A 40-year-old social media influencer is launching a campaign to raise awareness about male menopause after he was recently diagnosed with the condition, following mood swings, low sex drive and sudden bout of depression.
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No Spark
Israel Cassol, who is a TV presenter as well, was looking forward to turning 40. According to him, he felt there was so much to celebrate; he landed his dream job and was enjoying optimum health. However, the celebration was short-lived when he found himself falling deep into depression.
I remember being on cloud nine after my 40th, it's an age I think we all fear slightly but as it grew closer, I started to feel excited about the milestone. After the celebrations had died down, I began to start feeling a sense of sadness and incredibly low. I put it down to the celebrations coming to an end but as the weeks continued, the feeling worsened.
As time went by, Cassol started experiencing symptoms such as loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, difficulty sleeping, increased tiredness, poor concentration andshort-term memory loss.
He thought his declining sex drive stemmed from him not finding his husband attractive any more. He tried to fix that by searching for the lost spark in other guys, something he says he regrets doing.
I thought maybe I was going off my partner and wanted to be with other people. I couldn't believe how little interest I had in being intimate and affectionate with my husband, it was not like me at all, usually I am a morning noon and night type!
The Diagnosis
He finally decided to go see a doctor about his problem. That was when he was diagnosed with Andropoause, also known as male menopause, something he didn’t know existed until then.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I thought the menopause was something only women went through, I never knew it could affect men just as much.
He was prescribed hormone creams and oral tablets to take, to manage the symptoms. He then decided to share this news with his 500k+ followers to create awareness about the condition.
Being an influencer with a big platform I was hesitant to share such intimate details of my life but needed to know if this was an issue others were facing.I couldn't believe the response I received from men describing similar symptoms I had suffered from.
While menopause in women signifies an end to their reproductive abilities, men with andropause can reproduce well into their 80s.
