The expression, do you have the balls has a new meaning. According to new research over five million men suffer from male menopause. ” Robert Brannigan, MD, an urologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital states “Unfortunately, we estimate that 95 percent of cases are undiagnosed and therefore untreated. When ignored, symptoms can seriously disrupt one’s quality of life.”
- Image by David Jackmanson via Flickr
Researchers and physicians claim that as men get older their testicles do not produce enough testosterone, causing male hypogonadism – that doesn’t sound good. An article in Disable World explains how when testosterone, (the hormone produced by your testicles) levels drop you can experience significant mental and physical changes.
One thing you have going for you is men experience hormone shifts more slowly than women. Standard treatment is hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
“We are seeing more men affected by male hypogonadism than we saw ten years ago,” said Brannigan. “However, many men continue to suffer in silence due to a lack of awareness surrounding the disorder. Because male hypogonadism can significantly impact the quality of one’s life, it’s important that men pay attention to their body and openly discuss symptoms with their physician in order to prevent overlooking the cause and avoid missing an opportunity for appropriate therapy.”
Getting your balls back
From my 30 years of private practice and running a holistic medical clinic I have seen hundreds of men with the symptoms of male menopause. I doubt only but a few ever received that diagnosis. Yet, without the diagnosis I saw them improve from holistic treatments.
The key was removing the chronic stress held in their bodies and the unconscious behavior pattern perpetuating the stress. In another business we offered Mindfulness Stress Reduction courses to large corporations and hospital networks as well as to the public for the Phoenix metropolitan area. With both businesses we saw improvements when the stress left the body. The stress became a huge weight these men were dragging around. Because the stress and the associated behaviors developed slowly, the men didn’t realize the accumulating effects.
You can go to your doc and get your HRT treatments to treat the symptoms. My suggestion is that you look at the deeper causes to receive treatment at that level. Male menopause is not normal – it might be average. In simpler cultures you don’t see the high frequencies you see here.
When your body is fighting stress because it is stuck in the fight or flight response of the sympathetic nervous system you eventually become exhausted. First by removing that response and its effect you allow the body to rebuild. Then with holistic health techniques you can enhance the body’s rebuilding. Men – we don’t need to feel old. Male menopause can be prevented and cured. At 57 I have more energy and passion then I did at 27.