What We Bet You Never Knew About Male Menopause or Andropause

By: Staff Writer
9/23/2009 10:11:00 AM
Andropause is a rarely discussed condition that is characterized by a drop in the level of testosterone in men as they age, as discussed on "The Doctors." It is similar to menopause, but most people know very little about it.

The word menopause has come to belong almost exclusively to women. Hormone therapy and treatment options target women, helping them though this difficult time of life. Despite all the attention given to female menopause, male menopause- or andropause- has been all but ignored by much of the medical community. The lack of attention given to this condition- characterized by a drop in testosterone levels- is detrimental to men who are suffering from the symptoms associated with male menopause. 

Fortunately, ReNEW Man, a national organization of doctors who provide treatment for male menopause, are finally providing men suffering from andropause a treatment option that can help. 

Male menopause is characterized by a drop in testosterone levels caused by aging, just as a drop in hormones causes female menopause. Symptoms of male menopause include a decreased or diminished sex drive, loss of sexual function, low energy, and depression. Many of these symptoms are not recognized as symptoms of male menopause, and are treated with medications designed to cure the symptom instead of the cause. 

Anti-depressant medications and erectile dysfunction medicines can resolve the problems associated with andropause on a temporary basis, but unless the underlying lack of hormones is treated, men will have to continue these medications on an indefinite basis to prevent the systems from manifesting again. ReNEW Man believes they have found the escape from this cycle of antidepressant medication, erectile dysfunction, and dissatisfaction by treating the cause, not the symptoms. 

Founded in 1999 by Jim Michels, ReNEW Man was created to assist men aged 35 and over who want to have more energy, more enthusiasm, and a better sex life for both themselves and their partners. ReNEW Man seeks to provide awareness of male menopause, and to bring attention to the fact that, according to Michels, “no one avoids declines in male hormones.” Since its founding, ReNEW Man says they've helped countless men to cope with the symptoms of male menopause and enter into their forties, fifties and beyond with the vitality and energy of a much younger man by providing treatment that actually targets the cause of the problem. 

The ReNEW Man treatment program is administered by a network of local doctors in most major cities who understand the importance of effectively treating andropause with hormone replacement. Instead of using medication to essentially put a bandage on the larger problem, doctors in the ReNEW Man network treat the low testosterone with hormone therapy designed to restore the level of testosterone in the male body to that of a man in his twenties. ReNEW Man claims that the hormone therapy is both safe and effective. This individualized hormone therapy provided for patients has produced a new wave of success in andropause care.