September Blog Andropause

• We will be CLOSED Monday September 6th for the Labor Day Holiday.  Have a safe and enjoyable holiday.
• OFFICE HOURS:  I will be out of the office on Saturday September 18th weekend conducting a seminar in San Angelo.
• School is back in session so keep an eye out for the kiddies.  Their attention spasns sometimes distracts them from their safety.  Remember unless you have a couple hundred you like throwing away, cell phones in school zones will cost you.
• Please note our office does back to school physicals for sports. 

Andropause (male menopause):  As we age, it is not uncommon for our sex hormones to decrease.  Men experience this as well as women although sometimes our symptoms don't seem to be a noticeable.  We don't get hot flashes and have the emotional issues associated with the changed hormones.  I decided recently to have mine checked recently since I've moved over the 6th decade line and was starting to experince some of the symptoms.  That and a patient's husband also was undergoing replacement with good results.  Lo and behold mine were not only low but off the bottom of the range for testosterone (total and free) and DHEA-S.  So what are the symptoms of the so-called male menopause or "andropause"?  Note:  The WHO does not recognize the term but rather "hypogonadism" is the more appropriate term.

• "male climacteric" including loss of libido and potencyDiminished sexual desire and erectile quality. In particular, a decrease in nocturnal erections is a significant sign of decreased androgens 
• Mood changes. This can also be associated with decreases in intellectual activity, fatigue, depression, anger and poor spatial orientation, nervousness, impaired memory, inability to concentrate
• decrease in lean body mass, along with decreases in muscle mass and strength.
• decrease in body hair. 
• decrease in bone density resulting in osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can often lead to increased incidence of bone fractures and breaks.
• increase in fat surrounding the internal organs
• fatigue
• insomnia
• hot flushes
• sweating 
• Andropause has been observed in association with Alzheimer's disease

If you are having many of the above symptoms, your hormone levels may be low.  Lab tests can be ordered by your doctor.