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Original poster

The new male contraceptive - seriously!?!?

106 replies

SundialShadow · 08/02/2017 15:02

Are they trying to set it up for failure?

FFS. They had one job - invent a male concraceptive that men will take and it will work.

Failed at the 2nd hurdle.

For those that don't know, the method of erm... use is an injection in the balls. A needle will have to pearse the sack. How can this not go well I wonder?

"Hello darling, please let me stick this needle in your twin plums there"
"Hold still like a good man"
"Oh do stop screaming"
"At least pull your trousers up before you bolt off down the road"

I guess we are on the pill / condom / cap / pretending to have our periods for another decade at least.

OP posts:
Beelands · 10/02/2017 20:59

Just mentioned it to DH.... he said 'ooh yes, that's a good idea. The best thing about but is that it would probably reduce the number of unwanted babies wouldn't it?"

FFS. Yes dear, that's the point of contraception. The man''s a bloody top bloody lawyer.

InfinityPlusOne · 10/02/2017 23:34

I wonder - could they do something similar for women? Gel in the fallopian tubes? What would happen to the eggs/ovaries if you blocked the exit? Although I suppose reaching the fallopian tubes would mean keyhole surgery, so maybe that's why no one's investigating that.

I don't know if it would require surgery, don't they already have essure and they place that via the cervix and uterus?

HoneyDragon · 10/02/2017 23:39

my Dr said it'd been shelved due to too many complaints from the test subjects

Along the lines of "WTF DID YOU NEEDLE MY SCROTUM? ARRRRRRRGH"

ActuallyThatsSUPREMECommander · 10/02/2017 23:48

The one that was cancelled due to side effects (hormonal LARC for men) had a serious suicide attempt in the trial group. NB that contrary to various assertions on MN this was not cancelled due to whingeing men refusing to put up with side effects that many women accept (and many women refuse to accept). It was cancelled due to the researchers thinking it didn't meet their ethical standards. Three quarters of the men on the trial said they'd happily have continued using it indefinitely if it were available to them.

We need lots of contraceptive options - for men and for women, with pros and cons for each method so that each individual/couple can find something that works reliably and acceptably for them.

worridmum · 12/02/2017 02:27

Just to inform people saying the shevled the 'male pill' one of the closet ones to trail and side effects similear to females but it also had a very very nasty side effect that is not found in female ones the risk of PERMENT sterility.

So of course it had to go back to the drawing board you cannot sell a product that is meant to be a temporay conceptive if it has a risk for permanent infertility.

But hey it was shevled because men moaned about side effects woman have been putting up with for years (err not on the concreptive i have taken they dont list risk of perment infertility on the known side effects)

Bubbinsmakesthree · 12/02/2017 03:56

On the issue of side effects / complications for male vs female contraceptives - I think you have to remember that men don't typical suffer adverse effects on their health/wellbeing through being fertile. In contrast the natural menstrual cycle in women can be the source of a huge number of problems. For many women the side effects involved in contraception are insignificant compared to the effects of not Using contraception. A lot of women are using contraception where the primary purpose is something other than controlling their fertility. I've taken the pill for most of my adult life to control acne and heavy painful periods - the fact that it also worked as a contraceptive was merely a helpful bonus.

JAPAB · 12/02/2017 04:33

Comparable to having a coil fitted.

Psychological barriers can be a bitch though. I'll bet that for many a procedure to place an object inside themselves is a less psychologically blocked notion than having a needle in the testicles.

achangewilldomegood · 12/02/2017 11:21

I asked my hubby and he said he would get it. A couple of seconds of pain vs another child? That's 9 months of listening to me moan and a lifetime of sleepless nights. Yup he wants to know where to sign up!

TinselTwins · 13/02/2017 16:23

After holding an impromptu poll of the 4 men I work with, they all unequivially declared that they would NOT let someone near their lads with a needle. No way. WHO could have predicted that??

Did you not ask them how they felt about their partners having coils inserted throught their cervixes or mood altering injections?

Men DO do this already, they have permanant vascectomys, many do so because they're decent guys who don't want their partners to suffer any more from taking the burden of the contraception side effects/

lottieandmia · 16/02/2017 13:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lottieandmia · 16/02/2017 13:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

KayTee87 · 16/02/2017 13:26

Poor men- they have to put up with cramps and bleeding each month, pms, paying for sanitary items, hormonal contraceptives and all that entails, or having a metal object inserted inside them, or pregnancy along with it's sickness, weight gain, split stomach muscles, pelvic and back pain, episiotomies, forceps, tears, c-sections, mastitis, bleeding nipples, post natal anxiety and depression, being told they look normal and there's nothing to worry about after complicated deliveries and never enjoying sex again because their bits have been butchered, retained placentas and almost dying, loss of earnings after child birth, did I mention ruined pelvic floors?

Oh wait... that's woman actually... hmm maybe men could manage a tiny injection after all?

callmeadoctor · 16/02/2017 21:31

And lets not go near our suffering with the menopause!!!!!

skerrywind · 16/02/2017 21:47

Sounds horrible, but I wouldn't go near hormonal contraception myself, nor expect of OH.

meditrina · 17/02/2017 07:04

Point of detail: this jab isn't hormonal, it's a (dissolvable) block

Trials into the hormonal one were halted. Although it suited some men, the suicide in the trial group, and the continuing infertility of 5% of participants (for the duration of follow up) were enough to mean discontinuation.

Trifleorbust · 17/02/2017 08:12

Two years is rather a long time, isn't it? If you know you might want to start a family in 18 months you're not going to want this.

HerOtherHalf · 17/02/2017 08:27

Some will some won't. Plenty of men, myself included, are happy to have a vasectomy. I think more would if there was greater education of men as to the potential negatives of female contraceptive options.

DianaMemorialJam · 17/02/2017 08:30

What's this 'matchstick up the cervix' thing?!

NattyBatty · 17/02/2017 08:33

We are waiting for this to become available because DH is up for it.

AllPowerfulLizardPerson · 17/02/2017 08:40

"Two years is rather a long time, isn't it? If you know you might want to start a family in 18 months you're not going to want this."

See posts above (PaintedOwl and scaevola on 8Feb) It's dissolvable before the 2 years are up.

Trifleorbust · 17/02/2017 08:49

Oh I see.

drivingmisspotty · 17/02/2017 09:35

I take your point OP that many men will probably be put off by the method of administering this. But it seems like the best bet from the research of what works. And I think there will be a sizeable number of men who will do it. It's pretty revolutionary for them to be able to control their fertility and still have sex without a condom.

My DP is at work so I haven't asked him but I imagine he would go for it. If not, sure I might be frustrated - I go through so much pain as a woman etc etc - but really it's his body. He has never put any pressure on me to go on invasive or hormonal contraception and uses condoms for part of the month which while I'm not saying is a hardship, we would both probably prefer not to use them. I have thought about the coil but just the idea of the procedure and then having it inside me for so long makes me feel a bit woozy. And that's up to me, it's my body.

I do think contraception is missold to us a bit. When you are at school and you have sex ed it sounds like such the perfect solution. Just take this pill and you don't have to worry about pregnancy.... And it IS AMAZING. We are in such a wonderful position compared to our great grandparents. But in real life we know for many there are side effects, pain, long term health risks, contraceptive failure and accidental pregnancies...

When we choose our contraception (or lack of) we weigh up all these risks and the risks of pregnancy. We can't expect the perfect solution because we're working with biology and real life. It's great that there is hopefully another option coming up, for men, but unfortunately it is not perfect either.

BorrowedHeart · 17/02/2017 22:26

So because women go through pain, not by the choice of men, we have to ridicule them when they don't want a needle in their balls? Are they not allowed to feel pain and refuse to have it?

BorrowedHeart · 17/02/2017 22:28

Kaytee you chose to have a baby, if it was that bad why do it? If you don't want cramps or to bleed etc why be a woman? You can change now. Just because women go trough things that men don't, and remember men didn't make us, doesn't mean they can't experience pain or just not want to do it. Would you rather they were forced?

InfinityPlusOne · 18/02/2017 16:25

you chose to have a baby, if it was that bad why do it? If you don't want cramps or to bleed etc why be a woman? You can change now. Just because women go trough things that men don't, and remember men didn't make us, doesn't mean they can't experience pain or just not want to do it. Would you rather they were forced?

That's ridiculous. Kaytee was quite rightly pointing out what many women experience in the course of their lives and suggesting you could just not be a woman if you don't want to have to go through them, well Hmm

The burden of contraception quite often falls on the woman, particularly when it comes to hormonal or invasive options. Men have the choice of condoms or a vasectomy. Having more options for men is a good thing.

Pointing out that childbirth etc is not exactly fun is appropriate. Many of us go through it not because it's such a wonderful experience in itself, but because the end result makes it worth it and there isn't exactly any other option is there?

You could easily say the same for this option for men, except to be honest a brief injection seems pretty minor compared to childbirth. No one is saying men should be forced into it but decent ones might consider what their partner has gone through and decide to shoulder some of the burden.