Andropause
Male Menopause

My purpose in building this andropause page?

To show beer-belly old-farts

• who are out of energy,
• who are out of shape
  (OK, I guess “beer barrel” is a shape)
• who bloody ache all the time
  and
• who can’t remember why they used to like sex

Vigor &
Vitality &
Virility

Feel energized,

Feel alive,

Feel like a stud.

My Story

However I finally found her and after a whirlwind courtship we got married. I’d known her 6 months when we did the deed… got married, I mean. ;>}

Truthfully, I had a fairy tale wedding. It was full of meaningful ceremony. Tons of friends and family. Good food. Great dancing music. Lots of booze. Amazing, actually. I mist up when I picture it… still.
Unfortunately for us, that was the zenith of our romantic relationship.

I knew less than nothing about being a husband. I really didn’t expect to have to work on it or make changes in who I was.  I thought I could, easily, have a loving relationship as had my parents.

It was not to be.

Whatever I was… was not what she envisioned… and vice-versa.

However…
We did agree on being parents, even though the husband-wife relationship was sketchy. And I think we were good parents. However, you would have to check with my three kids (1 daughter, followed by two sons). That call is theirs to make.

My then wife and I settled into what I’d call a benign and civil accommodation as parents to 3 great kids.

By the time they were in their mid-20s, I was not able to sustain any further role as a husband. I fear I was a bad husband… but that is, truly, my ex’s call. You can ask her if you wish.

Anyway, I initiated and got a divorce soon after I retired from my college teaching position.

So there I was…
mid 60s…
divorced…
with a lousy pension.

Talk about “The Golden Years”!

Since that divorce, I’ve learned a lot about being a man… being a lover… being a nurturing partner…

But More Important For You
 My Male Buddy,
(or his worried partner)
Reading This…
I have learned that a lot of what went on with me was the result of the
“male menopause”… ANDROPAUSE.

It likely influenced my relationship with my ex… from the day we were married.
Plus, we didn’t REALLY know each other.
Marry in haste, repent in leisure.
We both deserved better… not to mention our dear children.

Andropausal Symptoms

When I was teaching, I discovered a philosopher-technician, Robert Carkhuff, who taught me a lot about how to think.  He used the EUA model:

Explore the issue, until you

Understand

1.what it is

2.what it does

3.why it’s important

and then

Act to counteract whatever is bothering you.

Even before my divorce I was curious (Hell, I was perturbed, concerned and worried!) about what had “gone wrong” (the issue) and what I could do to make sure it did not happen again. I still had (have) hopes for a true romantic relationship with a woman.

It took a while until the half-dozen or so pieces of the puzzle linked together to show me the picture… and the jigsaw title was ANDROPAUSE.
Male menopause, is the “what it is” part of understanding. And what it does?

• Takes away your ability to move easily and athletically
• Takes away your attractiveness
• Takes away your energy
• Takes away your sunny personality
• Takes away your hair
• Takes away your maleness
• Takes away your muscles
• Takes away your virility

You become an aching,
bald,
old,
fat,
weak,
grumpy fart,
with a low libido,
who can’t maintain a woody.

Why is this knowledge important?
While a lot of this is the inevitable result of “aging”, it is possible to negate and reverse lot of this, and return to

Vigor
Vitality
Virility
(“V” is for Victory, guys!)

Andropause and Aging

I elaborate on most of these in different webpages. Here’s a summary of what each solution deals with.