IT’S PRONOUNCED, “MAN-O-PAUSE”
IT’S PRONOUNCED, “MAN-O-PAUSE” by LARA OBOLER
April 2019
The other day I had a fascinating conversation with a group of women in their 40s and 50s who were discussing the “changes” they were noticing in their husbands. While we “women-of-a-certain-age” are no strangers to the rather abrupt changes that can take hold of our bodies, the fact of the matter is we have less of an issue discussing these openly. What I want to talk about today isn’t menopause, but rather, MAN-o-pause.
WHAT’S GOING ON DOWN THERE?
Mirroring a female’s menopausal decrease in estrogen, MAN-o-pause (disclaimer: this is not a medical term, but rather word association for quick recall), or male aging, lowers testosterone levels and can lead to insomnia, increased body fat, reduced libido, infertility and erectile dysfunction (among myriad other things). Whereas a woman’s estrogen levels can feel as though they’ve dropped off overnight with symptoms surfacing like whiplash, in men, testosterone levels tend to decrease slowly and steadily at a rate of around 1% per year. But as we’ve discussed in the past, the process is 100% inevitable — just like menopause. It happens to absolutely every man at different tempos, like the graying of hair and the appearance of wrinkles. think last line was redundant?
MAN-O-PAUSAL MISDIAGNOSIS
Low libidos and erectile dysfunction are symptoms of this aging process that may leave you (or your male partner) a little bit anxious or feeling… well, undesirable. The worst thing we can do is stigmatize this natural occurrence, followed closely by self-diagnosing. Many men will try to treat erectile dysfunction by taking testosterone supplements, but this misguided method is controversial and can be dangerous, increasing the risk of prostate cancer, stroke and blood clots. You simply don’t need to take testosterone to “feel better” — diet, exercise and healthy living all play a crucial role in graceful aging, as does talking to your doctor.
ADDRESSING A “PROBLEM” THAT’S NOT A PROBLEM
Erectile dysfunction and aging, in general, can be sensitive and very personal subjects between sexual partners. Help normalize the conversation around what’s going on “down there” in your household (or in bed) by talking to your partner and your/his doctor. If your partner is struggling to reach or maintain an erection, approach the subject from a place of caring rather than shaming; lack of lift-off has little to do with attraction and everything to do with getting older. That’s where Revactin comes in — the supplement proactively slows the depletion of muscle cells in the penis that naturally occurs with aging.
The biggest takeaway here? Misinformation is the plight of pleasure! Just as women suffer from hot flashes, vaginal dryness and mood changes, maturing men struggle with their own mental and physical manifestations of getting older. So, talk to your partner, talk to your doctor, just know you’re not alone.
