Are all males destined to become grumpy old men?

30th September 2013   ·   0 Comments

Dr. Alyse Hamilton
Contributing Writer

(Special to the NNPA from the Spokesman-Recorder) – The short answer to the question, “Are all men destined to become grumpy as they age?” is no — no man has to become a “grumpy old man.”

Growing up, do you remember that old man at the end of the block just waiting for some unsuspecting kid to step on his lawn? “Get off my lawn!” he’d bellow.

Just put one toe on that man’s grass and you’d hear it for blocks: “Get off my lawn!”

You’d think that kid was walking across a white carpet with muddy feet. “Why was this old man so darned ornery?” I often wondered.

I now understand where grumpy men come from

As an anti-aging and regenerative medical doctor, I now understand what happens to far too many men that makes them “grumpy” as they age. First and foremost, their hormones, mostly testosterone, aren’t what they used to be.

Testosterone not only protects a man’s health from heart attacks and cancers, it also makes him feel full of vitality and gives him a zest for life. These grumpy men have gone through what we now call “andropause,” the male meno­pause.

Menopause is a fairly well-known term that describes what women go through when they lose their hormones. Menopause comes with a variety of not-so-fun side effects like hot flashes, mood swings, and the loss of libido and concentration.

Andropause, which is a fairly new term that describes the process that men go through, comes with its own side effects. Many are identical to menopausal side effects. And one of them is being flat-out “grumpy.”

The long, slow slide

Women can go through meno­pause fairly quickly in their late 40s or early 50s. Men, on the other hand, may go on “the long, slow slide” into andropause. It often begins in a man’s mid-to-late 20s and continues year after year until a once happy and vibrant man is reduced to a grumpy old man.

Worn-out adrenals, thyroid, and immune system, too

Our grumpy man may also be feeling the effects of worn-out adrenal glands that once kept him energized and reduced his stress; a poorly balanced thyroid that once kept him fit and clear-headed; and his once-protective immune system that may now be out of order.
So what can he do?

For the man willing to get up and do something about his health, there is a lot that can be done. And the good news is that it’s painless and not too difficult. For the man who won’t come in on his own to do what many women do, grab him by his collar and get him in here.

His adrenal and thyroid glands can be restored to peak performance. His immune system can be rebuilt. And his hormones, most importantly testosterone, can be rebalanced with safer bio-identical hormones.

We find in our medical center that a man who “partners with us” to rebuild and restore his adrenal and thyroid glands and his immune system and then has his hormones rebalanced can reclaim his energy, his memory, and his sexual health.

He can once again be brimming with vitality. And he may in fact even let those darned kids run all over his grass without an unkind word.

This article originally published in the September 30, 2013 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.