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Drug Companies Plan Male Contraceptive Pill
TamMan2000 writes "I can hear the trolls now, with their jokes about how nobody who reads slashdot will ever score... But, incase any of us ever do score the male pill could soon be a reality."
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fp or premature posting.
i need to see a doctor.
...watching the antics of celebrities and athletes as they deal with their illegitimate children in front of the media.
Future generations will not know this joy.
Does anyone on /. need contraception?
... impotence."
"And like that
As long as there's no flipper babies, right Don? ... It was only a couple of flipper babies!
But really, isn't the chance of some deformed (DNA-wise) sperm making it to fertilize and implant going to be higher with this? Especially in couples with only the men taking the pill and not the women?
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
...there was a "male pill" already being examined by the FDA...? Like it's supposed to be released sometime in the next year!
Anybody know anything more about that?
The link being a Money article, there's no info on how the thing works, and I'm too damn lazy to google. Anybody know anything about the science? My understanding is that it's non-trivial to put the breaks on sperm production. (Insert 4th grade joke here)
Brevity is the soul of wit
-- Polonius
I think that the technology/knowledge to create birth control pills for men has been around for a while. I imagine they will be much safer, too, since sperm is manufactured on a frequent regular basis, the pill would just have to affect that process. It could probably be taken as little as 24-36 hours before sex to have its effect, and it would most likely not affect hormone levels.
It's just that pills for men have this one little problem:
Zero Accountability.
Oh, sure, if you're using them because you're in a committed relationship and don't want your honey to get pregnant, they'd be useful as heck.
However, one of the reasons that birth control pills for women work so well is because the women taking them have a *huge* incentive to take them -- they don't want to get pregnant. So, they're much less likely to forget a dose.
On the other hand, consider a player. He may even have pills, but forget to take them. It'll be important to him, but not as present in his mind as it would in a woman's, because the effects for him are not so dire. For the player, it might rank just above flossing as a priority.
Also, imagine men saying, "Honey, it's cool, I'm on the pill." A woman has no real reason to lie and say that she's on the pill if she isn't, and if she does lie then she has to suffer the consequences.
Karma: Chevy Kavalierma.
I heard that scientists behind "The Iron Curtain" not only developed male pill years ago - they made abetter one.
They made a "morning after" pill for men.
It was 100% effective.
No patient who tried it ever got pregnant.
Ever dream you could fly? Get up from the Flight Sim. I Fly
This is pretty neat, but it doesn't mention how it works. They've been experimenting with the male "shot", which is basically an injection of testosterone into your leg once a week. Apparently, it's quite painful, and has many side effects, like bad acne and more body hair. One good side effect is increased muscle mass, but this is simply a good reason to have it abused by weightlifters as most steroids either stimulate the production of testosterone, or simulate testosterone itself.
If the pill simply increases testosterone to insane levels like the shot does, it's simply a steroid and is going to have side effects similar to other steroids. When you supplement testosterone, your body stops making it's own, and that's part of the reason your nuts shrink.
My ex-gf wanted me to get the shot when it was released because she thought taking the pill was too inconvenient. I think going in for a painful shot once a week, bad acne, and lots of hair is probably more of an inconvenience. The female pill has been around for a long time, and it's side effects (good and bad) are fairly well understood. I think the acceptance rate of a male pill will likely be slow just because it will take awhile to prove itself, and if it does just increase testosterone levels, the side effects may not be worth it.
Need Free Juniper/NetScreen Support? JuniperForum
It's called "Geek Reality" and it's a bitter, bitter pill.
I dont think there is a real need for this anyway.
The FDA already approved EverQuest for Birth Control Use didnt they?
It actually works for abstinence too
Studies showed 100% of people playing everquest had no problems with impregnating women or being impregnated.
However, 100% of people playing everquest were also found to not leave their house, so that makes it hard.
Everquest Approved
Never heard of Old Dirty Bastard's 10 kids by 9 different women?
Never heard of the Jerry Springer "I want your baby and your money" Show?
There are many women who lie about using the pill for the express purpose of getting pregnant. Whether they do it for money (ODB) or for love (Jerry Springer style), they do it.
A guy who sleeps around isn't looking to have a family and would more likely to be diligent in taking the medication correctly. It's a pill in the morning, not some series of injections. It's easy for a playboy to prevent exactly those things that would hamper his playing. Except for STDs of course.
Ha, shows what you know. I'm an avid slashdot reader and I score all the time... just yesterday I got the highest Pac-Man score for the second time in three weeks!
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
Actually, the testes do not shrink in size. They do stop producing testosterone and this will eventually lead to health problems down the road (bitch tits is the most common problem cited by heavy steroid users). However, just because the nuts have stopped squirting hormones doesn't mean they become smaller. What you are noticing is that they become smaller in size relative to the rest of a bodybuilder's body.
As his muscle mass increases, things that don't change in size like his balls, hands, and head look comparatively smaller.
Maybe you shouldn't be looking so closely at those hunks' balls?
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I don't care what it does, but it'd better be a blue pill.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
Please, people, be responsible.
--sdem
It is about damn time this happened. There has been no technical or biological barriers to producing a non-painful or non-surgical male contraceptive drug like this. It is simply that pharm companies do the vast majority of contraceptive research on women and drugs to hold back their reproduction, rather than looking into the same topic on men. Eventually this comes down to our cultural meme that, for some reason, birth control is the responsibility of the woman rather than the man. A rather sexist policy held up at most drug companies.
Hell, it may just come down to the fact that most pharm researchers are men, and that there is some curious idea men have that they're somehow less masculine if they don't have a high sperm count. Silly. I for one wouldn't mind it one bit, unless I was trying to concieve. However, most men aren't almost trying to concieve most of the time, so guys: get over it.
All the same, I'm really glad someone took the initiative to do more than some prototype work on a contraceptive pill for men. I hope it makes it to market.
But I can't help but wonder... does it fuck with your emotions and hormonal balance in the ways the pill, Norplant and Depo do to women? No matter how much drug companies may try to ignore this, every woman I've known that has gone on the pill or Norplant (never known a depo user) had an absolutely hellish time while her body got used to it- 2-month long periods, unnatural mood swings, huge increases in acne, weight or fatigue; no wonder the decidedly male business of drug development hasn't bothered to find a contraceptive drug for men.
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
...this when I submitted the story, but I had not found it yet at the time...
"I'll have a Guinness, no wait, make that a Coors Light" -Grad student I work with, who shall remain anonymous...
I don't think I would use the male pill. The reason being that it hasn't had the many many tests, trials, studies, and decades of positive experiences with low side effects that the female birth control pill has had.
Until it becomes well tested (like 20+ years of use by the general population with KNOWN RISKS mapped out), I will steer clear of this and look for other methods.
Just my two cents.
Using your sig line to advertise for friends is lame.
My girl is on it, once every 3 months she has a jab in her arse. No periods/pms to worry about, which is a big bonus since she is emotionally delicate [Those of you who have been bullied 24/7 for a few years will understand], and I'm always horny
It might not stop periods for all women though*, and I've heard some horror stories about it. I'd google some links up if I could remember the name of it. Perhaps that's why drugs have such weird names?
Ali
*She bleeds a little bit every 2 or 3 months, but nothing major. She forgot to tell me last time too. I don't mind a little bit like that on my dick, but when I... Nah, people might be eating.
Ph33r m3!!!
A little piece of advice for the ladies.... If a guy says he's on the pill, use a hat anyway.
"A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
Where the slashdot story says "soon", the CNN article says the product is "likely to be available in seven years."
the female contraceptive pills biggest advantage is that if females don't take it, they suffer.
"I'm on the pill ... really."
Spoken by countless number of women who are looking to hook a man, get pregnant (because their clock is ticking, ya know), or even to take a guy to the cleaners.
Any "player" that is relying on the pill without a condom is a fucking idiot. Any woman who would have sex with a "player" without a condom is a stupid whore.
Just keepin' it real.
I think that the technology/knowledge to create birth control pills for men has been around for a while. I imagine they will be much safer, too, since sperm is manufactured on a frequent regular basis, the pill would just have to affect that process.
Wrong on pretty much all counts, actually.
Stopping ovulation in women is straightforward - you're trying to stop a once-a-month event, and the female body already has a shut-down mechanism built in (ovulation stops during pregnancy). The pill just triggers this mechanism (tricks the body into thinking it's pregnant).
Men are designed to produce sperm all the time. There is no built-in shut-down mechanism to trigger. You also have to stop production of *all* of the hundreds of millions of sperm cells produced between sexual encounters, as opposed to stopping just one egg from being released. A male contraceptive that eliminates 99.9% of sperm production is still useless.
And because you're trying to inhibit a function that's never normally shut down, you have to start from scratch when figuring out how to do it, and live with the fact that a male contraceptive that's 100% effective runs a real risk of causing permanent damage if not very carefully designed.
It could probably be taken as little as 24-36 hours before sex to have its effect, and it would most likely not affect hormone levels.
Hormone manipulation is just about the only way to affect sperm production. What do you think drives it? Hormones are the body's signalling system for stopping/starting body processes.
It's only now, after decades of research, that relatively safe, reasonably effective approaches to male contraception are being developed, and we have a long way to go before they're mature.
I would recommend this link. The critical data:
The implant would release the hormone progestin to stop production of both sperm and the male hormone testosterone. Injections of a testosterone derivative would replace natural levels of the hormone, necessary for normal sexual functioning.
Um, you first.
You get to nail here in the arse every three months?
I assume you are talking about depo. It is nice for all the reasons you mentioned, but there is one important thing that is not there...
Decades of data. No studies on the long term effects of not having a period have ever been performed, the uterine lining is supposed to be flushed regularly, no body knows what leaving it in there like that does to the long term health of the uterus.
"I'll have a Guinness, no wait, make that a Coors Light" -Grad student I work with, who shall remain anonymous...
...the male morning after pill.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
If you lodged any sort of pill in there I guess it would work as a contraceptive. I mean, Hank Hill's dad passed an entire city bus through his euretee...I don't see why a pill in there wouldn't work.
We now have confirmed reports from an informed Orange County minister that Ethel is still an active communist.
Unix, it's not really a coincidence. If all women just used unix(unices?) the human race would be doomed. How many /.ers need a pill, we have the net.
Karma: Censored (mostly affected by decency laws)
From the official FAQ:
Q: How was the male contraceptive pill created?
A: As with most revolutionary discoveries, entirely by accident! A patient involved in a double blind clinical trial for an entirely different product somehow managed to cram a placebo pill into his urethra.
Q: How does it work?
A: The pill, or, more accurately, "penile plunger," as it has been technically termed, temporarily obstructs the outlet of the urethra. As a result, the patient is rendered infertile for a full 6 hours, after which time the pill dissolves and dislodges harmlessy.
Q: Are there any side effects that I should know about?
A: Being a purely mechanical devide, the male contraceptive pill has very few side effects to worry about. Acute pain and a kidney-stone-like sensation are common. Additionally, patients are advised not to drink prior to or during use of the male pill, due to a slight risk of bladder explosion.
The angel in the oatmeal.
watching the antics of celebrities and athletes as they deal with their illegitimate children in front of the media.
Dunno what it is, but I read that, "as they dangle their illegitimate children in front of the media.
Michael Jackson, anyone?
I remember hearing on Loveline that a male pill was in development and much closer to market than the seven years this article cites. It would use a different method, too--instead of hormone regulation, it works by somehow paralyzing the sperm so they are ineffective. The drug itself is already used as a heart disease medication and this effect was discovered by accident at fertility clinics. This means that less testing is necessary--they only need to show that it's effective for this new function and not that it's also safe (which they already know). I can't remember the name of the thing at the moment, though.
Omnes arx vestrum sunt adiuncta nobis.
boys should not be able to get their drivers licences until they have the valve installed. It will be closed by default. It can only be openned once the man is out of college and has a job.
We should invest money is this! Big brother at it's best. Imagine how few losers would be around!
(No, I'm not serious. But i think it's funny.)
A speech...
I have read about a small, watch-battery like device being implanted into a women's nether regions and killing sperm with a small current as they pass by.
Lasts for a few years before the battery dies, apparently.
Couldn't they implant something like this somewhere along a guy's plumbing? Sure, it's minor surgery, but it's not permanent, reversable, and lasts years.
Just a thought.
The fewer humans the better.
I've said it before, and i'll say it again...
Abortion doctors are america's greatest heroes.
If you're in multiple relationships, it's much smarter to use a condom.
If you're done having babies, it's much easier to have a vascectomy.
Who is going to choose to continuously pay for something that does who knows what to your body? It's stupid.
Now I remember, it's Depo Provera, a.k.a. Medroxyprogesterone Acetate.
Now here's the [possible?] added benefits: Loss of bone density, and Loss of hair, I'm sure there's plenty of others not listen on the manufacturer's leaflet. Here's some Q+A thingy, a petition, and a Wired article.
Thankfully, my girl seems fine so far. :)
Happy bonking people!
Ali
Ph33r m3!!!
Seven years for testing isn't extremely huge. If you find out that after 8 years of use it causes permanent sterility, impotence, etc etc.
For myself, I'd find 15 years a short time to test something before I go swallowing a pill, or jamming a needle in my leg, no knowing the long-term side-effects.
I seem to remember hearing that to actually produce at a potent level, men require a certain temperature, etc in their nether-regions. Way back when button-up tight-pants were in style (we're talking very tight, and not designed to be loose on your boys), there was a marked problem with childlessness. Seems that when the pants mashed everything together, it was too close to the body's heat and thus less production.
I believe it's also related to why you drop down in hot climate and "tuck in" in hot weather. Perhaps something that offset the temperature balance would also act as a control method? Of course, I'm not sure if those x-century men recovered after going back to normal pants, so it may still be too permanent a solution.
The male pill would be enormously useful. Still it will be important to use condoms if not with a trusted partner, though, to prevent disease.
sulli
RTFJ.
Even if a chick I was compiling had supposedly taken the pill, I'd still be utilizing a firewall.
News flash: Women are evil. We're talking apocalyptic evil, not Bill Gates/RIAA/MPAA/Software Patent evil. We're talking doom of humanity evil.
Nine out of ten women take the pill. Two out of those nine actually take it. Hey, it's the best way to get some moderately well off idiot to marry you - get yerself knocked up.
(Now feel free to throw in, "Geeks don't get laid!" crap in here. It's all untrue. Unless you take your significant other to see one of the Lord of the Rings movies, and she finally figures out why you're calling her your precioussssss.)
Something which inhibits sperm production? I have no way of knowing it might just make that perminent. Medical trials can't always predict the future.
The world needs more slashdotters not fewer.
probably the same thing as leaving your contacts in for long periods of time. increased risk of infection, more noticable irritation, and eventually your body adapts to having it around and the side effects become less noticable.
moox. for a new generation.
Down the pants, that is. Now THAT's a contraceptive!!
I hope you're kidding, you insensitive fuck. I got my gf pregnant this past year and we decided to get an abortion.
6 months later and we're both very depressed over the loss of a human life (no matter how small).. Everytime I hear a joke about abortion or dead babies it crushes me.
Did we make the wrong decision? Neither of us were ready, but I feel as though I will have this on my soul for the rest of my life (and possibly beyond).
I don't want to leave this open-ended, but there's no easy way to forget.
Vasectomies are entirely reversible. It can be a little tricky because the procedure is extremely delicate, and thus there isn't a 100% success rate, but it's fairly routine.
As for all that nonsense about antibodies... Are you serious? What do you think happens to sperm when you don't have sex or masturbate for a while? Pretty much the same thing as what happens when you've had a vasectomy. I've never heard of anyone becoming sterile as a result of being celibate for a while.
I hope you're kidding, you insensitive fuck. I got my gf pregnant this past year and we decided to get an abortion.
6 months later and we're both very depressed over the loss of a human life (no matter how small).. Every time I hear a joke about abortion or dead babies it crushes me.
Did we make the wrong decision? Neither of us were ready, but I feel as though I will have this on my soul for the rest of my life (and possibly beyond).
I don't want to leave this open-ended, but there's no easy way to forget.
Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. it's the only thing that ever has.
This technology isn't exactly advanced. I would guess that one of the major reasons why drug companies haven't released such a pill before, is that it would basically spell the end population growth, as we know it. Mikko Woodroffe
Regardless of the fact that a mother has more rights over a child, both the mother and the father have equal legal responibility for a child. Men ( idiots excepted ) do not go around having sex with strange women as if the consequenses to them of getting a girl pregnent were nothing. This isn't the 1800's.
Men know that the consequences are dire if they get a woman pregnant. It could adversely affect the rest of their life. Most women are bimbos though it takes a while to figure that out sometimes. Most are too stupid to do something simple like take a pill every day. ( this is not sexist since most men are bimbos too and are also too stupid to do something simple like take a pill every day )
In our culture sex often comes before you know the person enough to trust them about something as important as birth control. At least with a male pill there will be some assurance for men that there will be no unwanted pregnancies when a woman says "Don't worry I'm on the pill"
Eat at Joe's.
Every time I hear a joke about abortion or dead babies it crushes me
...
Coat-hanger
Pill takes you!