Comments on: Now we just need to come up with a catchy name.

By: T

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 19:02:46 +0000

Thank you for your response. I’m glad to hear that there actually has been such an improvement in the pill. I of course realize there are many brands and different dosages but I do know that there are still many negative side-effects that you’d assume 50 years of science would clear up. Maybe those negative effects (like a higher chance of blood clots which can be deadly) are just unavoidable.

It is true that I’m not an expert on the pill but I do know enough to know how the basics work. When I said “more pills in the pack” I was referring to the actual medicine, the pills with the regular amount of hormone, not the placebo pills. I realize that point wasn’t super clear because of my tone. My point there was that having less periods isn’t quite the breakthrough modern commercials (like those girls in colorful bathing suits jumping into hot tubs) make it seem, since it’s always been possible to take the hormone pills without stopping regularly, and so the “just putting more in the pack” comment was meant to suggest that this wasn’t that much of a breakthrough medically as it was in marketing by packaging four weeks of hormone pills in one one month box instead of the standard three and one week of sugar pills.

But again, thank you though for your analysis of the improvement of the pill over the years; it’s a fairly subjective matter and hard to judge and I’m glad to get feedback on how much it has actually improved.

By: BeckySharper

BeckySharper — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 01:43:17 +0000

@T: I am especially weary of such claims because as far as I know, the female contraceptive pill hasn’t changed much at all in effectiveness, safety, or side effects (plz correct me if I’m wrong) in the past 50 years, except that you can go longer without periods because they put more pills in the package.

Where have you been getting your information about birth control pills, my friend?

The Pill has been constantly retested and reformulated in the last 50 years. Early versions of BCP (especially Enovid) were so high in hormones that the doses had to be lowered because of reports blood clots, strokes and heart attacks in users. The formulation of the BCP has changed quite a bit since then 1950s, as have the number of different hormone combinations used to prevent pregnancy. There are now more than 50 brands on the market with different dosages, including some made without estrogen—they all work in essentially the same way, but the side effects vary from brand to brand and woman to woman.

The reason that certain brands of the pill allow women to go longer without periods has NOTHING at all to do with the number of pills in the package. To make a long story short, the traditional version of the pill has three weeks of hormones and one week of placebo pills without hormones (which a lot of us just throw out without even bothering to take them). During that placebo week, the hormone levels drop, which causes “withdrawal bleeding”, i.e. a period. The brands that let women go for months without ovulating simply don’t include those placebos. You can get the same effect by simply not taking the placebos in a regular pack and starting a new pack with no break for withdrawal bleeding. Again, it has nothing to do with the number of the pills in the pack—just whether or not they have hormones in them.

Hopefully if a pill were to come on the market for men, men would educate themselves about how it works. I think a lot of men, like you, are well-meaning, but don’t really know much about how BCP works for women.

By: T

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 01:22:15 +0000

I think that if this drug were to become available, “The Pill” seems like the most logical name. I mean, your doctor and pharmacist know the chemical name, so what’s the problem with giving it the same “street” name as the other pill that does in principle the same thing. I would certainly take this pill (not sure why your question at the end doesn’t even take male readers into account, especially when the questions mostly aim at male attitudes and behaviors, but I’m one of them) to lessen the burden of the other pill from my significant other, especially if it is “100% effective and no side effects”, although that sounds impossible.
I am especially weary of such claims because as far as I know, the female contraceptive pill hasn’t changed much at all in effectiveness, safety, or side effects (plz correct me if I’m wrong) in the past 50 years, except that you can go longer without periods because they put more pills in the package. a lack of progress in this medication (if that’s the case) is quite disgraceful.
I also think the concept of emasculation is quite silly, and would only be a problem for those men who have deeper issues and/or poor understandings of manliness (like the word “emasculate” in the first place, which equates male genitalia with strength and manliness). but that’s a whole other topic. i can say it’s “silly” all day but what matters is that I think many men, even if those without very progressive ideas of sexuality, would still use these because it is one way in addition to condoms they can be responsible for their own side. in a casual encounter, if both people are on the pill, then a baby seems virtually impossible.
I agree though that one downside is that it would be one more of the myriad excuses men use to not use condoms in casual sexual encounters, but that’s a poor excuse for disliking the product.

By: isa

isa — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:34:12 +0000

My partner would certainly take it. He’s expressed an interest in getting voluntarily sterilized anyway, but at 23 that isn’t really feasible, apparently.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 21:48:55 +0000

I’m a straight guy and I’m all about this. I’m young, don’t want kids, but might some day and the thought of having surgery to fix that _now_ is ridiculous. Give me a pill!!! I guess that’s all assuming the side effects aren’t horrible, but that’s a given, imo.

By: Av0gadro

Av0gadro — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:41:34 +0000

@rodriguez: Yeah, I frequently tease my husband for losing his virginity at church camp. But he’s definitely not rare in that.

Anyway, my first thought when I heard about this was the peace of mind it would give on my son’s behalf.

By: rodriguez

rodriguez — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:04:42 +0000

@avogadro – I would say, fifteen is just a shade too old. Some kids are active pretty early. Yes, you will teach your son to be careful and choosy and all of that – but, you are talking about a child, who ultimately makes childish decisions.

I gave my son rubbers the first time he went off to sleep away camp, the summer he turned 14, between 7th & 8th grade. I am SURE that it was early, given the way my son is. But why take chances? Sleep away camp seems like a good place to get laid.

By: Av0gadro

Av0gadro — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:21:35 +0000

Like everyone else, I wouldn’t have trusted a guy who said he was on the pill in my casual sex/casual relationship days. But I agree with Becky that those guys shouldn’t have trusted me to say I was on the pill either.

My husband and I are a month away from having an IUD and a vasectomy between us, but in our pre-kid days, he would have jumped on the chance to take a pill that might have fewer side effects than mine did.

Also, the moment I read this news this morning, I started deciding at what age I should start my son (currently 3) on the pill. Because I don’t want teen parenthood for him anymore than I want if for my daughter. Fifteen, maybe?

By: Mackey

Mackey — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 02:43:55 +0000

Ideologically I like the idea of everyone sharing in the contraception.

Even if my manpanion was taking the pill, I would still take the BCP, and insist on condoms.
My health, including my sexual health, is too important to rely on a non-health care providers word about their contraceptive status. Besides, STI prevention is an important part of contraceptive methods, and it seems isn’t “covered” by the male version of the pill.

By: PhDork

PhDork — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:45:11 +0000

MM: Or Jizz-Away! Spunk-Off?

xenu01: first of all, congrats on your success with the Hollywood set. Second: Yeah, we’re all gonna die of something. At least you won’t leave any orphans behind…

Jenna: That sounds just horrible. I’m glad you were able to get away from the crazy, though. And yeah, really, I think that this pill will be like everything else: good guys will use it for the right reasons, and bad guys for the wrong ones.

dcardona: You win!