The Male Menopause or Andropause

What's in a name? Well, in the case of the Male Menopause, a lot. It is probably one of the main reasons why the condition has failed to achieve the recognition it deserves. It is the joke disorder that is no joke. When any middle-aged male character in a sit-com behaves in an unexpected or seemingly irrational fashion, it is usually wrongly attributed to the Male Menopause.

For the sake of both clarity, brevity and to ease acceptance by both the general public and the medical establishment, who already recognise the name if not the disorder, from now on I will mainly use the term "Andropause" when referring to this condition in men, and "Menopause" when referring to the equivalent condition in women.

After all, the term "menopause" was introduced by French doctors in the 1870"s, combining two Greek words menses (periods) and pausis (stop), to indicate the time in a woman's life when the monthly periods stop, just as the word "menarche" combining menses (periods) and arkhe (start), means their beginning. hen applied to men, the term is therefore both inaccurate and somewhat derogatory. One of the aims of this book is to change that image and make the whole subject easier for men to talk about and think about.

"Andropause" however combines two Greek words andro (male) and pausis (stop), and means when masculinity ceases, which is a much better and more accurate description of the condition. It is doubly appropriate because the root of the problem is an inadequate supply of androgens, especially testosterone, the hormones which provide manliness, andro (male) gen (give), and which can be used as an effective remedy for the problem when it occurs.

Let's start with a brief sketch of the condition, how it begins and how we can recognise it is happening to us or those around us. It's often insidious onset can be at any time from the age of thirty onwards, though typically it is in the fifties. One of the reasons it's often missed is that this equivalent of the menopause in the female is usually more gradual in onset but more severe in its long-term consequences. It is a crisis of vitality just as much as virility, even though the most obvious sign of the crisis is loss both of interest in sex and of erectile power.

This change is surprisingly often overlooked or ignored, either because the man is so pressurised by the rest of his life that he assumes it is an inevitable part of growing older, or because his sexual partner has lost interest as well. Besides lack of sex drive, there is often loss of drive in professional or business life, so that the leader becomes the led, the tiger becomes the sheep.

There is also often fatigue, lethargy, exhaustion, and depression with a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. All too often men change their jobs or their women - anything to ease the malaise they feel, usually with little relief, and sometimes things are made much worse because of the additional stress these changes bring. Physically there is often stiffness and pain in the muscles and joints, or symptoms of gout, and a rapidly deteriorating level of fitness. There may also be signs of accelerated ageing of the heart and circulation.

The main complaints can be described as being either mental, such as fatigue, depression, irritability and reduced libido, or physical such as ageing, aches and pains, sweating and flushing, and failing sexual performance. You can see as we go through this list how close is the comparison with the menopause in women.

SYMPTOMS OF THE MALE MENOPAUSE (ANDROPAUSE)

MENTAL - PHYSICAL
Fatigue - Ageingr
Depression - Aches and Painsr
Irritability - Sweating and Flushingr
Reduced Libido - Sexual Performance Decreased

If you think you have symptoms listed above it is advisable to consult your own doctor, or better still a specialist in testosterone treatment.