Al Ruechel - Could it be Male Menopause?

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Could it be Male Menopause?
By Al Ruechel | 01-10-03

Oh please, tell me it isn’t menopause! I’m a guy, just over 51 and something is happening with my body. I’ve made so many trips to the doctor my insurance company called me to ask if someone had stolen my insurance card.

I wouldn’t mind if it’s just some aches and pains from too much running or weight lifting or sleeping wrong. I’ve had some annoying problems with my radial nerve thanks to mountain biking without any shocks. But menopause? I get this weird wave thing going that sweeps over my body for about three or four minutes. Then my palms start sweating like a leaky faucet. I have trouble focusing my thoughts and I get sick to my stomach, and I feel weak and light headed. My heart feels like it is racing but when I take my pulse everything is normal. It never happens when I run or exercise. Most of the time I’m just sitting still or maybe walking around in a store. Then, as fast as it hits me it’s gone.

WebMD says men do go through something similar to menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. In fact, our bodies go through major chemical changes about every seven years. The website says it is very difficult to accurately diagnose so often times goes unreported. No kidding?

Now my doctor hasn’t exactly used the word menopause. He knows I’d freak. My symptoms have come on pretty strong in the past six months. Heck, I thought I was having a heart attack so I rushed to the ER only to find out I was having severe acid reflex and a possible anxiety attack. I was more concerned the doctor would notice I had put on two different socks then finding a major tumor. BP solid, negative CAT scan and MRI and chest X-ray, my blood work is all within the normal ranges. My ear, nose and throat guy says my ears are clear and he’s stumped about my light-headedness. How could it be anxiety?

“Do you ever get nervous in front of people or maybe a little apprehensive about performing?” he asked.

“Heck, no! I love being in front of people and I am a TV news anchor so, duh, I don’t think it’s anxiety.”

Of course, whenever you start talking with other folks about your problems someone out there has experienced the same thing. And amazingly many of my 40-something male friends have noted the same waves at one time or another. Some are on medication; some had gall bladder surgery; some are on Xannax; some now visit a shrink; but no one seems to have an exact answer and the waves haven’t stopped.

Now, the next time one of these waves hits me I’m supposed to pee into a brown gallon jug for the next 24 hours to determine if my endocrine system is messed up. Yes, I’ve got it in the back seat of my van. So for Pete’s sake if you see me pulled off the side of the road whizzing into a jug I am not being crude. This is modern medicine and modern science at it’s best. Gone are the good ol’ days when you could blame your problems on something you ate or maybe the flu. The subtleties of getting just a bit older are now measured in tiny amounts of hormones that used to be delicately balanced within my 30-something looking body. (Oh please!)

Mind you, I am grateful it’s not my heart or brain or cancer or anything major. But menopause is so.. so.. so female, if you know what I mean. Why can’t it be tennis elbow, or shin splints from too much running, or maybe a tiny little hernia from lifting too many Volkswagens, or an old football injury; something a little more macho.

To top it off, last night I woke up in the middle of the night sweating like a dog for no particular reason. Geeze, it is menopause! Can anybody help me?

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