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Local News

Your Health Matters

Special Report: Men go through menopause, too

11:50 PM CDT on Monday, April 16, 2007

BY JANET ST. JAMES

manopause gfx

While men may not have hot flashes, men's bodies do undergo major changes -- even before middle age.

It's a real health condition some are calling "manopause."

As a financial advisor and self-professed workaholic, 46-year old Mark Seebeck knew something was wrong.

"I didn't have the mental focus -- the ability to multi-task," he said. "I sticky-padded my way through my life, every day."

Seebeck claims it started a few years ago. The fatigue got worse with time.

"In the mid-afternoon, 2:30, 3-o'clock, I could literally lay my head down on the desk and fall to sleep for an hour," he said.

While he used to turn to caffeine to get him through the day, he recently turned to a doctor.

Dr. Susan Linder of Fort Worth diagnosed him with Andropause.

"Andropause occurs in men as they age," Dr. Linder said, "and they basically lose their testosterone. And when they have a low testosterone level, at that point in time, they have male menopause -- or andropause."

Starting in their early 30's, men start losing testosterone at a rate of 1-to-2 percent a year. Testosterone is key for building muscle and retaining memory in men.

But unlike women who often experience menopause suddenly, doctors say manopause is a slow process.

"With men it's over the course of a decade. Or more." Dr. Linder said. "And so it becomes a very slow insidious process and they attribute all these things to getting old."

Experts say the symptoms of andropause include fatigue, memory loss, depression, loss of sex drive, erectile dysfunction, and anger or anxiety.

Mark Seebeck's co-workers said they attributed his symptoms to stress.

Instead, he was diagnosed with a testosterone deficiency. He could be prescribed testosterone. The hormone comes in pill, cream, or injectible form. Monitoring hormone levels is also recommended.

Doctors say his quality of life could improve dramatically with testosterone treatment.

"I want my old self back, ultimately," says Seebeck.