New York, Oct. 20, 2007
Male Menopause? No Myth
Dr. Holly Phillips Explores Symptoms And Treatments For The Male Change
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Play CBS Video Video Spotting Male Menopause Most people associate menopause with women, but can men be affected as well? Dr. Holly Phillips tells Chris Wragge the surprising answer.
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Video Keeping Dad Healthy Statistics show that men are more prone to sickness and injury. As Dr. Emily Senay suggests to Russ Mitchell, what better than to give dad the gift of health this Father's Day.
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(AP/CBS)
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Interactive HealthWatch Explore health issues including AIDS, cancer and antibiotics.
Early Show "Healthwatch" contributor Dr. Holly Phillips has surprising information about male menopause.
Is there really a male menopause? This isn't something we've heard that much about.
Yes, men do have drops in hormone levels like women. For men it's testosterone, for women it's estrogen. The big difference is, for women menopause signals a time when they stop ovulating, when they can no longer have babies. Men through their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, it's a different situation.
Men can feel symptoms - lethargy for one. What's most important is if you are having symptoms, if have fatigue, you don't feel like yourself, the most important thing is to get to the doctor because it may not be male menopause causing these symptoms.
Symptoms:
At what age do you need to be on the lookout if you are experiencing any or all of these things?
Male menopause is different in that it starts earlier and goes over a long period of time. You can see changes beginning in your 40s and then go all the way through your 80s.
How is it diagnosed?
There's a blood test to test for testosterone levels. More importantly, get to the doctor and make sure nothing else is going on.
Do you get a sense that more and more people are coming in with symptoms of male menopause? Is it something that's basically turned a new leaf here medically - is it more prevalent than ten years ago?
I would say people are more interested in it, they're looking at possible symptoms. And there are treatments as well: We can give testosterone, usually in injections or a gel or patch form. But it's not for everyone because there are risks.
There are certain things you can do non-medically to not exacerbate some of the symptoms. These are certain behaviors you really need to stay away from:
Risk Factors:
I mean, you take part in all that, and forget about it - you'll have these symptoms a lot sooner. One more good reason to take care of yourself by exercising - you don't have to be in the gym for hours a day, a half an hour four times a week is enough to make a really big difference.
Side effects to treatments?
There can be side effects. Just like with women's hormone replacement therapy, men's has risks, too. It can increase your chances of getting a blood clot, and cause increased chances of prostate cancer. So it's you and your doctor making this decision together.
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Add a Comment See all 39 Comments
- "These are certain behaviors you really need to stay away from:
Risk Factors:
Excessive Alcohol
Smoking
High Blood Pressure
Poor Diet
Lack of Exercise"
Oh, honestly. Ya think? Is this the newsflash of the day? - Reply to this comment
- sure they go thru the change of life tho different than us ladies who go thru the change. As a woman I hated it. It made me weak just my mother. For men,it is a rite of passage to becoming a senior.
- Reply to this comment
- good promotional for the capitalistic medical
community, patronized by the leisure classes.
physician heal thyself? aren''t medical dictatorships
great to live in? its'' a matter of world health.
feeling paying taxes to the us public health
service? oh, but what do you care about health?
can money buy you eternal life? eternal health?
how about feeling eternally ill? the injured
and the problem of pain by c.s. lewis. well
most of us just rely on faith healing. why?
what gave the guy a heart attack was the doctors
and hospitals bill. i worked in a collection
agency as a full-charge bookkeeper. most of
our clients were doctors, who wanted to squeeze
blood out of turnips. interest upon interest they
owed. so many were found in contempt of court.
those who owed and owed and owed. collection
agencies love deadbeats. without them, they
don''t make a living. how ironic. and symbiotic. - Reply to this comment
- Nothing really new here. The male menopause has been covered in the scientific literature for years.
- Reply to this comment
- erasmus6...
I''ll see this man in a few months and get more details. He lives in Nova Scotia and visits from New Years through April. Perhaps the infection lingered or presented difficulties he knew nothing about. - Reply to this comment
- "He had to wait one year or so to have his teeth replaced after they were pulled out due to an infection." posted by drivelphobe
Yikes,are you kidding me? I have never heard of such a thing. I have known people that have had their teeth pulled and usually they get the teeth replaced immediately. The only thing I can think of is that maybe this person''s infection was severe and maybe because of it they couldn''t take impressions because of swelling or something. Also they would not want to replace them until all sign of infection was gone but a year seems like an awful long time. Maybe he had a hard time getting rid of the infection or they wanted to wait and make sure it wouldn''t come back. - Reply to this comment
- To answer the question about blood clots: It''s just that the testosterone causes you to produce more red blood cells which, ideally, you should find a way to reduce. My doctor simply told me to give blood regularly. That apparently has more than an immediate impact on one''s red blood cell supply.
- Reply to this comment
- Hi erasmus6..
I''m never mad at you. Your opinions are backed with clear thinking and logic. I don''t always agree, but that''s why we can have a conversation.
I''m not a fan of the Clintons, but,in my opinion, you are correct regarding your statement about the qualities of women. Not only are they more peaceful seeking and concerned about familiy, they have a keen ability for verbal confrontation and are often far better on their feet than men. Women learn early in life how to defend themselves and make postions clear using skills other than fist fights and physical intimidation. They learn to use their language skills and their brains way ahead of the males. They make excellent attorneys.
The male menapause brought out lots of sideline discussion. You are right that I do feel it is every person for themselves regarding healthcare, except for the truly needy, thus our Medicaid system.
I hope we do learn something from Canada''s health care program. I have no factual knowledge of your health system other than a situation with a personal acquaintance. He had to wait one year or so to have his teeth replaced after they were pulled out due to an infection. He was very upset about the delay.
Have a great weekend and I''ll watch for more of your stimulating comments in the future. - Reply to this comment
- Gaye5
One thing I do know is that people will come up with all sorts of things to discredit someone, it doesn''t make it true, though. - Reply to this comment
- Gaye5
"Wasn''''t Hillary involved in some crimes a few years ago before her husband made the white house??? one was something to do with land???"
I think I did hear something about that but nothing came of it. I don''t think she was guilty of any wrong doing.
"...and Wasn''''t there something to do with three boys who were hiding and who saw a plane come in which was loaded with drugs etc..."
I have never heard of anything like that. Maybe you are thinking of someone else. - Reply to this comment
- erasumus8...Yes on a site on line I needed a sign in so 2 of the question were {multiple choise} they asked favorite food and personality I choose crazy and meat and it''s stuck I''m to lame to come up with new passwords for every site.
- Reply to this comment
- I agree totally that men do have a problem with hormones as they grow older, just as women do. My husband also had to go on replacements after an accident, (ouch) but we have found that it only lasts for a while before it doesn''t make any difference again, so we try other things like the natural and then back to what ever just to trick the liver..
It is essential to get a Dr who specializes in natural medicines as well so as to get the total range of tests done, this way a real diagnosis can me made, normal Dr''s only know part of the problem as they cant know everything. Often the thyroid needs tests done also for the T3 and T4..
My husband also had his amalgams out which has helped as well..
We have to remember that the 4th cause of deaths in America is pharmaceutical drugs so where possible go natural.. - Reply to this comment
- erasmus6 I read a study once which said that tests done on women who achieve high positions have far more testosterone than most women. To be able to cope with the stressful situations their body puts out more testosterone.
Wasn''t Hillary involved in some crimes a few years ago before her husband made the white house??? one was something to do with land??? If I can hear this here in OZ, you guys should know.. I can remember it being a big deal then...and Wasn''t there something to do with three boys who were hiding and who saw a plane come in which was loaded with drugs etc... - Reply to this comment
- "While you may find criticism for this article, I can tell you that this is and can be a serious condition in certain individuals. I am 55 years old, and about 5 years ago I was diagnosed with low testosterone. I was feeling terrible at the the time, and after a series of blood test, I was discovered that my body had completely almost completely stopped producing testosterone. My testosterone level was 85. Normal levels for a man of my age at the time was 400-600. I now have to take a testosterone shot twice a month, to maintain a reasonable testosterone level, but the difference in how I felt before, and how I feel now is very much worth taking the shots to main a reasonable testosterone level."
Posted by renrivers
I am curious about how long it took you to get that diagnosis and then start treatment. I spent 5 years being told I wasn''t experiencing menopause, that it was simply stress from my job. Finally I demanded an estrogen level test, and the rest is history. Right up until they pulled Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) off of the market, because 20 years of testing proved it caused breast cancer. My mother died from breast cancer, so I am a bit concerned. Meanwhile, I live with my symptoms. - Reply to this comment
- CBS/ reports, "There can be side effects. Just like with women''s hormone replacement therapy, men''s has risks, too. It can increase your chances of getting a blood clot, and cause increased chances of prostate cancer..."
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In the medical literature, testosterone is not implicated for blood clots, so it is not clear from the article what Phillips meant.
Male HRT typically should use bio-identical testosterone (exactly the same as produced by the body), but beyond that, there seems no immediate problem from the testosterone, itself.
In all cases, however, experiment with HRT under professional medical care.
In older men, there is a problem with the conversion of testosterone into harmful derivatives, including estradiol, an estrogen which is responsible for accumulation of fat and muscle atrophy. Ask the doctor for methods to deal with estrogenization of your normal testosterone levels. - Reply to this comment
- Wonder: Re: RLS
The drug clonzapam/Klonopin (sp?)works very well for some who have the disease. - Reply to this comment
- The whole idea of a capitalist medical system totally controlled by the A.M.A. here is terrible. It has an interesting history we are not allowed to know much about. initially medical schools had to develop and standardize curricula. These medical schools were funded or influenced by the chemical industry. Faber and the German dye/textile industry was most influential in the kind of medicine practiced today. I am not sure of all the facts, but one interested can do some detective work to find more on all the history of medicine. I believe the greatest problem is that it is so very self serving, capitalistic and very "patriarchal", in that we have to go to these people who have total control over what we are allowed to do with our bodies. We might know very well ourselves that we need some particular lab test, and we might know very well how to interpret those results, etc., but we aren''t even allowed to get the tests without going to some doctor or clinic and paying a lot for a visit. Basic medicine should be taught in schools from grade one. There''s no reason why every child can''t be taught the basics of human physiology, be able to take their own vital signs and know a lot about treating themselves. We would still need specialists who might act as wise consultants when we needed to delve more deeply into some medical/health issue, but we should be given the freedom to have the tools we need to take care of most of our own health care.
- Reply to this comment
- crzmeat
What does the "crz" stand for? CRAZY? - Reply to this comment
- retmilspouse you are right about health food stores and companies, they are also out to make money, any business is, but unlike pharmaceutical companies they have to go through far stricter scrutinies simply because even after all their testing if one tablet appears to have killed or damages someone that whole product is totally taken off the market.. Whereas it is only after years of experimenting on we humans and after hundreds or thousands of deaths and damaged people does a Pharmaceutical company except that his product must be taken off the market, and even then they often just change one molecule and it is back on the market as a new you bute product to kill more, or they sell it to undeveloped countries who don''t know the dangers of it, this way they get back the money spent on production.. I have pages of drugs which are suposed to be safe which have been taken off the market because hundreds to thousands of people have died or are injured from it..
Pharmaceutical companies experiment on the unspecting public, where as the natural products in health tablets have generally had centuries of experimenting done, simply by people using a plant for what ever and proving that it works...
I only take tablets as a very last resort.. - Reply to this comment
- Wonered why I was getting restless and cranky and nothing was good enough for me.
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