The Male Menopause

 

The Male Menopause.

This is the transcript of the talk I gave in the meeting Menopause Matters in Wokingham.

I’m not sure am the right person to be talking today. The NHS list of

 Symptoms include:

Mood swings

Loss of muscle

Fat redistribution

General lack of enthusiasm and energy

Difficulty sleeping

Poor concentration and short term memory

Why am I not the right person?

Well I need to tell you something about me. I am a retired scientist having worked in the NHS for nearly forty years. During that time I have been a work place Union rep, campaigned to save a hospital from closure, merged two hospital, brought in new technology and working practices. I ride a motorcycle and riding to work nearly every day has kept me sane and focused requiring 360 degree awareness to stay alive.

 Apparently people who ride motorcycles live longer. I am an advanced motorcyclist and a member if the IAM to improve my survival skills. I am really a petrol head and enjoy bikes and cars with numerous excursions to the Continent for holidays before and after retirement. In 2019 I did a group trip to India with 9 guys who mostly in their mid thirties. The trip covered the seven highest motorable passes in the Ladahk region the highest being 18,300 feet. I thought I needed some training for that altitude so over 4 months I began running every day and was able to run a mile in about ten or eleven minutes. To build up my lung capacity. I survived the altitude and the motorcycling in India as you can see but it was also an inspiration for my young friends whose fathers’ were sitting back watching the world go by. 

There is life beyond retirement. I still do regular exercise but not the running I used to, mainly to maintain a level of fitness and flexibility. Motorcycling can be quite physical. I have to keep my mind active and I write regular postings in my blog talking about motorcycles, cars and travel. I restore motor cycles and I am restoring an old car at present. I have built two kit cars one we took to Croatia in 2019 ( Burton)and the other ( El Cid) we did a circuit of Spain in 2022.

 As a scientist I enjoy the challenge of taking something from an idea to a finished article. I need that to get out of bed in the morning. In 2004 I did an Endurance Rally around Morocco ( El Cid) and came nineteenth out of thirty-three entered. Such was the competition from Ford Mustangs  and 1930’s Bentleys.

Now my wife is, as I call her, a “Master Chef” creating freshly cooked meals for me each day, a delight for my taste buds. Our Assamese friends don’t  know why I am not the size of a house.

The male menopause to me is a state of mind. If you think you can’t do it you won’t. Getting old is an excuse to give up trying. Use it or lose it. Be positive.

I any house hold hormones rage at certain times and I have been with a family where mother was menopausal on one side and a pubescent daughter on the other. There was a war zone between. Not good for domestic harmony. My decision was to take cover and wait for a truce. Is that a start of a male menopause. To sit back and let life overtake you? 

I leave you with this thought that perhaps I am still not the best person to talk about the male menopause. Or is it just getting old by another name. If you don’t lay down and roll over perhaps you are able to slow the aging process down a little.