Male Menopause Signs and Treatment

When hormone levels of men drop in the near 50's, this is what we so call as the "male menopause" state.

A debatable subject, male menopause is a controversial stage in a man's life. For women, menopause is limited to the suppression of a bodily operation, like when the regular menstruation cycle stops. There's also a severe drop in the hormone levels in women that happen along with menopause. Based on this fact, medical experts are still in doubt on whether menopause can be applied to men.

For men, during their mid and their olden years, little quantities of testosterone are created in the testicles. This has been formulated that this may be the cause for the appearance of symptoms of male menopause.

Symptoms of male menopause include sleep disturbance, irritability, sweating, low sex drive, sadness, memory problems, erectile dysfunction, and anxiety.

Erectile dysfunction could be caused by other factors but insufficiency of testosterones could be one cause.

It is advisable that males particularly men who experience these symptoms related to lowering on the count of testosterone be examined in medical investigations like urine samples to evaluate the levels of their testosterone

Having short testosterone levels can also be caused by testicular dysfunction and probably inherited features from their parents. Men with low level of testosterone can be treated with hormone replacement therapy. Symptoms that come with the defect can also be treated.

Men who seek treatment for their erectile dysfunction may not have their hormone replaced unless they have very few count of androgen. It has been agreed that a considerable dose of testosterone can improve interest in sex for younger men.

Androgen replacement therapy, commonly called as testosterone replacement therapy is applied to reduce the symptoms with male menopause. This process is a lifelong treatment since testosterone deficiency is stereotypically a permanent condition.

The process of testosterone replacement therapy can be taken as an implant, oral prescription, or through injections.

In the injection method, injection of testosterone is usually done once every two weeks.

To those who can't take the feeling of being injected or surgeries, oral drugs are specially designed.

Testosterone implants work by supplying testosterone directly into the blood veins and arteries. These materials are inserted beneath the skin of a man's abdomen or buttock for some months.

This testosterone replacement therapy can however cause risk and its side effects.

The prostate tends to shrink with low levels of testosterone. A physically reduced prostate cannot be recovered by a hormone replacement therapy since these therapies don't have influence in the production of prostate specific antigen.

Increased risk of prostate cancer for those who have naturally higher testosterone levels in the same age category may not be caused by Androgen therapy though.

On the contrary, the reliability of hormone replacement therapy and what it may cause on the prostate, brain functioning, and circulatory system still need to undergo more adequate researches. In addition, there is also further development on researches on how androgen therapy affects the bones and muscles.

Another risk is that androgen therapy may also cause heart disease, although not yet fully proven by researchers. However it has been observed and concluded that those who have heart attack problems are the ones who have low testosterone count.

Elderly men should be diagnosed of prostate cancer before being applied with androgens.

The cessation of breathing during sleep, what we call as sleep apnea, is also considered as a risk when having hormone therapy.