A Summary of Andropause: The Puzzle, The Sex, and Modern Help
Written By: Jim LarkinsPost: 8/29/2007
Release: 9/5/2007
Return to Category, Andropause Articles
Think you’re going through a midlife crisis? Don’t be so sure. You could actually be experiencing andropause – or the male version of menopause. Also called Partial Androgen Deficiency
in the Aging Male (or PADAM), andropause is a condition of low testosterone (the male hormone), which usually occurs in males aged 40 and older.
For a generation of male baby boomers, andropause poses a great impact on their quality of life. Youthful exuberance and ravenous virility turn to exhausting, quiet desperation as one becomes painfully aware of the toll life is taking on his aging body. Moreover, andropause leads to afflictions, which are slow to come, but potentially devastating, such as increased cardiovascular risk, osteoporosis and erectile dysfunction (ED).
“I think the real message is you can’t tell when you look at a man, whether he has low testosterone,” says Dr. Steven Lamm, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at New York University, and author of The Hardness Factor. “It’s not men who don’t shave and who look soft.”
There is a wide range of andropausal symptoms, of which there are two main categories. The first is a series of superficial woes such as general fatigue, moodiness, decreased sex drive, a reduction in erections, loss of muscle mass and strength, facial aging, and in some men, the ever-so-unattractive “beer belly.”
On the darker side of testosterone depletion are bone tissue weakening, higher estrogen levels, clogged artery development, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and increased cholesterol.
But since these are all dilemmas that many men face as they age anyway, how can you truly determine if you’re muddling through the stages of andropause? One way you can be pretty sure is by having your testosterone levels checked. But for an accurate assessment, you have to undergo a series of tests throughout the day for several days.
“Because testosterone levels are secreted intermittently throughout the whole day,” says Dr. Lamm. “No single measurement necessarily proves that you have levels that put you in the andropause category.” Through process of elimination, you can draw your own personal, defining line between normal testosterone loss and andropause. And though the prospect of squeezing lengthy laboratory sessions into a busy workday might not seem very appealing, before you cancel that appointment, consider the alternative. According to Dr. Lamm, “The men with the lowest testosterone levels also have the highest mortality rate.”
Researchers now know that andropausal men suffer a great deal more than just sexually, but it is these sexual consequences, though not life-threatening, which can be deadly to a man’s self-esteem. A man’s psychological health can suffer to such a degree that he may experience an emasculating, deep depression.
The sexual impacts of testosterone depletion vary among individuals. Generally they range from decreased sex drive and a reduction in erections, which may not be terribly alarming, to erectile dysfunction, or even impotence, which can wreak havoc in a man’s life.
Although the level of intensity one uses to tackle andropausal symptoms is based on individual ability, overall, the prescription is the same for all men. You’ll need to take a self-disciplined approach to exercising regularly, managing stress, reducing tobacco and alcohol consumption, and maintaining a healthy diet.
For many men the first step is to simply put down the TV remote, pass on the potato chips and rediscover the great outdoors, the gym or some other cardio-enhancing destination. If you’re burning the candle at both ends – don’t. Just getting better sleep can be another way to offset testosterone loss.
There is one testosterone-building cure that’s easy to swallow for most any guy. According to Dr. Lamm, “Just increasing the amount of sex that you have will increase your own testosterone level.”
On the other hand, testosterone therapy will improve erectile function for those few patients with serious testosterone deficiency. But testosterone therapy should be administered with extreme caution in patients with any history of prostate cancer, or heart, kidney, or liver disease. But testosterone therapy is rarely helpful when hormone levels are already within the normal range. Too much of this hormone can also cause liver damage, tumors, or stop sperm production.
Ultimately, this can improve your testosterone levels and restore a flagging sex drive. There can be other benefits, including improving bone mass, preventing osteoporosis, increasing muscle strength, and decreasing cardiac risk. Rest assured, though, that such therapy does not cause prostate cancer, but it can increase the rate at which it grows.
For a generation of male baby boomers, andropause poses a great impact on their quality of life. Youthful exuberance and ravenous virility turn to exhausting, quiet desperation as one becomes painfully aware of the toll life is taking on his aging body. Moreover, andropause leads to afflictions, which are slow to come, but potentially devastating, such as increased cardiovascular risk, osteoporosis and erectile dysfunction (ED).
Deciphering the Andropause Puzzle
Because symptoms of andropause are basically the same as those that are universally accepted as normal biological changes in the aging man, there is no definite diagnosis for the condition.“I think the real message is you can’t tell when you look at a man, whether he has low testosterone,” says Dr. Steven Lamm, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at New York University, and author of The Hardness Factor. “It’s not men who don’t shave and who look soft.”
There is a wide range of andropausal symptoms, of which there are two main categories. The first is a series of superficial woes such as general fatigue, moodiness, decreased sex drive, a reduction in erections, loss of muscle mass and strength, facial aging, and in some men, the ever-so-unattractive “beer belly.”
On the darker side of testosterone depletion are bone tissue weakening, higher estrogen levels, clogged artery development, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and increased cholesterol.
But since these are all dilemmas that many men face as they age anyway, how can you truly determine if you’re muddling through the stages of andropause? One way you can be pretty sure is by having your testosterone levels checked. But for an accurate assessment, you have to undergo a series of tests throughout the day for several days.
“Because testosterone levels are secreted intermittently throughout the whole day,” says Dr. Lamm. “No single measurement necessarily proves that you have levels that put you in the andropause category.” Through process of elimination, you can draw your own personal, defining line between normal testosterone loss and andropause. And though the prospect of squeezing lengthy laboratory sessions into a busy workday might not seem very appealing, before you cancel that appointment, consider the alternative. According to Dr. Lamm, “The men with the lowest testosterone levels also have the highest mortality rate.”
Andropause and Sex
At one time, researchers assumed that andropause was strictly a sexual affliction. This was an easy assumption to make, not only because of sexual side effects, but because testosterone is responsible for regulating the structure of all body proteins and for insuring the development and integrity of the male genitalia.Researchers now know that andropausal men suffer a great deal more than just sexually, but it is these sexual consequences, though not life-threatening, which can be deadly to a man’s self-esteem. A man’s psychological health can suffer to such a degree that he may experience an emasculating, deep depression.
The sexual impacts of testosterone depletion vary among individuals. Generally they range from decreased sex drive and a reduction in erections, which may not be terribly alarming, to erectile dysfunction, or even impotence, which can wreak havoc in a man’s life.
Therapy Options and Testosterone Levels
Since testosterone levels begin to decline starting at age 30 and continue to do so at a staggering rate of 10 percent per decade, your own body can become your worst enemy. However, you can wage war with this middle aged enemy by avoiding the symptoms altogether, if you go to battle armed with the aforementioned information and a determination to be healthy.Although the level of intensity one uses to tackle andropausal symptoms is based on individual ability, overall, the prescription is the same for all men. You’ll need to take a self-disciplined approach to exercising regularly, managing stress, reducing tobacco and alcohol consumption, and maintaining a healthy diet.
For many men the first step is to simply put down the TV remote, pass on the potato chips and rediscover the great outdoors, the gym or some other cardio-enhancing destination. If you’re burning the candle at both ends – don’t. Just getting better sleep can be another way to offset testosterone loss.
There is one testosterone-building cure that’s easy to swallow for most any guy. According to Dr. Lamm, “Just increasing the amount of sex that you have will increase your own testosterone level.”
On the other hand, testosterone therapy will improve erectile function for those few patients with serious testosterone deficiency. But testosterone therapy should be administered with extreme caution in patients with any history of prostate cancer, or heart, kidney, or liver disease. But testosterone therapy is rarely helpful when hormone levels are already within the normal range. Too much of this hormone can also cause liver damage, tumors, or stop sperm production.
Ultimately, this can improve your testosterone levels and restore a flagging sex drive. There can be other benefits, including improving bone mass, preventing osteoporosis, increasing muscle strength, and decreasing cardiac risk. Rest assured, though, that such therapy does not cause prostate cancer, but it can increase the rate at which it grows.