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New Male Contraceptive Gel Enters Clinical Trials (cbslocal.com)
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.
I'm not a heterosexual cis male, but if I were I would rather get a little snip with no lasting side effects than fuck with my hormone system. If I wanted offspring with my genes I could freeze some sperm before.
Of course it's possible that men turn out to like these changes to their hormone system. Apparently the female pill is something that women like because it reduces or eliminates unnecessary menstruation.
This is truly the last thing I expected to see on Slashdot.
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.)
...
Hands don't get pregnant.
So quit trying four or five times a day.
All of the lovely side effect issues can now be shared by the couple. She can feel bloated and miserable with weight gain problems, and now he can have all the issues that come from confusing his body with both a heaping dose of female hormones and jacking up testosterone at the same time.
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.
Do you wear a raincoat in the shower?
No sig today...
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.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
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
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.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
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.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
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 time you probably should have some idea.
Works well when you use it right and doesn't mess with your hormones.
Works well but not perfectly. They do fail and are sometimes misused. Women use chemical birth control in part because it doesn't require the consent of their partner to be effective. Getting pregnant is a very big deal and really can put a dent in a women's life plans and prospects just because of one failed condom.
You have 2 other options to stick it in that doesn't result in babies. I would suggest trying those before rubbing some bio agent on your dick.
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.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
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.
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.
I'm not sure who would wan't to risk a pregnancy just to be part of a trial. Maybe people who want a child and are just going to delay having one?
...
Hands don't get pregnant.
So quit trying four or five times a day.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
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 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 needed
9) Healthier children
Yeah it's been a real downer... [/sarcasm]
Hard pass.
Given your attitude I'm pretty sure that's what women will say to you.
I am curious, though. Could you give us an indicator why vasectomy is not an option?
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
If you can't reach your lower back and the tops of your shoulders, you have more serious problems.
Vasalgel, an actually proven actually effective long term male contraceptive rots by the side of the road. because it's a one time application for a few dollars..
I use axle grease. Whenever I come in from the garage with some on, there's no danger of conception.
Have gnu, will travel.
There was something they were touting a few years back that was a gel-like substance injected into the vas deferens, that was supposed to be non-hormonal and completely reversible. Where has that gone?
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.
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.
Only when I visit relatives in Flint, MI.
I do not have a signature
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....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
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.
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.
Personally I think vasagel sounds like a much better alternative - but it's good to have options.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
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.
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 pain in 16.3% of participants. Of the 320 participants 1 attempted suicide and another succeeded.
"... The gel is applied to the back and shoulders."
Uh-oh. Better tell Bob.
He's been "applying" it to his "front".
Yes, that is the real point of these anti-creation initiatives. Only greedy people want to divorce sex from procreation, after all, normal people don't mind sharing the planet with other human beings.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
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.
Wouldn't surprise me if the synopsis author could properly spell horcrux / horcruxes.
Priorities, man.
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, a 45% incidence of INCREASED acne, 17% incidence of "adverse emotional reactions" which is either massively unstable mood swings or even classic roid rage but specifics are unknown as the study refused to specify, and two participants which made suicide attempts with one succeeding. But hey, there was also 39% incidence of increased libido. Course, the same effect occurs with multiple other testosterone therapies and has jack fucking all to do with the fertility suppression aspect. So worst case scenario you end up with uglier pock ridden unstable sex maniacs who go on to commit suicide running around. I'm pretty sure I saw a Rick and Morty episode about that.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the fact that one of the participants has still not recovered their fertility and multiple other participants took over a year to recover. Considering that this was not a study monitoring long term effects that's really bad.
Damn. That's rough.
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. I.e., the female pill is not a net win at all... it's just a gamble women/society are willing to try in the quest for personal agency. I'm not trying to make a judgement call about whether the trade-off is good or bad (after all, I'm not the main target of the medication)... but I have found that many people don't appreciate how hit and miss the pill side-effects can be. If you're not in that category, that's excellent, and I'm merely preaching to the choir :-)
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, a 45% incidence of INCREASED acne, 17% incidence of "adverse emotional reactions" which is either massively unstable mood swings or even classic roid rage but specifics are unknown as the study refused to specify, and two participants which made suicide attempts with one succeeding. But hey, there was also 39% incidence of increased libido. Course, the same effect occurs with multiple other testosterone therapies and has jack fucking all to do with the fertility suppression aspect. So worst case scenario you end up with uglier pock ridden unstable sex maniacs who go on to commit suicide running around. I'm pretty sure I saw a Rick and Morty episode about that.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the fact that one of the participants has still not recovered their fertility and multiple other participants took over a year to recover. Considering that this was not a study monitoring long term effects that's really bad.
Interesting stuff! Thanks for sharing this.
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.
How do they dose hormones for the vast range of body types? If you're a little guy, will you end up getting bodybuilder-level doses? Our bodies have pretty decent regulation of levels - a gel is a pretty crude delivery system.