MANopause, the male menopause, a.k.a. andropause

Dr. Stephen Center of BodyLogicMD of San Diego is featured live on San Diego Living morning talk show. September is National Menopause Awareness Month. Dr. Center discusses how menopause is no longer something that one suffers with in silence, the symptoms of menopause are something we can talk about. It's not your mother's menopause! Menopause begins 10-15 years before women stop getting their period. Women in their 30's begin to undergo hormonal changes like that can be attended to in order to help prevent changes that are seen in a woman's 40's - things like mood, weight gain, memory problems, loss of muscle mass, loss of sex drive, appearance changes. Women don't have to suffer this way anymore. He goes on to say that it is now recognized as a real condition, and it can and should be treated safely and successfully using bioidentical hormone therapy.

He shares tips on going through "the change" and how to make it an easy transition. Although menopause is inevitable, there are ways to make yourself more comfortable. The goal is to see how a man (because we treat men too!) or a woman is at age 35 - what are the hormone levels? How are the adrenal glands doing? What are the levels of all the individual hormones? We create that environment in patients at any age.

Men go through menopause, it's called andropause. It's a gradual change unlike the abrupt change in women. A drop in testosterone levels leads to a number of problems like loss of initiative, loss of assertiveness, increase in body fat, depression and lack of sex drive or reduced sexual performance. Although many people attribute these symptoms to a "mid-life crisis," that may not be what it is if your hormones are imbalanced. Many traditional doctors are quick to give you an anti-depressant, to give you pharmaceuticals that are really due to hormone decline. BodyLogicMD's expert bioidentical hormone experts determine what each patient's unique patterns are and make specific recommendations and adjustments of hormones as well as working on diet, inflammation, blood sugar regulation, among many other factors.

BodyLogicMD doctors test saliva testing of the hormone levels to map out the adrenal function over the day. To make the visits as efficient as possible, the labs are completed prior to the appointment - that way you don't have to go back just to review the results.

Dr. Center shows the different treatment options. Compounding pharmacies make the bioidentical hormones and either apply them with a cream applied either to the skin or using a syringe vaginally. He also talks about pellet therapy and how it helps rebalance hormones, with a painless incision, a pellet is inserted to give a stable source of testosterone. People get their libido back, start working out again and essentially feel wonderful!

Center also discusses the importance of incorporating a combination of daily aerobic activity and proper nutrition and supplementation to rebalance all the hormones (DHEA, Estrogen, Progesterone, Adrenal, Growth Hormone among others) for anti-aging purposes. By doing regular physical activity that makes you sweat in the morning, it increases your fat burning throughout the day. Studies show that people who exercise regularly have a lower risk of cancer, mood disorders, heart disease, and many other problems. It also is important in helping find relief from menopause symptoms.

There is no magic diet, every patient has to be treated uniquely and with an expert BodyLogicMD physician's training, you too can start to find relief for your symptoms of menopause or symptoms of andropause.

Saliva Testing of the Hormone Levels