Hot Flash Gordon

Male menopause. It’s real and it affects about 5 million men. The symptoms are fatigue, mood swings, decreased desire for sex, hair loss, lack of concentration and weight gain. Yeah, welcome to my world.

Male hypogonadism (!) occurs when testosterone levels decrease, the hormone that plays a key role in masculine growth and development. When those levels decrease because of age, men can experience menopausal side effects.

“This is a highly prevalent disorder,” said Robert Brannigan, MD, urologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “Unfortunately, we estimate that 95% of cases are undiagnosed and therefore untreated. When ignored, symptoms can seriously disrupt one’s quality of life.”

It’s all normal. “In females, ovulation comes to an end and hormone production declines in a relatively quick period of time, whereas men experience hormone shifts more slowly, with testosterone levels dropping around one percent each year beginning in a man’s late thirties,” explained Brannigan.

By the time a man is seventy his testosterone production could be down as much as 50%. Like women, men can take advantage of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) through implants, gels, patches or injections. If you are experiencing symptoms, don’t make any assumptions and talk to your doctor. The symptoms can mean a lot of different things and even hypogonadism can be a symptom itself of some other disorder including high cholesterol, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. And don’t forget infertility.

A simple blood test will tell the story.

Source: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Science Daily