Men whose hormone levels drop after middle age are said to be going through "male menopause."
Menopause in men is a subject of debate in the medical world. When a woman goes through menopause, a bodily function stops, such as when she stops having her period every month. Also, when a woman goes through menopause, her hormone levels drop in a very important way. Because of these things, doctors aren't sure if men really go through menopause.
In middle-aged and older men, the testicles make less testosterone. Menopause symptoms are thought to be caused by this.
Men going through menopause often feel irritable, have trouble sleeping, have low sex drive, sweat a lot, feel anxious, sad, forget things, and have trouble getting and keeping an erection.
Most of the time, erectile dysfunction is caused by something else. But a lack of testosterone could be one reason.
Men with symptoms of low testosterone levels should get medical tests, like blood tests, to figure out how much testosterone they have in their bodies.
Low testosterone levels can also be caused by problems with the testicles or by traits that may be passed down from your parents.
Men who have low levels of testosterone and the symptoms that come with it are told to get hormone replacement therapy.
Hormone replacement may not help older men with erectile dysfunction unless they have very low levels of the male hormone androgen. It has been shown that low doses of testosterone can increase a younger man's interest in sex if he is missing a hormone.
Testosterone replacement therapy, also called androgen replacement therapy, is used to treat the symptoms of male menopause. Since testosterone deficiency is usually a permanent condition, this method is a treatment that will last for the rest of your life.
Most of the time, testosterone replacement therapy is given as a pill, an implant, or an injection.
Most of the time, a shot of testosterone is given every two weeks.
People who can't stand needles or implants are often given pills to take by mouth.
The testosterone implants, which are put under the skin of the buttock or abdomen, work for a few months. The implant works by putting testosterone into the bloodstream directly.
But there are risks and side effects that could happen with androgen therapy.
When there isn't enough testosterone, the prostate tends to get smaller. Hormone replacement therapy can't fix a physically smaller prostate because it can't change how much prostate specific antigen is in the body.
Androgen therapy might not increase the risk of prostate cancer in people the same age who have naturally higher testosterone levels.
On the other hand, more research needs to be done on how safe hormone replacement therapy is and how it might affect the prostate, how the brain works, and the heart. Also, the possible benefits of androgen therapy on the bones and muscles need to be looked at.
People say that androgen therapy makes people more likely to get heart diseases, but research on this subject isn't clear. Low testosterone levels, on the other hand, have been found in people who have had heart attacks. This means that hormone replacement therapy might be able to help prevent heart diseases.
Older men who haven't been told they have prostate cancer should also be careful when using androgens.
Sleep apnea, which is when you stop breathing while you sleep, is also a rare risk of hormone therapy.
