New Male Contraceptive Gel Enters Clinical Trials (cbslocal.com) 193
The first clinical trial is underway to test a new male contraceptive that could be a game changer for preventing pregnancy. From a report: "(It's) a combination of two horomones: Progestin, which is the typical horomone that is found in female contraceptive pills, which they put in there to suppress sperm production, to trick the body, and testosterone, which is the male sex horomone so that there's normal circulating levels of testosterone that men don't lose their libido or sexual function or have any changes in mood," said CBS News medical contributor Dr. Tara Narula.
The National Institutes of Health is enrolling about 420 couples to use an experimental gel that has been in development for more than 10 years. If proven effective, it would be the first hormonal birth control for men. The gel is applied to the back and shoulders. Researchers found that testosterone, once absorbed through the skin, stays in the system longer than testosterone taken in pill form does. Male volunteers will use the gel every day for four to 12 weeks.
The National Institutes of Health is enrolling about 420 couples to use an experimental gel that has been in development for more than 10 years. If proven effective, it would be the first hormonal birth control for men. The gel is applied to the back and shoulders. Researchers found that testosterone, once absorbed through the skin, stays in the system longer than testosterone taken in pill form does. Male volunteers will use the gel every day for four to 12 weeks.
Why (Score:5, Funny)
Because (Score:2, Flamebait)
This is truly the last thing I expected to see on Slashdot.
Just because you can't get laid doesn't mean the rest of us cannot.
Plus it's interesting medical/science news and some of us nerds here have an interest in such things.
That sounds awesome (Score:3)
So, baby, here are our birth control options.
1) You take a pill everyday, at the same time everyday, that has some pretty hard initial side effects.
2) You give me a neck and shoulder massage everyday.
I'm good with 2 too. Glad we agree.
(Oh, yeah, I could wear a condom, but, you know, I'm allergic to latex.)
Re:That sounds awesome (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3)
The daily neck and shoulder massage would be great. Until your wife started growing a beard and randomly beating the shit out of you.
That happens anyway.
Re:That sounds awesome (Score:4, Informative)
Why is anyone still taking the Pill, when implants are so much more convenient and reliable?
Ask some women (Score:5, Informative)
Why is anyone still taking the Pill, when implants are so much more convenient and reliable?
Why don't you ask some women? They aren't all that scary, I promise.
I'll save you some time though:
1) Implants are decidedly less convenient if you decide you want to stop using it
2) Implants require a surgical procedure to install and remove - a minor one but still a procedure with risks
3) Women vary in their responses to medication
4) Higher up front cost (though typically cheaper in the long run)
5) Some types of medication make implants less effective
6) There are some side effects
7) It lasts for about 3 years and you have to remember to get it replaced
8) There are different long term health risk profiles
9) Some women just prefer one method over another
Re: (Score:2)
There are in between options. Vaginal inserts can have lots of the conveniences of implants without the drawbacks. For some women they work a lot better, because they use a lower overall dose, but they do deliver a higher dose locally.
Different people have different needs, and it's good to have lots of options. There probably are some women who use the pill because they don't know about other options or stick with good enough though. The pill has been around for half a century, while other methods are much
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Why is anyone still taking the Pill, when implants are so much more convenient and reliable?
Because larger breasts don't protect against pregnancy! :)
On a more serious note- my wife has an IUD but hates it (although I think what she blames it for isn't it's fault). She immediately said she would be willing to rub contraceptive gel into my back each night to have the IUD out. Vasectomy not a viable option for us, but I would take the gel if It were safe.
Not trying to pry (Score:2)
I am curious, though. Could you give us an indicator why vasectomy is not an option?
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Obviously (Score:2)
That's one option, sure. I was curious if that was the actual answer. There are ways to approach that issue, and I wondered where he was with it.
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I am curious, though. Could you give us an indicator why vasectomy is not an option?
Why don't you tell us, instead, why you think sterilisation is the same thing as a contraceptive?
Sterilization (Score:2)
Um, actually, sterilization is a form of contraception. That's what sterilization means. No conception.
There are, of course, several reasons that could take vasectomy off of the table for OP. I was curious as to which was the case because they are already using an IUD, which seems to rule out religious prohibition or fear of medical intervention.
Of course, I was careful to say this was simple curiosity so I wouldn't come off as aggressive or rude, a tactic others might well emulate.
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Um, actually, sterilization is a form of contraception.
So's death. Doesn't mean they're the same thing.
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There's a venn diagram in this somewhere to both make you look smart while equally making you look really, really stupid.
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$1,000 (Score:2)
Damn. That's rough.
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Not easy to reverse (Score:3)
Just get a vasectomy and shoot blanks instead.
Umm, that's great if you never plan to have kids in the future. But it's a little hard to change your mind later on if you go down this route. If that were a good idea you'd see guys in their 20s getting the procedure already.
reversible (Score:2)
Almost all of them are reversible, but the doctors have to tell you they aren't so they won't get sued by the 1 guy that can't get his undone successfully. Even then, I think they can extract sperm cells and do in vitro (obviously much more expensive and pain in the balls).
I had mine in my 20s (while I was married), and I have NEVER regretted it. Not once. Ever.
YMMV
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Reversal success rates vary from about 40% to over 90% according to Mayo clinic, based on a number of factors including how long it's been in place.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tes... [mayoclinic.org]
Depending on your personal priorities and risk factors, a 60% (or even 10%) chance of permanent sterilization may be an unacceptable risk. Of course if you're absolutely certain you'll never want kids, then it's probably a great choice.
Personally I'm following the progress of vasagel and similar "temporary vasectomies" with inte
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>Men, don't take anything that messes with your hormones.
Don't limit your advice to men. Sadly, that's a definite risk of female birth control as well.
Re:That sounds awesome (Score:4, Informative)
Typically the female contraceptive pill is about 90-95% effective, because people don't use it perfectly. So if you want to avoid having kids it's a good idea to use some other form of contraceptive too.
Comment removed (Score:3)
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Fertility in a female body can change basically over night (yes, her rhythm would say she is fertile in 10 days, but suddenly she is tomorrow).
And then again male sperm can live inside of the female body minimum seven days, some say up to 12 days.
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I am really surprised that no one has come up with an easily cleanable and reusable fertility test that would allow couples to test for fertility with the same accuracy the current kits have.
Because the test won't tell you that she will become fertile two days form now, and get pregnant with the sperm you deposited right now into her.
Sperm lives for a long time in the woman.
Re:Now men get to share in the pain (Score:4, Insightful)
They have. There's an app for that. It's pretty effective, but not perfect. And like any birth control, it has to be used correctly. In other words, when it says no fucking, no fucking. Unfortunately, people have difficulty even figuring out how to use a condom reliably, so rhythm methods often don't work so well.
Condoms, the pill, rhythm methods, pulling out... all are quite effective *if used correctly*. The caveat at the end is a big one.
A solution looking for a problem. (Score:3, Funny)
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None of the other options are close to 100% effective, so it's advisable to use more than one. Pills or anything you can use daily have the advantage of becoming routine and thus harder to forget or run out of.
Also the "side effects" are actually desirable for some people.
Re: (Score:2)
None of the other options are close to 100% effective, so it's advisable to use more than one. Pills or anything you can use daily have the advantage of becoming routine and thus harder to forget or run out of.
Also the "side effects" are actually desirable for some people.
Re-read the parent. He didn't say "two other contraceptive options", he said "two other places to stick it in".
Gel? (Score:3)
I use axle grease. Whenever I come in from the garage with some on, there's no danger of conception.
What happened to the injectable block (Score:2)
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Only for couples (Score:2)
If I was so flexible, that I could smear some stuff on my back and shoulders, I guess I wouldn't have a need for its 'cure' anyway.
"... The gel is applied to ..." (Score:2)
"... The gel is applied to the back and shoulders."
Uh-oh. Better tell Bob.
He's been "applying" it to his "front".
self-evident side effect (Score:2)
Wouldn't surprise me if the synopsis author could properly spell horcrux / horcruxes.
Priorities, man.
Testosterone dose (Score:2)
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No women think they like it. Its fun until a decade or two on when they
1) Discover they are married to someone they don't even like
2) Either don't have kids or have just one spoiled brat who is also dumb as a cinder block because they were to old when they had him/her
3) End up with breast cancer because the did not have any kids.
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This isn't a troll, just a legitimate comment subjected to bad moderator who disagrees.
Re: Why not vasectomy instead? (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes because its totally necessary to provide citations to things that have been given wide enough coverage you could easily google them on the same devices you are currently reading my comment on. Sorry A/C your own laziness does not make my post a troll..
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You are stating an opinion not submitting to a peer review journal, police report, or even a paper for a grade. You might be more credible with citations provided but not having them doesn't make you a troll. You can be correct without citations, you can be incorrect with citations, and there are no shortage of opinions which can not be decisively ever be determined are correct or not.
People don't need to provide citations every time they give their 2 cents and what the hell do citations have to do with tro
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Some men may welcome the hormonal changes. Testosterone levels go up and down naturally and generally are not something most men need to worry about, but for some excessive libido and the like can be an issue. There are treatments like amitriptyline, but it requires a prescription, can be expensive and has a lot of side effects.
Re: Why not vasectomy instead? (Score:5, Funny)
What gets me is locations. How is A guy supposed to rub it in his back shoulders? You have to have someone else to rub it in. And that will affect them too.
Now a gel that a guy can rub on his fick once a day that does the same thing? Yes now that will get used.
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I imagine they will think of a more practical method of application if it proves effective.
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I doubt it, the application method is about making sure men aren't actually empowered to control their own reproductive destiny. Rubbing it on your penis would carry the same problem, it could be tasted or otherwise detected.
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That's some paranoid nonsense right there. Aside from anything else, there are simple and cheap tools for applying medication to your back, and how would concealing its use from your partner empower you? How is it worse than the current situation?
This is great news for men, but some people are determined to somehow twist it into being a misandrist attack on them.
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"how would concealing its use from your partner empower you"
In the same way being able to take the pill while claiming to try to get pregnant empowers women. Even more so, it would allow you to let them feel secure thinking they are holding the reigns. This keeps a partner treating you the way they treat you while trying to trap you for as long as possible before they give up and move on. That isn't a shit move, it's just turnabout since it only matters if they are trying to trap you in the first place. Unf
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Rubbing it on your penis would carry the same problem, it could be tasted or otherwise detected.
No, the problem with this is that the testosterone absorbs transdermally - not just to you but to anyone in contact with the penis.
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A little bit of testosterone would likely only increase her drive. Nothing terrible there.
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Or a beard / acne. Or if she's already pregnant (unlikely in this case, of course), a potential miscarriage.
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I suspect that if it works they'll try to developed a once monthly patch.
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There are applicators with a long handle for this kinds of use cases.
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You have to have someone else to rub it in. And that will affect them too.
If it needs to be rubbed in your back shoulders, then doesn't it stand to reason that it wouldn't affect the person getting it on their hands?
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Re:Why not vasectomy instead? (Score:5, Insightful)
Apparently the female pill is something that women like because it reduces or eliminates unnecessary [npr.org] menstruation.
I've not known any woman who "likes the pill"- every woman I had a serious relationship would complain about the pill, how it made them gain weight, dropped their libido... etc, etc. I'm sure there are some out there because every woman is different and the pill impacts them slightly differently.
Women (most) don't take the pill because they like the effects- they take it because they don't want to get pregnant, or, because they have painful periods otherwise and so the side effects are just not as bad as having to deal with a painful period.
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I'm sure there are some out there because every woman is different and the pill impacts them slightly differently.
Most of the women I've known to be on the pill disliked it, but a couple of them loved it as it made their cycle more regular.
Re:Why not vasectomy instead? (Score:5, Informative)
The pill basically works on women primarily by chemically simulating pregnancy, in order to suppress ovulation. So, you can either get pregnant or have many of the effects of pregnancy except having the baby and most of the weight gain, plus an increased chance of cancer (at least some of the various forms of the pill are classified as carcinogens).
If fact, almost all forms of contraceptives are disliked because of the various side effects. They are just disliked less than having a pregnancy and decades of child care. For instance, vasectomy has several side effects, including many that don't show up for years or decades: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tes... [mayoclinic.org]
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, how it made them gain weight, dropped their libido...
There's a variety of pills that affect different women differently. Of course they don't like it. Ultimately it's a body altering substance. No one really likes their mood / personality to be dependent on a drug. But speaking from experience swapping from one pill to another made my partner horny as all heck and she gained a bit of weight after stopping altogether but that was due to the mood change (can't give a crap attitude combined with sitting and eating). Exercise fixed that. Not the weight, but the m
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, how it made them gain weight, dropped their libido...
There's a variety of pills that affect different women differently. Of course they don't like it. Ultimately it's a body altering substance. No one really likes their mood / personality to be dependent on a drug. But speaking from experience swapping from one pill to another made my partner horny as all heck and she gained a bit of weight after stopping altogether but that was due to the mood change (can't give a crap attitude combined with sitting and eating). Exercise fixed that. Not the weight, but the mood.
My wife blames everything on libido.
"The pill kills my libido... sorry"
"Yeah, condoms kill my mood sorry"
"Yeah, this contraceptive ring... it kills my libido too."
"Sorry, I'm pregnant- pregnancy has killed my libido."
"It's a well known fact women who are breastfeeding have lowered libido"
Now she uses an IUD... and not even one that has hormones on it, the one without.
"Sorry, the IUD kills my libido."
I truly suspect in her case it has nothing at all to do with the birthcontrol... she just has a low libido...
Re: (Score:2)
Start worrying if she ever says "you killed my libido". :-)
I often tell me girlfriend at some point we should just change our facebook status to married, after all after 10 years we're effectively having sex like a married couple XD
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
"If I wanted offspring with my genes I could freeze some sperm before."
Those kind of things are very expensive and have very poor probabilities of success alongside high risk of multiples if they do succeed.
Probably the biggest reason is to empower men to control their own reproductive destiny without requiring us to have sex with a condom instead of a partner. If you are not a heterosexual male then you don't know what it is like dealing with some of the females in our society. They will tell you they are
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>You'll note the application method requires a partner...
Really? Can you not reach most of your own back and shoulders? You might want to work on that. I'm not especially flexible and can easily reach my entire lower back with either hand, up to about the base of my shoulder blades, and I can reach most of each shoulder blade with my opposing hand. Plus as others have mentioned there's no shortage of applicators designed for exactly this sort of purpose.
Re:Why not vasectomy instead? (Score:4, Interesting)
The problem with vasectomies is that they should be considered permanent because the reversal is not guaranteed and, you know, things change, you may end up regretting that decision.
Also there are other complications, in my case the Post-Vasectomy-Pain (PVP) was quite unbearable and induced a lot of nausea.
That's why vasectomies are not like "normal" contraception.
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Re: Why not vasectomy instead? (Score:2)
You need your wife's permission to do what you want with your body? What bullshit is this?
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I had the snip. It's been a while, but if I recall correctly, my wife needed to sign the paperwork as well.
I seem to remember it was not for permission, but for verification of her being aware it was going to be done.
And that is not unreasonable imo. This is a decision that is going to affect her as well.
Plus while you can present an argument about strong individualism and it being your body, having her sign only applies if you're married. And the underlying reasoning with marriage is that this a permanent
Re: Why not vasectomy instead? (Score:2)
So if a wife wants to be sterilised does the same apply?
Re: Why not vasectomy instead? (Score:2)
How old are they?
Re: Why not vasectomy instead? (Score:2)
Because there are side effects.
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...
Hands don't get pregnant.
So quit trying four or five times a day.
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...
Hands don't get pregnant.
So quit trying four or five times a day.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Re:Progestin and Testosterone? (Score:4, Interesting)
According to TFA the extra testosterone is to prevent side effects like loss of libido and sexual function.
Anyway, this is just the trial, it may improve given time with no ways to apply it.
And really this is a huge game changer for men. It will give us a level of control over our own fertility that we have never had before, and maybe even lead to other liberating changes just like the pill did.
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According to TFA the extra testosterone is to prevent side effects like loss of libido and sexual function.
Anyway, this is just the trial, it may improve given time with no ways to apply it.
And really this is a huge game changer for men. It will give us a level of control over our own fertility that we have never had before, and maybe even lead to other liberating changes just like the pill did.
Yes... but I'm a little concerned that you have to rub it into your back every day? I have t-rex arms, I can't reach my back. This requires cooperation for someone else to work?
Can I just rub it in somewhere else? Like... well... yeah, there that place... or anywhere else.
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The goal may be to put it in a transdermal patch. The gel delivery method seems pretty messy without any advantages except that it's cheap and makes it easy to continue tweaking the formula.
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A level of control over our own fertility that we have never had before? How fucking stupid are you? We have had condoms for centuries, and even before that, we could just pull out. We have unparalleled control over our own fertility already. The fact that many men can't be bothered to put a small rubber on their dick is stupidity, not lack of autonomy.
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So weepy roid rage? I can envision the other results, Moobs and erections that last more than 4 hours.
This is Slashdot. The people here already have moobs...and erections that last the length of an anime feature.
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Do you wear a raincoat in the shower?
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Not that simple (Score:2)
You could just wear a condom.
Condoms are measurably less effective than other methods of birth control. Furthermore they do fail from time to time and can easily be misused or not used. Additionally they are of no protection in the event of rape or simply irresponsible partners.
It has other benefits like not getting diseases.
Not really a concern in a monogamous relationship with someone trustworthy. If you are worried about getting a disease maybe you shouldn't be sticking your naughty bits into that person? Granted sometimes you don't know if you can trust someone but after a t
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You could just wear a condom. It has other benefits like not getting diseases. Works well when you use it right and doesn't mess with your hormones.
Sure, if I were single, I would, but since they provide considerably less protection and I'm in a monogamous happy marriage- I'd rather never wear a condom again. They take away pleasure from both parties.
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Same reason as you don't want to eat a steak with one on your tongue....NO sensation.
Not as much fun fucking if you can't really feel anything....
Effects of the pill (Score:2)
Just look at how the pill has effected women.
Yeah let's do that shall we?
The pill has resulted in
1) Higher levels of education and income for women
2) Freedom to choose career opportunities other than domestic servitude
3) Reduced incidence of diseases [nih.gov] including endometrial and ovarian cancers
4) Puts women on an equal footing with men regarding reproductive choices
5) Ability to plan to have a family when it is convenient and appropriate
6) Increased happiness both in men and women
7) More talent in the work force
8) Fewer abortions and fewer adoptions need
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
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Want her to keep the kid? Too bad, it's her body.
Yep - As much as the GOP would like to be able to, you can't force a women to carry a child to term.
Don't want to keep the kid? Too bad, you're on the hook for child support for 18 years.
Wear a condom. Are they perfect? No. But odds of pregnancy plummet.
No problem for her, there's always paternity fraud.
Easily disproved with a genetic test.
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"Easily proved"
Sure, if you're still in a relationship with her. If you're not in many states you're screwed because the state won't force a paternity test if you were in a relationship. If you're now in a different state you're completely screwed.
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It does not put men and women on equal reproductive grounds.
Yep - As much as the GOP would like to be able to, you can't force a women to carry a child to term.
So you're admitting that it's not equal. Great.
Wear a condom. Are they perfect? No. But odds of pregnancy plummet.
But not nearly as much as with most other forms of birth control, and not at all similar to having post-intercourse control. I'll take that as a concession.
paternity fraud
Easily disproved with a genetic test.
No, not even close:
If he's married to a woman, even it it's a Common Law marriage that he didn't realize that he was in, he's legally the father regardless of genetics.
If he doesn't get the court summons (in many cases just a first-class letter, no signature required) he's the father by default, no chance
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Re: Effects of the pill (Score:4, Insightful)
The situation is inherently asymmetric because the woman has to carry the baby and the man cannot. Reproduction is never going to be completely fair in all aspects, at least not until the invention of the gestation tank.
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By the time you detect it you need more elaborate medical abortion procedure than popping Plan B and bleeding a bit.
Major psychological and physical impact and significant risks are unavoidable at that point.
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Sure - just like female hormonal birth control can cause all sorts of horrible problems for them.
As for having no value, why are you talking about women? Male birth control is for men, not women. Women have a few different options to give them the confidence of knowing they can have sex with near certainty of avoiding pregnancy, without having to trust anyone else. This gel would give the same thing to men.
You only have to browse the comments above to see that there's a definite market for such a thing.
Pe
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Female hormonal contraception has multiple benefits besides stopping a woman from getting pregnant, which make it a net positive even with the side effects. This will have similar or worse negatives with none of the benefits. If this is a repurposing of the injectable version that went through trials and was shut down 2 years ago then you're looking at increased acne in 45% of participants(whereas the pill for women reduces acne), 16.9% adverse emotional reaction, injection site pain in 23.1%, and muscle pa
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Ostensibly it will allow men the same choice as women regarding birth control. This is patently false of course since women derive many other benefits from hormonal birth control that men do not, and either the same negatives or similar ones are almost certainly still there.
What were your sources of information for this statement?
There is a *lot* of negative side effects possible for the pill, and there are a surprisingly large number of people who have adverse reactions to the pill. You just don't read about it much in the mainstream, because women generally just switch to alternative contraception forms.
This doesn't even go into the fact that testosterone added to the body has long term semi-permanent effects on the body's ability to generate it, unlike estrogen.
Studies have been done that showed women taking the pill do undergo permanent hormone changes. The problem is the same for both genders.
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Where did I say that there weren't many negatives? I'm curious. What I said was is that there wouldn't be the commensurate benefits to the female pill. Among them being significantly less acne, suppression of cramps/bleeding, statistically significant suppression of migrane headaches and several other bells and whistles. As for my source, that would be the study on the injectable version of the therapy that was shut down by independent scientific advisory boards 2 years ago. Which showed, among other things
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Where did I say that there weren't many negatives? I'm curious. What I said was is that there wouldn't be the commensurate benefits to the female pill.
Ah, true. I (mis)interpreted your sentence as downplaying the number of side-effects associated with the female pill. The list of potential negative side-effects is horrendously long... enough that it's little comfort that the existing female pill might have a few potential benefits some women might experience from the side-effects (i.e., ignoring the primary reason for taking this for most women).
Among them being significantly less acne, suppression of cramps/bleeding, statistically significant suppression of migrane headaches and several other bells and whistles.
But just as long as we're clear, this is for *some* people, and for many others it can have an opposite effect.