Mid-life Crisis or Male Menopause?

Male menopause describes a set of symptoms concerning physical ailments. The changes in the male body occur gradually starting around age 35 and continuing through the 80's.

There are two distinct issues that males can face as they age. One is a psychological issue and the other is a physiological phenomenon. They both strike when males are clearing the hurdles that kept them young and virile. They both come at a time when they are staring down the barrel of old age and their supposed "golden years". They are not quite ready for those years yet, but know that they are there just over the horizon. The first issue, the psychological issue is often referred to as, "mid-life crisis" and can put a real tail-spin on men as they round the corner from youth into their "over the hill" years. This issue is all psychological (how they think about who they are). The second issue is mostly physiological in nature (biological), more physical than anything else. It has to do with their aging bodies and is a process of science and biology. The first issue deals with how they see themselves and others can notice the second issue too. The first issue is the butt of many jokes and birthday cards. The second is a fairly controversial topic in the medical field as studies are still being conducted to validate male menopause.

Mid-life Crisis

Males are a group of hormonal thinking individuals during their teens. They tend to be motivated by those ever present desires to be better than the next guy, to be good at sports, or win the admiration of the ladies. They strive for perfection through college, in their careers and in their home lives. Achieving their goals or ones set up for them is similar to climbing an almost unreachable mountain. All of their physical stamina and boundless energy is focused on the prize. It takes mental and physical agility and male testosterone to reach the peak of their career and family life. Once they reach that peak they no longer have the peak to look forward to, they must look down. Life changes for them, if married with kids, parenting changes gear about this time from parenting young kids to parenting teens and college aged young adults. Men have typically reached their peak in their careers as well and usually are not required to prove their male superiority as much as when they were climbing the ladder of success. Life without challenges is very different to the male of our species. They start to question where they are in life and whom they are with, causing many marital rough spots. The crisis becomes most apparent if they struggle with how to cope with these realizations or have trouble expressing their feelings or both.

Male Menopause:

Male menopause describes a set of symptoms concerning physical ailments. The changes in the male body occur gradually starting around age 35 and continuing through the 80's. The symptoms become more noticeable around age 45 or 50 when the lowered testosterone level drops low enough to cause symptoms.

The physical results of lowered testosterone caused more than just sexual symptoms, it can cause a loss of bone mass that contributes to the occurrence of hip fractures.

The sexual symptoms of male menopause that do not occur with a mid-life crisis are:

Male Hormone Replacement Therapy The normal male from puberty up to 35 has a FSH of 5 to 20 mIU/mL. Men will also have their testosterone level tested at the same time that their FSH level is tested. If the first test results come back abnormal they will probably be tested a second time to compare results.

An obvious decrease in sexual drive

Erections are not as strong as usual leading to an inability to perform

Non-sexual symptoms are:

General lack of energy

Noticeable decrease in endurance or strength

Depression, being sad or grumpy more so than is typical

Irritable

Extreme fatigue

Male Menopause or Andropause

12/31/1969