1. Not Quite Equal Rights
While men may deny it, male menopause, also known as andropause, is a real condition. Similar to menopause in women, this condition is a decrease in hormone production. Though women's menopause ends with the total loss of the female hormone estrogen and the inability to have children, males don't quit making the hormone testosterone completely and are able to have children well into old age. Menopause is a natural progression in the life of women, but not necessarily so for all men. Andropause accompanies other illnesses like depression, obesity and conditions that cause a drop in producing testosterone.
2. Getting Hot Under the Collar
Men going through menopause experience hot flashes similar to what women endure. Hot flashes are just what the name indicates: episodes of extreme heat throughout your body that cause you to sweat excessively and eventually result in the chills. They can also cause you to feel nauseous and dizzy. A hot flash usually only lasts for a few minutes and happen from 2 to 4 hours apart from each other.
3. Riding the Mood Swing
Mood swings result from fluctuating hormone levels you experience during menopause. Your hormones affect the level of serotonin created in your brain, which in turn affects your mood. Your mood will be more positive with more serotonin and negative with less. These symptoms are usually not as intense for men as they are for women, but men will still feel the effects in the way they respond to various situations. When these symptoms persist over a longer period of time it may result in depression.
4. Mental-pause
Men will experience a change in their ability to concentrate and remember things with male menopause. While there is no clear link between hormone levels and memory loss, this symptom may result from the tension of menopause in general. The combination of hot flashes, mood swings, decreased libido, weight gain and other symptoms of andropause can cause a great deal of stress that lead to a lapse of your mental abilities. Forgetfulness occurs naturally with age so don't assume you're going through menopause just because you can't remember where you left your keys.
5. Slowing Down the Sex Drive
The most common symptom of male menopause is a decreased libido. Nearly 80% of men experience a decreased interest in and less pleasure with sex and may even have physical difficulties with performance. Testosterone replacement therapy can help with this problem but doesn't always solve it. Fortunately, many medications are available to treat erectile dysfunction that results from male menopause.
