Definitely.
Last week, wrote how actor Naomi Watts experienced menopause symptoms earlier than she ever dreamed possible, her mid thirties.
For men, testosterone levels start drifting downward in this decade as well. Most men don’t notice anything, others do feel something is “off”.
“My energy is not the same.”
“Don’t have interest in sex like I used to. My wife is complaining.”
You’ll feel this even more in your forties, fifties, sixties. Although testosterone acts through your entire body, muscles, brain, and so forth, most of the “getting older” issues occur in the area that energy healers would politely term your “lower chakras”.
This gives rise to three cardinal rules:
1. Never walk by a toilet without peeing. Your prostate is getting larger and in the process your bladder is getting smaller and holds less urine. You’ll need to pee more often (‘urgency’) it may take longer to get started (‘hesitancy’), you’ll be awakened in the middle of the night to pee (‘nocturia’). This combo is called Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy and if it gets severe you’ll need to see a urologist. If you leak pee regularly (“dribbling”), your urologist may recommend wearing Depends for Men. Mentally, you will adamantly refuse to do this until you have embarrassed yourself at a Board Meeting, looked down and see that you’ve soaked your tan Calvin Klein slacks
2. Never waste an erection. Their days are numbered. However, the medications for erectile dysfunction (Viagra, Cialis, etc.) are safe, effective and even with no insurance, very inexpensive. Moreover, recent studies have shown that when Cialis (tadalfil) is taken on a daily basis, it treats BOTH erectile dysfunction and for many men, after two months, actually reverses symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy. You’ll be treated E.D. and B.P.H. with one pill a day!
3. Never trust a fart. This is self explanatory but you may need to be careful about your diet or your supplements to reduce their potential for endangering you. Try to avoid foods that make you gassy. Certain supplements, magnesium especially, can excessively loosen your stool. Of course, Depends can cover your ass, literally and figuratively, but remember, you’re opposed to using them.
So where does testosterone figure into this?
A few testosterone facts:
–You need testosterone for muscle-building (20-somethings are loaded with the stuff, and if they exercise they do look great). Your muscles will start getting flabby during male menopause, especially if you don’t exercise. What’s genuinely annoying is that even when you do exercise, you just don’t see the same results as you did when younger.
- Testosterone is a source of general energy and sense of well-being, so a mild sense of fatigue is the most prevalent symptom of male menopause. Along with fatigue, there’s a drop in your feel-good brain chemical serotonin. You may feel depressed but interestingly a commoner mood disorder is ‘anger’ and ‘moodiness’. Remember the movie “Grumpy Old Men”?
- Then there’s the sex drive issue. It was those surging levels of testosterone that drove you crazy thinking about those high school cheerleaders or sharing issues of Playboy with your friends. By your fifties or sixties, you’re just not the same guy. Most men need both testosterone and a Viagra/Cialis for best results as testosterone does not much help with erectile dysfunction. BTW, you need to make sure that one of your prescription meds doesn’t have “sexual dysfunction” as a side effect.
- While there are many reasons for being fatigued or grumpy beyond the low testosterone of male menopause, I do measure testosterone if a patient is concerned about either of these symptoms.
If test results are inappropriately low (remember, don’t expect levels of a 20-year-old), the easiest way to restore them to normal is through daily application of testosterone skin creams.
From my own prescribing experience, the testosterone creams prepared by compounding pharmacies are superior to those produced by Big Pharma. This is because the Big Pharma products have a fixed concentration (one size fits all), whereas the compounded products can be gradually adjusted, usually upward, until testosterone blood levels are in the top 10% of normal range.
Research does indeed confirm that long-term testosterone use improves overall quality of life. However, health insurers rarely pay for testosterone if your levels are anywhere within the normal range. This means that if your level is just 5% above “normal” your insurer will call it “normal” and deny coverage. Big Pharma’s testosterone is overpriced anyway, averaging $300 monthly. The cost for a compounding pharmacy to produce just what you need is usually less than $100 a month.
In the past there were concerns that testosterone therapy increased the risk of prostate cancer. This has now been proven to be incorrect. Moreover, a recent paper published in 2024 showed that men with very low testosterone are at an increased risk of dying prematurely from heart disease.
What to expect when you increase your testosterone?
More energy and libido both very likely. Less irritability and brain fog, probably. If you’re a health club regular, you’ll be pleased with some new definition in his abs (“washboard”, however, is pressing your luck).
If you’re interested in getting your testosterone measured (along with other hormones, like adrenal and thyroid) call or go online to WholeHealth Chicago and schedule with one of our practitioners.
Be well,
David Edelberg, MD