Hormone Therapy - Men What is "Male" Hormone Replacement Therapy? Everyone knows that women experience "menopause", and that it is caused by a decrease in their hormone levels. But the fact that men also experience a similar decrease in their hormone levels, known as "andropause", is not as well known. In men, there are not the dramatic events found in women, such as hot flashes or loss of period, but there are still some effects. Lower levels of testosterone lead to loss of libido and/or sexual performance, higher cholesterol and triglyceride levels, loss of muscle tone, and weight gain. Historically, doctors have used testosterone injections with mixed results. Many men would report feeling great after the injection, but 2 or 3 weeks later they would feel as bad or worse than before the injections. It turns out that the higher blood levels produced by injections led to a higher conversion by the body of the testosterone over to estrogen. Estrogen is great for women, and men do require some of it, but too much can be very harmful. It has been implicated in heart disease, prostate problems, and weight gain. Physicians have found that using the testosterone in other dosage forms can minimize some of this conversion from testosterone to estrogen. Popular forms include cream, gels, and buccal lozenges. Also, there are some supplements which have been found to inhibit the conversion. Other hormones for men include DHEA and pregnenolone. DHEA can be used by the body to make several hormones, including testosterone. See the site about DHEA for further information. Pregnenolone also serves to balance hormones by serving as a building block for them.

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