.

Your doctor should be able to advise you if hormone replacement therapy is the right program for you.

What Are Available Treatments For Male Menopause?

Testosterone replacement therapy will help in the decrease of depression, anxiety and fatigue. But this type of therapy has some risks and side affects. For instance, using testosterone replacement therapy may make prostate cancer worst.

These symptoms can also be relieved by changes in lifestyle which should include a sensible diet, a regular exercise program, stress management techniques, healthy lifestyle, good sleep patterns. Anti-depressants might also help with relieving the anxiety and depression symptoms.