Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Male menopause
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Male menopause
by William Fowler, Dec 10, 1999 12:00AM
I am a 54 year old male who is going through a state of depression. I am seeing a psychatrist who has me on 20 mg of Prozac and 1 mg of clonazepam. I do a lot of research on the internet and came across male menopause. I ordered a book called "Male Menopause" and found that low testosterone levels can cause depression. I had a test done for my testosterone level and it was 247. I saw my internist who suggested taking another test earlier in the day (I took the first one at 4:30 PM). The second test which I took came out at 419. I took it at 9:30 AM. My questions are: Is there such a condition as male menopause, can it affect one's mental state, libido, mood, energy level and why would my readings vary by so much? The prozac has helped my mood, the clonazepam helped with my anxiety. I am taking a perscription sleeping pill to get to sleep at night. One doctor recommended testosterone shots another suggested I take 100mg of Wellbuetron (sp?) along with the prozac and clonazepam. I would appreciate your advice. Thank you.
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS MD-JM, Dec 15, 1999 12:00AM
William,
Please let me first apologize for the delay in my response to this very interesting question. "Male menopause" is a term that is coined to reflect the decreasing levels of testosterone which is a normal process as one ages. Diminished levels of testosterone have been suggested to be linked with depression but is not specific(and there is not a great deal of good evidence in this area). Decreased testosterone has also been linked to diminished libido. The reason that your readings vary so much
is that this is a controversial area.
Testosterone supplementation may be helpful with improving sexual functioning to some extent. Wellbutrin may improve Prozac related sexual dysfunction and may further improve your mood. Thank you for this most interesting question. I hope this has been helpful.
Sincerely,
HFHS MD-JM
Keywords: Male menopause
Please let me first apologize for the delay in my response to this very interesting question. "Male menopause" is a term that is coined to reflect the decreasing levels of testosterone which is a normal process as one ages. Diminished levels of testosterone have been suggested to be linked with depression but is not specific(and there is not a great deal of good evidence in this area). Decreased testosterone has also been linked to diminished libido. The reason that your readings vary so much
is that this is a controversial area.
Testosterone supplementation may be helpful with improving sexual functioning to some extent. Wellbutrin may improve Prozac related sexual dysfunction and may further improve your mood. Thank you for this most interesting question. I hope this has been helpful.
Sincerely,
HFHS MD-JM
Keywords: Male menopause
