Lucky women. They've always known that when they reach their mid-40s, their hormone levels will start to change. This will cause uncomfortable symptoms and lead to menopause, a big change in their lives. It may seem strange to say that knowing that menopause is coming is a good thing, but being able to talk about a medically proven event is freeing. Women can talk to each other about how uncomfortable their symptoms are and talk to their doctors for help. Men, on the other hand, have not been able to get help for their midlife problems. In fact, most doctors don't even agree that andropause, or male menopause, is a real medical condition.
There are several reasons why people have been sceptical about the idea of male menopause. First of all, it happens much more slowly than menopause in women. Starting in her 40s, a woman's oestrogen levels will drop in a clear and measurable way. A man's testosterone levels, on the other hand, start to drop very slowly as early as age 30. Because the change in hormones happens so differently in men, so do the symptoms that come with it. For example, a woman may find herself irritable or sad out of the blue and know that something has changed. But it takes much longer for symptoms to show up in men, so they may not notice that they are changing.
Second, Andropause isn't as permanent as Menopause is for women. When a woman's levels of oestrogen drop low enough, her periods will stop. She won't be able to have kids. Her ovaries won't be able to make eggs, and her uterus won't be able to hold a baby. She has a real change of life because she goes from being able to have children to being unable to do so. With a man, this doesn't happen. Even when they are in their 80s, men still make enough testosterone to be able to have children. Even if a man can't have s*x with his partner and ejaculate to make her pregnant, sperm from his semen can still be used to fertilise an egg. Scientists have been sceptical about andropause because men don't go through the same kinds of changes in their lives as women do.
Men are expected to be tough when they have symptoms. Women can get help with the changes in their lives from support groups, books, and medical professionals. Hormone replacement therapy, which is used to treat menopause, has been studied for decades and all over the country. Women talk about their symptoms and pains, make jokes about them, and complain about them. Men, on the other hand, keep quiet about how they feel. It's not manly to complain about things like gaining weight, losing hair, having trouble getting or keeping an erection, not getting enough sleep, or feeling sad. And what man would want to talk about losing his desire? Women talk about things, but men don't. The sad thing is that it's often easier to deal with things when you can ask for help.
Recognizing that men go through menopause is the first step to helping them deal with the changes in their bodies.
Christopher Thomas is a journalist and photographer who recently got rid of the symptoms of Andropause (Male Menopause) by taking supplements and changing his diet. Please visit www.Amidrenreview.com for more information about Male Menopause/Andropause and treatments that can help.
