Well, here you are in the doctor's examination room, glancing absentmindedly through a copy of Sports Illustrated and waiting for the doctor to come in. The nurse was nice enough, and was impeccably professional, but you really didn't want to discuss your problems and questions very extensively with her. Okay, you're embarrassed; you know that, you admit it to yourself. The nurse is probably aware of your embarrassment and, being the professional that she is, she had no wish to make you even more uncomfortable. She knows from the notes in your chart that you're one of those guys who really don't want to be there, that you only go to visit the doctor when you feel that you really, really have to.

It's not in your nature to go running off to see the doctor just because you have a case of the sniffles or you've encountered a new ache or pain somewhere in your body. Of course, if your physician knows you well, he's already aware of these aspects of your personality. So when he enters the room, you set down the Sports Illustrated and shake hands with him.

He sits down across from you and he matter-of-factly asks, "What seems to be troubling you?"

You take a deep breath and say "Doc, what's wrong with me? I've started feeling depressed sometimes and I've been having mood swings like never before. I feel it myself and I can see it in my wife's eyes when I get angry over something that doesn't matter. I'm not sure that I really like myself very much right now. My wife is a good and loving woman, and she doesn't deserve getting snapped at. And it's always over such trivial and insignificant things!" Your voice is rising and you catch yourself beginning to lose your temper. You dial back and settle down. "Sorry, Doc, I didn't mean to let myself get upset."

The doctor asks you a question that he probably already knows the answer to. "Have you experienced any problems in bed?"

"Jeez," you say softly, "how did you know about that?"

The doctor proceeds to ask you some questions about your symptoms and then asks you if you've ever heard of male menopause. You tell him that your wife had mentioned it to you a few weeks ago, but she dropped the subject when you gave her a surly and exasperated look. "I thought that was just for ladies," you say.

The doctor explains to you that men can have hormonal imbalances, usually related to testosterone production. He asks you if you were aware that your testosterone level had probably dropped by one percent each year since you turned about thirty, and that this was quite natural.

You feel as though a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. "Then I'm not going crazy?"

The doctor is reassuring and professional, and that is exactly what you need right now. He tells you that they'll draw a little blood and do a few tests, but he says you've already done the hardest part yourself.

"What was that?" you ask.

"You came in to see me," he replies with a smile. "You're going to be fine."