MALE MENOPAUSE

Summary: The truths and the half truths on male menopause.

Before you laugh your head off when you think about your partner experiencing the symptoms women have during menopause, think again. Males can actually experience those. While your partner may brush off his mood swings and decreasing sex drive as the result of too much pressure from work, he may actually be having the male menopause symptoms.

Male menopause has been debated on as being a fact or plain fiction. However, research has proved that males do experience their own version of menopause. While male menopause does not exhibit a noticeable sign, like the end of menstruation period for the female, male menopause is caused by a drop in hormonal levels as well. Low estrogen levels causes females to menopause while a low testosterone level results to male menopause termed as andropause. Some men are in constant denial up to now about the existence of a male menopause. And they have been waving their “ageless male” banners for everyone to read. Men NEVER accept the fact that their sex drives are not as virile when they are in their 40’s than when they were in their 20’s. They insist on being sex gods all the way to their graves.

Male menopause is not just the scheme of some feminists to deflate men’s ego. There is scientific evidence proving its existence. Some men would rather call this as “mid-life crisis” although this is said to be something else as well. Middle-age crisis is simply a psycho-social issue. It does not necessarily happen to every male and does not at all times influence his sexual life. Male menopause on the other hand is a natural physiological occurrence that greatly affects the sexual drive around the age of 40. Studies also revealed that the male gradually decreases testosterone hormone production around that time. So when a man is around 80, his hormone level is that of pre-puberty level. While men can continue to father children during and long after their menopause, a significant decrease in their testosterone level will affect their sexual capacity.

Male menopause symptoms are somewhat similar to those experienced by women during menopause. However, male menopause symptoms are generally more sexually-related, some of which are: decrease sex drive; decrease in strength and endurance; and less strong erections. Symptoms common to both male and female menopause are the behavior problems and sleep disorders.

The next time you see an eighty-year old male dating a twenty-year old babe, don’t be too harsh in thinking that they are fooling themselves. There may be more to the relationship than sex. And let men wave their banners of “ageless male” for all eternity. After all, they need to keep telling themselves that.