Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Can we have nothing for ourselves? Male fucking menopause

206 replies

GNR2022 · 03/02/2023 12:34

Don’t think I can bring myself to watch this segment on Packed Lunch. Debilitating for them apparently…

OP posts:
KangarooKenny · 03/02/2023 12:37

Menopause is when your periods stop, so by definition they can’t have a menopause.

Hellsmovie · 03/02/2023 12:41

KangarooKenny · 03/02/2023 12:37

Menopause is when your periods stop, so by definition they can’t have a menopause.

Surely thats just a symptom for women from changing hormones?

Assuming mens hormones change when they get older too, they will experience the male equivalent.

madeyemoody · 03/02/2023 12:44

@Hellsmovie right..so name it something else. It scientifically cannot be called a menopause because there has been no pause in mesntruation.

And we all know a man's description of "debilitating" is most likely "mild discomfort "

Hellsmovie · 03/02/2023 12:44

Just googled it the male equivalent is called andropause

Badfootkk · 03/02/2023 12:44

They call it manopause apparently. Got a works policy about it!

Onnabugeisha · 03/02/2023 12:45

There is such a thing as male menopause, it is called andropause.
This is one condition where the female is the default human being.
If it were patriarchy business as usual, menopause would be called female andropause.

PotatoFacedWombat · 03/02/2023 12:45

Eh? Male menopause isn't a new thing. It even has its own page on the NHS website. Men have physical and emotional changes in midlife too (although it's more commonly known as a mid-life crisis, which is a really dismissive way to discuss changes that can have a really huge impact on MH.)

grayhairdontcare · 03/02/2023 12:47

@Hellsmovie it's not the same.
You need to read up on it.
Also male menopause is a term lazy media use.
It name is actually andropause and is nothing
Like the menopause

Floofydawg · 03/02/2023 12:47

Fucking hell. If any one of them went through a tiny percentage of what I've been through in the actual menopause they might have some of my sympathy. But as things stand, they can fuck right off.

Hellsmovie · 03/02/2023 12:48

PotatoFacedWombat · 03/02/2023 12:45

Eh? Male menopause isn't a new thing. It even has its own page on the NHS website. Men have physical and emotional changes in midlife too (although it's more commonly known as a mid-life crisis, which is a really dismissive way to discuss changes that can have a really huge impact on MH.)

Makes sense . Ive never seen it being put that way but it does make sense

RoseslnTheHospital · 03/02/2023 12:49

PotatoFacedWombat · 03/02/2023 12:45

Eh? Male menopause isn't a new thing. It even has its own page on the NHS website. Men have physical and emotional changes in midlife too (although it's more commonly known as a mid-life crisis, which is a really dismissive way to discuss changes that can have a really huge impact on MH.)

www.nhs.uk/conditions/male-menopause/#:~:text=Is%20there%20such%20a%20thing,occurs%20in%20the%20female%20menopause.

Except, that the NHS page is quite clear that it is not a specific condition caused by a change in hormones. It's an inaccurate phrase used to describe a variety of issues which are caused by lifestyle and situational issues.

unsureatthispoint · 03/02/2023 12:51

Andropause

GNR2022 · 03/02/2023 12:54

Genuinely never heard of it!

OP posts:
Sazzling · 03/02/2023 12:55

To be fair, it is called the MENopause!

Survey99 · 03/02/2023 13:00

PotatoFacedWombat · 03/02/2023 12:45

Eh? Male menopause isn't a new thing. It even has its own page on the NHS website. Men have physical and emotional changes in midlife too (although it's more commonly known as a mid-life crisis, which is a really dismissive way to discuss changes that can have a really huge impact on MH.)

The NHS website dismisses calling it "male menopause" too!

Is there such a thing as a "male menopause"?
The "male menopause" (sometimes called the andropause) is an unhelpful term sometimes used in the media.
This label is misleading because it suggests the symptoms are the result of a sudden drop in testosterone in middle age, similar to what occurs in the female menopause. This is not true.

2bazookas · 03/02/2023 15:10

My DH used to say prostate cancer had given him the "manopause". The testosterone-suppression hormone medication effects are very similar to menopause. The difference is that he wasn't anticipating it, it wasn't a slow natural progression . The effects of injections were swift and intense. Huge sweats, flushes, tiredness, mood swings, breast probs, insomnia, brain fog, loss of libido, weight gain.

Now well and in remission, he does a lot of fundraising and support work with prostate charities, to inform and support other men.

maddy68 · 03/02/2023 15:44

Mahesh also suffer from variations on hormones as they age. It's not a competition

maddy68 · 03/02/2023 15:45

Males. Damn the no edit function!

punkofop · 03/02/2023 15:51

maddy68 · 03/02/2023 15:44

Mahesh also suffer from variations on hormones as they age. It's not a competition

They don't have fluctuating hormones, that's the thing.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/male-menopause/#:~:text=Is%20there%20such%20a%20thing,occurs%20in%20the%20female%20menopause.

NHS website
The "male menopause" (sometimes called the andropause) is an unhelpful term sometimes used in the media.
This label is misleading because it suggests the symptoms are the result of a sudden drop in testosterone in middle age, similar to what occurs in the female menopause. This is not true.

Sugarplumfairy65 · 03/02/2023 15:51

2bazookas · 03/02/2023 15:10

My DH used to say prostate cancer had given him the "manopause". The testosterone-suppression hormone medication effects are very similar to menopause. The difference is that he wasn't anticipating it, it wasn't a slow natural progression . The effects of injections were swift and intense. Huge sweats, flushes, tiredness, mood swings, breast probs, insomnia, brain fog, loss of libido, weight gain.

Now well and in remission, he does a lot of fundraising and support work with prostate charities, to inform and support other men.

No different to the women who have an instant menopause following hysterectomy, hormone positive breast cancer treatment or chemotherapy

RoseslnTheHospital · 03/02/2023 15:53

It's not a competition, because it's not remotely comparable. Men's testosterone levels very very gradually reduce as they age. There is no large shift in hormone production, no cessation of one type of hormone, no loss of reproductive capability. There is no such thing as an andropause or "male menopause".

Throwncrumbs · 03/02/2023 15:54

This would make my balls ache if I had any ffs!

discobrain · 03/02/2023 15:58

Andropause is indeed a thing, but it usually just presents as gradually lowering testosterone levels, and the appearance of a dadbod tummy.

It in no way is anywhere as terrible as perimenopause/menopause.

But you know what men are like. Poor fragile things.

HowcanIgetoutofthisalive · 03/02/2023 16:03

When I hit peri...around age 46 I remember talking to my DH about symptoms and how shit everything was and how bad I felt and he said 'yeah, I reckon I'm going through similar cos of xyz'.

Now I am normally sympathetic but when he said that I nearly battered him to death with my slipper.

I love him and all that but BLOODY NO!! What you may experience (and I'm not saying he didnt feel shit at times) is NOTHING compared to what women go thru. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

I rolled my eyes to myself and gritted my teeth thinking ' can I not have anything of my own?'!!! FFS!

VickyEadieofThigh · 03/02/2023 16:06

punkofop · 03/02/2023 15:51

They don't have fluctuating hormones, that's the thing.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/male-menopause/#:~:text=Is%20there%20such%20a%20thing,occurs%20in%20the%20female%20menopause.

NHS website
The "male menopause" (sometimes called the andropause) is an unhelpful term sometimes used in the media.
This label is misleading because it suggests the symptoms are the result of a sudden drop in testosterone in middle age, similar to what occurs in the female menopause. This is not true.

Honestly, it makes my blood boil as do women symathising with men who do no more than go through a midlife crisis - when going through the drastic changes brought by menopause AND living with it afterwards - is 100% guaranteed for women.