a wellness perspective on low testosterone

Andropause: Ten Times More Interesting, Compelling And/Or Significant Than Wellness? Say It Isn't So, Androphiles!

Everyone connected with this website, including the directors of its varied topic centers, receives a monthly traffic report. This report shows trends, the number of hits and the popularity rankings of each center. As director of the Wellness Center, I have noticed, month after month, that I'm getting hammered by the Andropause Center. In September, my site drew a grand total of 6,231 hits, or 3.54 percent of the total number of visitors to the SeekWellness website. Wait till you get a load of this: Andropause had 32,879 visitors, or 18.7 percent of all SeekWellness traffic. This is an impertinence up with which I will not put, without a fight. Better yet, recalling the immortal lines from the movie "Network" spoken by Howard Beale (Peter Finch), "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore."

But, I'm going to be reasonable about this. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm not as smart, understanding, compassionate, caring or loving as the Andropause Center Director, Dr. Chris Steidle. Or, maybe the topics I write about - joy, sex, love, fun, good food, fitness, critical thinking, politics, religion, humor and the meaning of life, are not as interesting, compelling or significant as creaky joints, erectile dysfunction, mood disturbances, diminished muscles, weight gain and muscle loss.

However, that can't be it, because I write about those things, too, in the context of a transcendent wellness mindset focused on the bright side of life.

What, then? I think there could be a more sinister explanation for my sorry showing at the Wellness Center relative to the rock star status of Dr. Steidle over at Andropause Central. Here's my theory: Men are so jealous of all the attention women have gained from years of menopause suffering. They want a piece of the action. They want their own, non-girly-man version of menopause. That's why they embrace this monkey business about Andropause -- and flock to the center at SeekWellness that slakes their appetite for the woes, lamentations and attendant sympathies of menopause, GUY-style (andropause, in other words).

What do you think? Am I on to something?

Let's take a closer look at this concept of Andropause so you can decide. What, exactly, IS Andropause? As noted at the Andropause Center, the word is a fusion of two Greek words, andro - male, and pause - stop. Also noted at the site is the fact that some basic questions remain about whether fading testosterone level is a unique condition, or just another symptom of getting older, like hair loss, wrinkled skin, and the urge to play shuffleboard and take ocean cruises.

When a new condition appears, always ask: Who benefits by naming a symptom or set of symptoms? Here's a hint: What industry sells stuff that promises to make things better? What profession gets paid to treat it? Maybe all this is partly a product of pharmaceutical marketing. In fact, at medical conferences, I expect these questions are part of regular, structured debates.

The concept of Andropause appeals to those who think aging is a treatable disease. Yet, maybe all this attention to and treatment for testosterone decline could do more harm than good. Should men worried about andropause take testosterone supplements the rest of their lives?Does it not matter how healthy their lifestyles are? Is everything done to ensure that the older men treated for andropause are also urged to exercise vigorously consistent with their capabilities, to eat well, manage stress and do much of the other health-enhancing things described at MY center, the Wellness Center? Maybe everyone who wants to hang out at (and build the ratings of) the Andropause Center should first be required to spend a certain amount of time learning about wellness at MY center. That would be a good thing for my ratings! It might also be beneficial to those customers of the Andropause Center who rush to this site dealing with aging problems, rather than first putting in some time at the site (mine, of course) where they might learn how to stay well in the first place.

As in so many other areas of American life, one of the reasons given for the recent surge in attention to Andropause is the aging of baby boomers. Not unlike generations who aged before them, baby boomers don't like the signs of growing old -- but unlike their predecessors, they demand something be done about it. "How could life do this to me, after all I have done for life itself?" This seems to be the lament of the andro generation.

All of which leads me back to my original lament -- how come I'm getting hammered by andropause? Isn't life supposed to be fair? I don't really take it personally, as I hope you realize. Books, lectures, websites and anything else focused on a disease, illness or condition of dis-ease (as in andropause) always draw more attention than similar products and services for wellness. That's just the way it is. That's also why doctors make the big bucks. There is a lot more interest in sickness and discomfort (incontinence, for example) than wellness. This situation could be yet another factor in explaining why "Icantdoit" is a reality for most people. The "pleasure principle" suggests people will do heaps more to deal with a discomfort (sickness, exercise, etc) than they will to experience a pleasure, such as the "after glow" of a vigorous exercise session. Self-managed, self-disciplined individuals are not searching websites for confirmation from wellness gurus that they're doing the right thing. Most surfers are looking for solutions or something miraculous to take away their pain or, in this case, commiserations for the fact that they're getting older.

If you are a guy worried about aging, you may very well benefit from a visit to the Andropause Center at SeekWellness.com. After all, it's good to expect more from the latter years. It's good to feel free to discuss sexual performance problems with doctors, friends, strippers, sex counselors on 900 telephone counseling services and so on, without fear of embarrassment or ridicule.

But, if you keep going to the Andropause Center without checking in now and then at the Wellness Center, well, I'm going to be mighty vexed. I want to be loved, too, you know. Come on by the Wellness Center now and then. It's a great place where "Anything Goes," so you might find "it's delightful, it's delicious, it's delectable, it's delirious, it's dilemma, it's delimit, it's deluxe and it's de-lovely."

Be well, look on the bright side as I do, even when hammered by andropause, personally and professionally.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of appearance and aging. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)