No birth control for men

[BlaqueKatt]

Well, the options for guys are pretty simplistic, as far as I know

this is only true in the US-Japan and china have a totally safe, reversible, temporary, successful form of "vasectomy". They inset a silicone plug into the Vas deferens to block sperm same as a vasectomy-and it can be removed when you want a child and reinserted after conception. Also sperm is only viable at a specific temperature-heating the scrotum with ultrasound waves-raises the temperature enough, that if done 4 times in a 30 day period leaves no viable sperm for up to 6 months-if the process is repeated during that time it can last up to a year. However the medical community here in the US claims that due to the number of options for women there is "no market or desire for male birth control."

[Slytovhand]

Doh! Can't believe I left that in there. What I should have said was that my hips were sore for days afterwards

Yeah... I was going to say.."Hey Pedersen... too much information.."


I'll be for a pill, although, I've been using the most effective BC for some years now... (ooops... TMI )

Slyt

[Wicked_Lexi]

I wish there were more options for Men. I am mildly allergic to Latex so I try not to use condoms as much as possible. I am on the Pill (for contraceptive reasons as well as other... girls will understand!) and sometimes I forget to take it and that leads to me either

A) Not being able to have sex at all
or
B) Using condoms and being uncomfortable for days on end.

I wish there was something my BF could take that would at least take the main pressure off me when it comes to birth control. Being completely responsible for our safely from spawn is nerve racking and kinda unfair really.

[Wicked_Lexi]

However the medical community here in the US claims that due to the number of options for women there is "no market or desire for male birth control."

Oh for heavens sake. Someone find these people and smack them!

[blas87]

It's very unfair and nerve wracking. And I'm sure their only defense is the stereotype that women are more responsible when it comes to pills and remembering to take them.

If they could come up with a shot for men like Depo for women, being as you only need that once every 12 weeks, I don't see how it'd be that hard to do.

[AFPheonix]

I wish there were more options for Men. I am mildly allergic to Latex so I try not to use condoms as much as possible. I am on the Pill (for contraceptive reasons as well as other... girls will understand!) and sometimes I forget to take it and that leads to me either

A) Not being able to have sex at all
or
B) Using condoms and being uncomfortable for days on end.

I wish there was something my BF could take that would at least take the main pressure off me when it comes to birth control. Being completely responsible for our safely from spawn is nerve racking and kinda unfair really.

Not to pry, but have you guys tried non-latex condoms?
Also, there's other BC options for you that don't require daily dosing: the shot, Implanon, and a variety of IUDs for example.
I've been on the patch and loving it for a few years now, and I've heard nothing but good things about Nuvaring, too.

[BlaqueKatt]

I've been on the patch and loving it for a few years now, and I've heard nothing but good things about Nuvaring, too.

other than the class action lawsuits due to wrongful death-currently 3 so far for a 5 second google search

and the patch lawsuits

they skew the studies by measuring in something called "woman years" Cullins(who is a paid adviser for Ortho McNeil-manufacturer of the patch) said she reviewed the deaths looking at “women years” rather than current users. Women years is a measure that takes into account that different people use a particular contraceptive for different periods of time. For example, if three women each used a patch for four months, that would count as one woman year rather than three current users. there are no long-term studies-just a large number for a short time)-so you get 12 women using a product for one month with no problem-that equals one year of no problems with the product for safety research purposes

"The mother of three died last fall, just after Thanksgiving, after days of agonizing headaches that the coroner’s report said were brought on by hormones released into her system by Ortho Evra, a birth control patch she had started using a few weeks earlier.(she was 25 and DID NOT SMOKE)
She was among about a dozen women, most in their late teens and early 20s, who died last year from blood clots believed to be related to the birth control patch. Dozens more survived strokes and other clot-related problems, according to federal drug safety reports.

the risk of dying or suffering a survivable blood clot while using the device was about three times higher than while using birth control pills.

The women who died were young and apparently at low risk for clots — women like Zakiya Kennedy, an 18-year-old Manhattan fashion student who collapsed and died in a New York subway station last April.

before the patch was approved, the FDA had already noticed nonfatal blood clots from the patch were three times that of the pill. In 2000, doctors at the FDA reviewing clinical trials of the wafer-thin, plastic patch warned that blood clots could be a problem if it was approved.----this is why I don't trust the FDA--the reports are only voluntary(if the affected person or their next of kin does not report to the FDA using their form it goes totally unrecorded) when one of THEIR OWN DOCTORS said "we need to keep track of this after it is approved as there are much higher risks"-and they approved it and ARE NOT FOLLOWING UP ON ANYTHING. How many people died from vioxx, phen-phen, Plavix---all regarded as safe?

As much as I dislike the pill and Depo, at least we have long-term proof that they're safer-not "add up the months and divide by 12 rather than follow number of people using the product" psuedo-safety research.

[anriana]

There are many more forms of BC for men in development, a quick google search found these:

Here's an article from 2006 saying the pill will be available in four or five years: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/OnCall/story?id=2683691

Here's an article from 2008 talking about the variey of forms of contraceptive (patch, pill, shot) that are being developed and saying it will probably be three years before the pills are on the market and five years before they're approved by the FDA: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3543478/

[Wicked_Lexi]

Not to pry, but have you guys tried non-latex condoms?
Also, there's other BC options for you that don't require daily dosing: the shot, Implanon, and a variety of IUDs for example.
I've been on the patch and loving it for a few years now, and I've heard nothing but good things about Nuvaring, too.

I have, They aren't as reliable and the texture is horrible!

I have considered the Nuva Ring, We don't have a patch over here and the daily shot reduces your fertility and my doc doesn't want me to have it...

So the pill it is... this thread reminded me to take it.. lol

[Rapscallion]

Would any of the ladies here truly trust their men to take a pill regularly?

I've heard this cited in many surveys about male birth control. The answer was generally a resounding, "Hell no!"

Rapscallion

[anriana]

Would any of the ladies here truly trust their men to take a pill regularly?

I've heard this cited in many surveys about male birth control. The answer was generally a resounding, "Hell no!"

Rapscallion

I don't trust myself to do that.

However, the birth control they're developing will also be available in injection and patch form, much like the hormones they use for the female version.

[Greenday]

Do I trust all women to correctly take the pill? Hell no. Women can be just as forgetful as men. And if taking the pill myself means I don't have to rely on the woman to remember, then give me the pill. I had to practically remind my girl friends in college to take their pill. That's how forgetful they were. I'm not taking chances if I can help it.

[Boozy]

Would any of the ladies here truly trust their men to take a pill regularly?

Do I trust all women to correctly take the pill? Hell no.

The fact remains that people need to take responsibility for their own reproductive choices.

My take on it is this: If I trust a man enough to stop using condoms, I trust him enough to take a pill everyday. Condoms protect from STDs. If I didn't trust my partner to be truthful about his past and remain faithful to me, we continued to use condoms.

A male BC pill would have been a godsend for my husband and I a few years ago, because I am unable to take hormonal BC. It's no longer an issue, but it would have been nice at the time. Hubby is a bit forgetful, but I remember everything; it would simply have been a matter of me reminding him to take the pill every day.

[tropicsgoddess]

Man, I would LOVE it if they came out with some male birth control. It would really make things easier if both sides had a way of preventing a pregnancy.

[Dreamstalker]

For years I've been all for male BC; among other reasons, it makes the man at least a little bit responsible for any negative happenings. Not sure if it would cut down on the number of guys who run out on pregnant partners due to not wanting to face up to things, but it would be a start.

Would any of the ladies here truly trust their men to take a pill regularly?

With the ex? Hell no (I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him for many things, but that's another ball of wax).

He used to remind me to take my pill when in fact I already had for that day (just cuz you didn't see me take it doesn't mean I didn't, I'm well aware of what can happen with missed doses). Granted, my primary reason for the pill is not the norm, so I have to be fairly vigilant in taking it.