Men Really Don’t Have a Menopause, Do They?

Do Men have “Menopause”? The quick answer is yes…but it really isn’t “menopause.” Menopause means a cessation of menstruation. A cessation of a woman’s ability to have children.

Fathering children is not really a factor when discussing men. Men can, and have, continued to father children even into their 90’s — long after one would assume a time for male menopause. Especially when menopause is touted as happening between 45 and 55.

However, if you mean, do men go though physical and hormonal changes when they reach late middle age, the answer is yes. And, many men are sure it’s their change in hormones that are causing erectile difficulties and sabotaging satisfying senior sex.

For more than 50 years, the medical community has known of the progressive decline in androgen production in men as they age.

However, replacement therapy was not effective in changing the signs and experience of aging for many men. The decline seemed to be more a result of the deterioration of multiple organ and system functions, rather than just a decline in androgen.

Plus, there were additional unwanted effects from the use and abuse of the sex steroids that were tried as the solution.

Now, with the enormous number of aging men and women, not just in the US, but across the world, interest has turned again to how sexual hormones can be used to turn around the signs of aging in men. Similar to how hormones have been used for women

Popular web sites, television ads, and the pharmaceutical companies would have you believe all of the signs of aging have to do with decreasing levels of male hormones — especially testosterone. And, they are ready to leap into the breech and supply you with all the magic pills.

You know those pills. Like the ones Barry Bonds and his friends got into so much trouble for. And, so many other athletes have had so much trouble with.

Even the diagnosis of lowered male hormones is an issue. There are no magic tests that can tell for sure just how much testosterone is in your body, and no universal guidelines on how much is best.

Couple that with the likelihood of hormones levels fluctuating wildly throughout the day, and it becomes even harder to know how much you really have, and how much you really need to add.

Then there are the results of taking sex hormones.

Hormones build slowly in your body, so you can’t take a pill and see a reaction or results in the next few hours. It takes weeks, even months, to see the results.

And, like with women who take female hormones, men who take male hormones do tend to report a more positive outlook on life and feel better on measures of overall health, including sharper thinking.

Both men and women tend to report improvement in sexual desire and function, with men reporting having more interest and desire while many still do not experience an increase in their erectile ability..

But they aren’t the magic bullet when it comes to sexual activity. Especially when trying to increase the satisfaction you get with senior sex.

Any replacement hormone therapy, for men or women, needs to be constantly and thoroughly monitored for as long as you are taking them. Close attention needs to be paid to any hint of unwanted or untoward side effects or unexpected changes in your health.

And, like all drugs they can have unexpected or unwanted side effects, interact with other drugs you are taking, and can be expensive and not covered by your health plan.

Do not make the decision to take replacement hormone therapy quickly, or without serious conversations and testing by your physician. You don’t want to be sorry when it comes to your life and your health.

The results of replacement therapy are very much dependent upon the individual, or as they say in the ads, your results may vary.

And, you may want to think first of other answers to your questions about how to experience satisfying senior sex.