Reliable Male Contraceptive In the Works 519
Hugh Pickens writes "The BBC reports that recent tests in China indicate a monthly injection of testosterone, which works by temporarily blocking sperm production, could be as effective at preventing pregnancies as the female pill or condoms. In trials in China only one man in 100 fathered a child while on the injections, and six months after stopping the injections the mens' sperm counts returned to normal. The lead researcher said that if further tests proved successful, the treatment could become widely available in five years' time. Previous attempts to develop an effective and convenient male contraceptive have encountered problems over reliability and side effects, such as mood swings and a lowered sex drive. However, despite the injection having no serious side effects, almost a third of the 1,045 men in the two-and-a-half year study did not complete the trials; no reason was given for this."
Bad science (Score:4, Interesting)
Also who wants only a 1/100 chance of NOT getting your SO pregnant? For most Americans that would be on the order of once year (assuming the women is only fertile for a few days a month).
similar to pill then... (Score:1, Interesting)
A lowered sex-drive is also very common among women taking the pill.
If you don't believe me, ask your girlfriend/wife to stop taking it for a while and post the amazing results here on this thread.
Re:You're doing it wrong! (Score:5, Interesting)
I hate condoms. For a couple years I used them with my wife as the pill was creating undesirable side effects. Regardless of brand or style, you DO NOT get the same level of sensation as without. Tight, loose or somewhere in between.. the condom just didn't matter. Sure, it was still fun, but "unprotected" I could feel more sensation in my skin as it rubbed against hers. I am glad that since I had my two kids I went the vasectomy route. Sex life has improved, and it is a lot more fun.
On another note, it is also fun to be able to get half-way into it... take a breather and go back at it later. Repeat as much as I am able. With a condom, that just ain't practical.
Reliable Male Contraceptive Already Exists (Score:5, Interesting)
It's called Neem [wikipedia.org] oil, and the Indian military ran a one-year trial without side effects or pregnancies. The reason you're not going to see any Neem-based contraceptives go through the FDA process is that so far attempts to control it have been largely unsuccessful [pbs.org].
Next week, we'll talk about olive leaf extract...
Could be even more effective (Score:3, Interesting)
In trials in China only one man in 100 fathered a child while on the injections,
But was that child actually his and not the postman's or milkman's (or whatever the Chinese cultural equivalent is)?
RISUG VS Systemic Hormones? (Score:2, Interesting)
Link is: http://www.newmalecontraception.org/vas.htm [newmalecontraception.org]
It's the best of both worlds, and you don't have to deal with the horrible side effects of systemic hormonal treatment. Males really got the short end of the stick for so long when it comes to contraception, either condoms which are unreliable or potentially non-reversible sterilization. I really hope RISUG gets passed in Canada soon as I don't want to have to rely on methods that have been proven to be less than ideal. I've even considered a vasectomy. Although I'm young so they probably wouldn't do it, I don't think I want kids at all perhaps that will change though. The reversibility of a vasectomy isn't very uncertain though. Sucks that it's free to get a vasectomy in Canada although it's so unreliably reversible, if RISUG would be free that would make my day.
Condoms are prone to failure or women poking holes in them to get themselves pregnant without your consent. Happens more than you'd think.
It's time for a Maleism Movement.
Didn't know (Score:2, Interesting)
The side effects that are very normal and accepted for hormonal birth control for women are apparently not acceptable for men?
I would really welcome more options for men to control their fertility and be able to take a more active role in preventing pregnancy while in a relationship. I'd love to stop taking my hormonal birth control, but the alternatives right now seem too uncomfortable for both of us.
Re:Possibly because it worked? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Reliable Male Contraceptive Already Exists (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, you could just go read the Wiki, but here goes. I'm just a lowly American so I only know so much about the stuff, but Neem has been used for thousands of years for a broad variety of uses in the home and the garden. Different parts and extracts of the plant have different properties; seed meal and oil can both be used to repel insects, the wood grows quickly and is burned for fuel, et cetera.
In terms of use as a contraceptive, the oil can either be encapsulated and consumed by the man or introduced directly into the vagina before the penis. I have so far been unable to find any information as to dosages in the Indian military study (the language barrier's a bitch) but have direct and intensely personal experience with the latter method. There is one side effect; it tends to make pussy smell like a Tiger's Milk bar — and you don't want to know what it tastes like! We mixed it with food-grade coconut oil. Both came from the health food store. So far, neem has been successful in controlling aphids, spider mites, and rugrats. Also, the garden stuff stored over winter that had neem on it wasn't invaded by rodents; for example a big wad of spun polyethylene ("Agribon", most common trade name is Remay) was free of them while a trashbag of trashbags without any became a nest.
Re:Bad science (Score:1, Interesting)
Seriously, is this study a joke? The American media and medical community goes to great lengths to warn us about the dangers of recreational (athletic) testosterone injection, invoking the ghost of Lyle Alzado at every turn, and now we're supposed to believe that just because someone else is regarding what America considers a dangerous and unwanted *side-effect* as a deliberate goal, then this study is supposed to be viewed as meaningful? Mod original post funny, this has to be a joke.
Doctors in the US DO prescribe supplemental testosterone in gel, injection, and pill form to hypogonadal men, such as with Testim and Androgel, but the idea that someone is to be given enough of it to actually deliberately cause a low sperm count or contraceptive effect is dangerous and laughably silly.
But would they come? (Score:3, Interesting)
Ignoring the problems pointed out in other posts, would those males who should be taking it actually do so? Even if it was a patch, I'd think that normal male thought in the populations where this contraception should really be embraced would declare that decreasing your sperm count would make you "less of a man" or "less potent". Essentially it's the same people who refuse to use condoms who need this kind of thing the most, and they'll refuse to use it as well until something drastic happens.
And just like pill for women... (Score:3, Interesting)
...it will have *absolutely no changes on the character of the person*, to have periodical injections of hormones into the body.
Yeah right.
This might be a wild guess, as I have no proof, but the correlation between the anti-baby-pill and and the rise of feminism is pretty disturbing...
Mind you that I am a strong defender of equal rights (the intonation is on "rights"), as I have never understood why there were different rights in the first place. It just makes no sense. So I thing it was great that they stopped accepting that shit.
What was not that great, was that women themselves somehow acted, as if some female *qualities* were something bad that they needed to fight.
We're *not* the same. We share similarities, and have differences. And it is perfectly fine this way.
Women for example just love different things than men. If we like to build machines, and they like to care for people, then why force us into the opposite, just to be "equal"?
Or to think further: If you force anything into something, to fight being forced into something, something is very wrong.
One thing that comes to mind, is that those pills simulate being pregnant. And if you know how most animals act when they are pregnant... I mean things like wild cats chasing huge bears up into the trees, and small critters attacking you because you are too close, you know that this state makes one very defensive. Which is just right when there are kids to protect. But without kids very likely misdirected.
So what I really would like to know is: What are the real effects on the psyche of a woman, when she is on that stuff. Because I would really hate to know, that my GF is sad or angry for no reason (according to herself), just because of that stuff. I could not do that to her, just for sex. At least I would take my share of it. And ideally, nobody would have to.
Re:Possibly because it worked? (Score:3, Interesting)
Well if China says it's safe, that's good enough for me!
Their safety record speaks for itself.
http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2008/10/product_safety.html [businessweek.com]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/fury-as-china-baby-milk-scandal-escalates-934993.html [independent.co.uk]
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/08/19/MNV1RKN0L.DTL [sfgate.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/business/worldbusiness/19toys.html [nytimes.com]
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/series/toxicpipeline/index.html [nytimes.com]
Re:But would they come? (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd be all over this.
If you're in a long term relationship, and your partner can't find a suitable contraceptive medicine that doesn't fuck with her mood/skin/weight/mental stability, you'll quickly realise that condoms pretty much strip almost every pleasure from intercourse possible: from physicality to intimacy and spontaneity.
Having the option, and or added peace of mind of the guy, or both parties being on contraception would be quite refreshing.
Re:Possibly because it worked? (Score:1, Interesting)
I've had the testosterone shots.
Once I learned to give them to myself, they were the first truly painless shots I've ever had.
No, the testosterone doesn't hurt once it's inside you.
If you let the alcohol evaporate, the needle itself doesn't hurt. It's an IM (Intra-Muscular) shot. I took it in my rear. Big muscle, and NOT the most sensitive area. Just let me put the needle in myself, slowly, and it doesn't hurt a bit. Doing so really disturbed the nurses. But I didn't feel a thing!
And yes, I did find it made me more aggressive.
Re:Possibly because it worked? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:This is an interesting development, but... (Score:2, Interesting)
That's the commonly held belief. However, in modern society, men are held accountable for their actions, and many women are perfectly willing to do nefarious things to keep a man around. Read: missing pills, poking holes in condoms, fishing used condoms out of trash, etc. Also, be aware that female birth control pills fail for the entire month if the woman takes any kind of antibiotic that month.
FEMALE BIRTH CONTROL PILLS FAIL FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH IF THE WOMAN TAKES ANY KIND OF ANTIBIOTIC THAT MONTH.
Repeated for emphasis. I can't count on two hands the amount of friends of mine that have accidentally impregnated a woman who took an antibiotic and didn't know about this side effect. And when accidental pregnancies occur, the man must defer to the woman's beliefs on whether abortion is wrong.
This is a modern society of hair-trigger lawsuits. Most women won't put up with that. Also, most men actually have at least minimal moral standards for themselves and won't abandon their child and its mother to fend for themselves.
We need more male contraceptive methods. Hell, we need as many contraceptive methods as we can get. If it were up to me, everyone would be required to use at least three methods before having sex. Unintended pregnancies destroy lives, so let's be smart about this.
Re:1% ! (Score:3, Interesting)