Andropause: More Than ‘Male Menopause’

I’m in my fifties, and many of my friends are in my age group or near it. Talking with some friends I learned that their husbands’ moods had recently, suddenly and drastically changed. Their fun-loving partners of many years had become more like Jekyll and Hyde than their cuddly normal selves. They were experiencing mood swings, sometimes severe bouts of tears or rage, and appeared to be all over the place. I thought that there must be a scientific term for males who are experiencing a change in life, and discovered andropause.

Andropause normally begins in males in their late thirties or early forties, caused by changes in testosterone and estrogen production, like menopause in females. Men, you need hormones for more than your libido. You need both testosterone and estrogen. All humans can benefit from varying amounts of these hormones for physical, mental, and emotional health.

Estrogen is typically discussed as the ‘female’ sex hormone and testosterone as the ‘male’ sex hormone, but you should know that both sexes need both hormones in varying amounts. Our bodies are ruled by hormones for a lot of functions, and today we’re discussing sex hormones. In addition to estrogen and testosterone we all have follicle-stimulating hormones and luteinizing hormones that stimulate our gonads (ovaries and testes) to make estrogen and testosterone.

So let’s explore andropause. When men approach periandropause and andropause, they can experience a variety of symptoms that are normal factors in this change of life.

Falling estrogen levels can affect mood and emotions in males too. Estrogen is an important component in every person’s emotional balance and a multifunction hormone for males, crucial for promoting sexual function, maintaining bone density and helping regulate cholesterol. In males there are two types of estrogen, estrone and estradiol, both necessary for proper functioning.

You need estrogen in your body to produce sperm. Another concern with low estrogen in males is hypogonadism, which is a condition that causes a lack of hormone production in your whole body, meaning lower testosterone too. Too much estrogen can cause myriad problems, including erectile dysfunction (due to impairment of blood flow), weight gain, gynecomastia (manboobs), reduced sex drive, depression, reduction in sperm production and lower-quality sperm, muscle loss and more. It’s a careful balance between too much and too little.

Let’s look at testosterone in andropause. As males age, their production of testosterone slows and reduces. This can cause many symptoms, including loss of energy, mood swings, irritability, increase in body fat, reduction in muscle mass, difficulty getting and maintaining an erection, reduced sex drive, depression, angry outbursts, rage, testicular atrophy (shrinking of the testicles), loss of elasticity in the skin, swelling of breast tissue, thinning of hair and even hair loss, and erosion of cognition and memory.

More serious medical problems can come for males with the reduction in testosterone, like stroke, gall-bladder problems, ulcerative colitis, uncontrolled diabetes, and myocardial infarction (heart attack). It’s very important for males to get their testosterone checked in their thirties and forties to prevent problems. If you or a loved one is experiencing these symptoms, go see your medical provider, who can run some blood tests to determine your hormone levels and recommend treatment.

Another important sex hormone in males is progesterone. Progesterone helps with sleep, production of bone mass, thyroid hormone production, and brain activity. This is another hormone level your provider may check.

These changes are nothing to be ashamed of, and if you’re out there feeling like you’ve changed and lost control of your libido, emotions or cognition, it could be because you’re experiencing andropause. If your hormones are off balance, there are ways your medical provider can assist you with options for getting them back to the levels you need for homeostasis. Primary-care doctors, endocrinologists and even some cardiologists do this.

If you or a loved one is experiencing any of these symptoms, see your provider. If you have no insurance, the Yavapai County Health Department lists providers who can see you on a sliding-scale fee basis. They also have wonderful people who can help you apply for AHCCCS and other health plans. You do not have to suffer in silence or inside your head. There are therapies that can correct these imbalances and get you feeling like your old self soon.

This is Hedda Fay reminding you that our bodies are fleshy machines, sometimes they need extra stuff to keep us moving around and feeling comfortable. If you’re feeling foreign in your own skin, go see a provider and get a hormonal tuneup!