While women experience menopause in midlife, men also go through hormonal changes that affect their health and quality of life.  Many of these changes occur as a result of a decrease in testosterone levels.

After about the age of 20, growth hormone in a man diminishes by about 14% for every 10 years of age. By the time he reaches age 40, he's lost nearly half of all growth hormones he had at 20 years of age.  When he reaches 80, he’s left with just 5% of his original growth hormones.

Bioavailable testosterone levels have also dropped significantly.

Symptoms of this hormone imbalance include:

• Muscle Loss
• Weight Gain
• Fatigue
• Trouble sleeping
• Gynecomastia (male breasts)
• Hot Flashes in men
• Night Sweats men
• Lower libido
• Irritability
• Depression
• Loss of Hair
• Erectile Dysfunction
• Problems
• Loss of Memory

Andropause—Male Menopause

While men do experience the loss of testosterone and other important hormones over time, the change is much more gradual than it is for women, leaving symptoms to creep up on them.  Coupled with that, many men are reluctant to seek medical treatment for some things they feel are natural signs of aging or problems they can live with.

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy for Men

Bioidentical hormone therapy may be the solution for 4-5 million men who suffer from low testosterone levels due to the aging process.  Testosterone levels in men affect normal sexual function, stamina, and many metabolic functions including bone formation, liver function, prostate gland growth, and production of blood cells in bone marrow.

The Therapeutic Process

Medical practitioners test for hormone imbalances utilizing saliva, urine or blood analysis.  Based on these results, they outline a treatment plan for patients.

This may include:

• Tailored fitness plan
• Nutrition program
• Custom hormone replacement therapy
• Regular check-ups and monitoring

Bioidentical hormones are essentially a replica of the natural hormones that are produced by the body. Though both synthetic hormones and bioidenticals are created in laboratories, bioidentical hormones are synthesized from natural plant-based extracts and made to closely mimic the body’s natural hormones, molecule by molecule.  This makes them virtually indistinguishable from the body’s own in blood tests.

Compounding Bioidenticals

Compounding pharmacies allow physicians and other medical practitioners to provide patients with specific formulas and applications of hormone treatments, not otherwise available from manufacturers.  Generally, synthesized bioidentical hormones are provided to compound pharmacists to be mixed with other ingredients.  These are then dispensed in specific dosages to patients in the form of capsules, tablets, creams, or sprays.  Compounding gives practitioners the ability to more specifically tailor hormone replacement treatments to patients.