Not half the man you used to be?

Do you feel like a man-on-pause?

As men age, testosteronelevels in the body gradually become lower than in your younger days when you felt like you could conquer the world. Testosteroneis the hormone responsible for such typical masculine characteristics like deep voices, muscle mass, and facial and body hair patterns.

A shortage could mean tiredness, low sex drive, loss of strength, loss of muscle we call sarcopenia, increased body fat, and a whole lot of other symptoms. Unlike menopause these symptoms can creep up on you, very covertly and slowly and this is exactly why andropause (the male menopause)can be easily missed.

On average every year testosterone levels drop by 1%. Approximately 50% of testosterone remains strongly attached to a protein called SHBG. The testosterone that is bound to SHBG remains useless to a man. What men want is the circulating free testosterone or testosterone that is loosely bound to other proteins like albumin. It is this free testosterone which keeps energy levels up, which allows you to go for round 2 or 3 during sexual intercourse, which gives you the early morning ‘wood’ you experience on waking and the large muscles that men have keeping you lean.

For some men, this decrease in testosterone results in a condition calledandropause, which has a range of symptoms, including:

• low sex drive
• difficulties getting erections or erections that are not as strong as usual
• lack of energy
• depression
• irritability and mood swings
• loss of strength or muscle mass
• increased body fat
• hot flashes
• restlessness and difficulty concentrating
• generalised aches and pains

Like women, many men think it’s inevitable, part of aging, but hello?…what about aging gracefully. This is what anti aging medicine is about – it’s to take us through our years with preserved health and vitality.Andropause also increases the risk for osteoporosis, weakening of the bones, and cardiovascular problems such as atherosclerosis and hardening of the arteries – both of which are conditions associated with low testosterone. Additional long-term effects of andropause include obesity, muscle loss, anderectile dysfunction.

Yes there is such thing as the male menopause but it is remarkably different from that experienced by women. For starters,menopauseliterally means the end of menstruation, while there is no such specific signpost to characterise the condition for andropausal men.

Secondly, women experience a much faster drop-off in hormone levels than men do as they age – testosterone decreases gradually over decades, while the onset of menopause is relatively short.

How to test for low testosterone?

There’s no reason for this condition to get so many men down!

Doctors can easily diagnose low testosterone with a simple blood test, usually best performed in the morning, preferably before 10am. Alongside the testosterone test, you doctor will also assess for certain brain hormones and your estrogen levels (think of estrogen as the counter opposite hormone of testosterone). There is a “sweet spot” a man’s estrogen levels should ideally be at.

How to combat the testosterone decline?

Testosterone replacement therapy, which is available in a number of forms, has been shown to increase energy levels, muscle mass, bone density, and sex drive and to reduce other symptoms in men who suffer from low testosterone for a range of reasons. Testosterone supplements come in a variety of forms, including gels and injections.