I know this isn't the place to put this, but I trust all of your opinions sooo much that I wanted to know what you guys think.
Do Men Experience Menopause Too
It has been suggested that when men experience what is termed as a “Midlife Crisis” that they are going through a male version of menopause. This idea was scoffed at until scientist proved that men do have their own version of menopause. There are many reports showing that men go through the same mental, physiological and physical changes like a woman. Male menopause is technically known as andropause or viropause. It is more commonly known as a mid-life crisis. When a woman goes through menopause she experiences symptoms such as hot flashes, irritability, headaches/migraines, weight gain, chronic depression, fatigue, lack of energy and even mental alertness. On the sexual side menopause in a woman causes a lack in her libido, vaginal atrophy, vaginal dryness and even painful intercourse. With a man it is more complicated. Men take longer to heal during their menopause, suffer from loss of confidence, sleeplessness, and have a feeling that time is running out on them. Like women though men also suffer from the weight gain, irritability, decrease in memory and libido.
Like women the first sign that a man is starting to go through andropause is a loss of their sexual drive. While a woman just feels a decline in the desire to have sex men experience with this decrease in their libido a failure to awaken their member also known as impotence. While this can sometimes cause sexual frustration it is more common in the morning. According to DR. Conrad Swartz this is because during andropause a man’s testosterone level drops below 300ng the customary level of hypogonadism. At this level or below men are not able to have erections. 95% of the male testosterone is made in the testes, 5% in the adrenals in both men and woman, and the women get and extra 1% from their ovaries. Along with erectile dysfunction, a decrease in testosterone also contributes to rapid weight gain in, and decline in memory. It also contributes to advance aging in the facial areas, muscular and bone tissue weakening causing such conditions like osteoporosis. With the lowering of this chemical men experience a rise in their estrogen levels which can cause clogged arteries, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, an increase in abdominal fat, atrophy of the skin, and an increase in blood pressure and cholesterol.
There is hope however to ease the suffering from experience of andropause. There are support groups for men, testosterone replacement which will lower the risk of heart attacks due to the rise in blood pressure, and books like “Male Menopause” by Jed Diamond who has studied this medical myth as it is commonly termed for over thirty year. Mr. Diamond is a psychotherapist.
Males usually go through their menopause generally between the ages of 40 and 55, but it has been known to happen as early as age 35 and last as late as 65. According to Mr. Diamond the purpose of male menopause is to signal the end of the man’s First Adulthood and prepare them for the Second Adulthood. Men who embrace this shift in their system can move from experience the pressure of sexual performance to the enjoyment that it can produce, as well as being able to relate better with other men as friends rather than competitors. By going through andropause it encourages the older men to mentor the younger men as they go through their changes.
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