Male Menopause?

Is there a male menopause?
Dr. Male menopause is a controversial area of discussion. But unlike women, wherein there is an acute cessation of hormone production from the ovaries and subsequent menopause, in males there is a gradual decline in serum testosterone levels starting at the age of 40.
What is testosterone?
Dr. Testosterone is a male hormone. The decline in male hormone levels is a very slow gradual process and there is no single point where one can say that a man has attained menopause, as you would do in the case of a woman. There are changes associated with this decline, which are similar to changes that women undergo at menopause.
At what age does male menopause begin?
Dr. It starts very gradually. If you see the physiology of the male hormones, there is a pubital spurt wherein a boy becomes a man, he attains puberty. Now this spurt gives you an excess of male hormones and growth hormones. As time passes both these hormones begin to decrease. The growth hormone starts decreasing by 20 years of age and the male hormone at about the age of 30 or 35.
What are the symptoms of male menopause?
Dr.  The symptoms usually are loss of muscle strength, weakness, inability to concentrate, depression and lack of energy. But a lot of men tend to give importance to impotence or erectile dysfunction and therefore, a lot of males would complain of andropause once they have erectile dysfunction.
What is the treatment?
Dr. The symptoms can be treated by the supplementation of testosterone, which can be done in a variety of ways like injection, patches or pills.
  What are the physical symptoms of male menopause and what are the remedies available?
Dr.  The physical symptoms of male menopause are depression, fatigue, muscle weakness, lethargy and low serum testosterone level. Administration of testosterone will clearly have a benefit.
  What is the ideal way of providing testosterone – a tablet or an injection?
Dr.   Testosterone is available in three forms and the most commonly used is the injectable testosterone. The other two are scrotal patches and tablets. The tablets are quite expensive. The injection (given twice weekly) costs about Rs. 110 each and the tablets (given thrice a day) cost Rs. 30 per tablet.
I have diabetes since the last 5 years. It is said that diabetics experience reduction in libido. Is there any link between diabetics and male menopause?
Dr. Most diabetics do not have a testosterone problem. They have a problem of blood flow wherein the flow of the blood to the penile area or the groin area is low because the arteries become narrow, so you don’t get good erection. Or there is a problem with the nerves due to which a diabetic man’s erection is affected.
I have osteoporosis of the hip bone and my bone density is low, is it a sign of male menopause? I had bypass surgery and I am taking a lot of heart related drugs, do these drugs affect osteoporosis?
Dr.  You are not a good candidate for testosterone supplements. You can continue with your heart medications.
Why is he not a good candidate for testosterone?
Dr.  Firstly, it is important to demonstrate that the low bone density at the hip is because of low testosterone. So the first step would be to demonstrate that he has low testosterone. If he does have a low testosterone level, he would be prone to side effects of testosterone, and he would possibly have drug interactions. More importantly, if he has underlying definite heart disease, then testosterone, at least theoretically, can aggravate the heart disease. As he said that he has had a bypass and is on multiple drugs, it means he is not a good candidate for testosterone. He can treat his osteoporosis with other good available remedies, which include calcium, vitamin D as well as other drugs like Bisphosphonate.
There are many men at the age of 65 or 70 who have fathered children, but women at the age of 50 or 60 cannot bear children. How do you explain this?
Dr. The biggest example is Charlie Chaplin who fathered a child at 80 years of age. But if you see the testosterone levels in males even at 80 years of age, 50 percent would have a decline in testosterone but 50 percent would still have normal testosterone level; therefore, it is not age that dictates andropause and this is the reason why we insist on documenting a low testosterone.
I am a 24 years old bodybuilder. A few days back, I went to a chemist who advised me to take testosterone tablets in order to increase my strength to lift heavier weights. Does this help?
Dr. I think, you better stay away from his advice. We do not recommend testosterone for bodybuilding as it has harmful side effects.