GUYS, are you suffering from--or gals, are your men suffering from-- lethargy, mood swings, flushing, sweating, irritability, loss of libido, flab and impotence? You men could be the victim of what some consider a fictitious disease.

It's an ironic twist of our language that the syndrome associated with the drop-off of a woman's hormones at the end of her reproductive life is called men opause. But more and more is being made of a true "men"-opause, where a man suffers from the above symptoms. It's associated with a drop-off in men's testosterone levels, which can happen any time from their fourth to their seventh decade.

Failure to recognize the symptoms of male menopause, and skepticism about whether it really exists, may be related to the fact that the fall-off of testosterone is far less dramatic than the abrupt drop in a woman's production of estrogen.

The woman's drop-off triggers menopause, with its accompanying mood swings, hot flashes and other symptoms--which can often leave the old man wondering what in the world is happening, and why the thermostat has to be set at "refrigerate."

Yet when men lose muscle and become flabby, and when they become grouchy, lose their sex drive, can't get an erection, and don't exactly feel good about themselves--some would rather deny that it's all happening.

"Approximately 40 percent of men in their 40s, 50s and 60s will experience some degree of lethargy, depression, increased irritability, mood swings and difficulty sustaining erections that characterize the male menopause," the Web site claims.

More august bodies also acknowledge the existence of this questionable malady. They include Time magazine, researchers of a study published in The Archives of Internal Medicine (which incidentally showed an increased mortality in men with low testosterone) and, across the pond, the BBC--which includes information for menopausal blokes on its Web site.

When Viagra first hit the market, all of a sudden the prevalence of the problem seemed to skyrocket. Sheepish guys would check in for a "sinus infection," but then when they got into the room, it was, 'Well, doc er you see it's a bit embarrassing but "

Commonly, it's some other pathological process, possibly combined with low testosterone, that causes the impotence. It's usually some problem with the plumbing (blood vessels) or the wiring (nerves)--more commonly, the blood vessels--and treatment is keeping yourself in good shape with all those things that are good for your health in general. They're the things we keep carping at you about. Namely, not smoking, not drinking too much, keeping your weight down, keeping your cholesterol down and exercising.

It should be noted that there are many medicines that also can cause impotence. Ironically, a lot of blood pressure medicines can do this. But without the medicines, high blood pressure can cause erectile problems, too, by causing vascular problems that mess with good blood flow to the salient part.

The symptoms of male menopause--or 'andropause,' as some have dubbed it--overlap with a lot of other conditions. Anemia, depression and thyroid disease are three that are particularly common, and as the treatment is completely different for each, it's worth getting checked out to make sure you are barking up the right tree.

For men with low testosterone levels, and the whole gamut of male menopause symptoms, more orthodox treatment is a testosterone supplement, in the form of shots, pills, patches or gels. This is very analogous to a woman taking estrogen as hormone replacement therapy, providing that which the aging body no longer produces for itself.

Of course, from the evolutionary point of view, trying to maintain our sexuality is all wrong. Once we've spread our seed, sired our family, Mother Nature doesn't care if we can't get it on--or if we're depressed, degenerating, or even if we die. We've perpetuated the gene pool. But it's a bit depressing to feel we're worthless.

Others see value in us yet. In his book "Male Menopause" and on his Web site, menalive.com, author Jed Diamond urges us old guys who feel that we've reached our career ceiling--when our children have left home, and we're wondering "What's the point?"--to accept that we are moving into our second phase of adulthood.

We are done with sexual and career competitiveness. We should be being instead of doing , into soul work instead of necessary work, and moving on from the material to the spiritual--a bit like Buddha moving on from his life of materialist privilege to that of an excoriated ascetic.

But, if you're not ready to hit the road yet with your saffron robes and your begging bowl, recognition of the hormonal upheaval that affects quite a number of us guys (and its treatment) might salvage a few marriages and provide solace to a few guys who feel as if their masculinity is out the window.

This is cache, read story here