Male birth control breakthrough safely switches off fit sperm for a while

Honestly, as a dude, I'm 100% down for male birth control. Can't wait.
- Hopefully it less hormonal side affects than the female pill. But yeah having an extra level of protection will be nice.
  
  “Extra Level”? It's more about taking the burden off the women for me. Why do they, and only they, always have to mess up their bodies?
- Same. I've always preferred to be in full control of my own contraception, mostly because I just don't trust anyone else with something that consequential
  
  Will definitely be awesome when all parties have comfortable, reliable, safe options to protect themselves
- Agreed. Always better to unload the gun rather than try to stop it with armor

Vasectomy gang 😎😎✂️✂️ All juice no seeds
- I got mine from Dr. Dick Chopp.
  
  Dr. Richard Chopin.
  Too subtle?
  
  I gave myself one with a pair of rusty nail clippers, it worked well.
  
  I had a GP named Richard Cutter.
- The Caveat is that it is permanent and irreversible for the average person with very few exceptions.
  EDIT: added "for the average person"
  
  That’s kinda the point
  
  Another caveat is that it's not allowed for men under 25 in my country (Sweden). "My body - my choice" only applies to one gender lol
  edit: Although, to be fair, sterilisation is also not allowed for women under 25. They do ofc have many more options though
  
  There's actually a pretty high success rate for surgical reversal. Some clinics hitting 90%. Still, not ideal.
  
  Exactly, one of the best decisions I ever made
- How was the recovery process? I keep meaning to do it (we're done having kids), but we keep having trips or whatever, so excuses pile up.
  How soon could I be back doing active things? I have young kids, so "active" to me means roughhousing with the kids and whatnot.
  
  When I did mine, I drove myself home and put a bag of peas on there for the afternoon. I was fine pretty much right away, but I think medical advice says wait 3 days before you do anything wild.
  Plus you have to ejaculate like 30 times in two weeks to clean out the pipes, but your sperm is still active so you can only do hand and mouth stuff. That was a pretty good two weeks.
  It's literally so easy and the peace of mind is really nice especially if you're impulsive as fuck like me.
  
  My recovery was honestly pretty bad. I was bed-ridden for about 2 weeks, then 8-ish months of aching pain all day every day. Not actually sure when it finally cleared up, I just realized I hadn't felt the pain in a while. My first nut was about a month after the procedure, and that was also a very unpleasant experience.
  My case is abnormal, but even more rare is the guys that continue to be in pain for the rest of their lives. Didn't find out about that until I started digging deeper because of my persistent pain.
  That said, I still 100% recommend getting it done.
  
  Make sure you get your own pain medication ahead of time. Mine was apparently worse than the other replies, and the doctor being stingy about meds made it needlessly terrible.
  No I don't otherwise do opiates. Doctors are just stingy because of the people who are on opiates.
  
  Pretty quick.
  My kids are currently 5 and 2 had my vasectomy about 6 months after the second (wanted sooner but no appointments available, and it's first consult then another appointment).
  Toughest thing for me was the second day. Day of I was given Valium, procedure was easy peasy. I'd call it a few days of discomfort, just plan to take it easy.
  
  Not bad at all.
  For the first week doc said no erections- turns out not getting hard was the hardest part. After that, it was like a month or so of no unprotected sex. It's been a few years so I might not remember correctly, but I think he recommended like 15 to 20 ejaculations in that time frame. And I'm going to humble brag here- I've been blessed with a wife whose libido is way higher than mine. But that month, knowing that each orgasm was one step closer to her not having kids again- she made it her mission in life to knock those orgasms out as fast as I could get it up.
  I didn't really have any swelling that I can remember- I iced my scrotum for a few hours but it didn't hurt too bad so I stopped after that. Some acetaminophen helped with the residual pain, and I think I had to take it easy for a couple of weeks- don't lift anything heavy to strain your groin muscles.
  All in all, I don't regret it and highly recommend anyone who is done having children to get one.
  
  Not OP, but mine was really pretty manageable. 2 days of sitting in an easy chair and icing my balls, 2 days of "walking is fine, but avoid any sudden movements," and a week of "it's a little sore, but it doesn't really hurt." After that, it was about 2-3 weeks where I didn't really notice it unless I moved the wrong way too suddenly (whereupon I'd get a quick twinge, but nothing too bad).
  Really a pretty small cost for the benefits. I don't really like painkillers, but I do recommend some THC gummies for the first week and a fresh series to binge
  
  I got mine last year. I was fully recovered in terms of physical activity within probably 4-5 days but I did get two very uncomfortable sperm granulomas that hung around for several days each. My nuts swelled up and turned purple so that was pretty fucking scary but it wasn't anything dangerous. Just a lot of aching. But within a month I was completely back to normal.
  
  Mine wasn't too bad. I spent a couple days on the couch taking OTC pain killers, and was able to move around well enough to light house work after a couple days. Honestly the hardest part was the month waiting to have sex before I could confirm it worked.
  
  Multiple of my friends reported being totally fine right after, with no pain. Not even frozen peas. But they all waited a couple weeks before doing cum again.
  
  Hmm I'm not sure. I got it over summer in college and work a desk job, so I got it done on friday, chilled all weekend on the couch watching movies, building legos, snacking, and icing my nuts, and I was back to work on monday
  
  The worst was over in a couple of days but for the next three months it stuff there was a slight discomfort in some situations
- I'm worried about pain. Also pain lasting a long/ permanent time.
  Also I had epididymitis already. So maybe I shouldn't go for it.
  But too many guys get lied to and end up with a kid they didn't want. That's my biggest worry.

Man if this is effective in both cost and a high efficacy rate, then I'm so down, assuming I don't experience awful side effects.
I had the unfortunate experience of a manipulative woman lying about using protection, and it led to me developing a fear of others doing the same. It severely effected my dating/sex life all through my 20s.
If either party (or both!) can take easily-attainable birth control, it'd be so much better than we have it now.
It's a shame that male birth control has been so much more difficult to develop, probably due to the male reproductive system not relying on a cycle that can be quite easily interrupted.
- Still condom unless a long term partner. Though I'm paranoid about sti
  
  Well the condom paradox says that if a casual partner is willing to have sex with you without condom that's the biggest indicator for the need of a condom
- I exist because my mother told my father that she was taking birth control. My father hasn’t been a part of my life except on a few occasions where he wanted to be here and there, and I don’t hold a grudge. My mom proudly told me this when I was about 9. I don’t blame her either, she raised herself from the time she was 4 years old when her mother committed suicide. She did the best she could with what she had as a person with no education and no parents to guide her.
  My father came for the birth of my oldest biological child. He came for a few Christmases. He showed up when I was going through a divorce and helped me fix a car for my now ex. He didn’t have to do any of that. I barely know him at all, and even though it bums me out from time to time, it is what it is.
  Life is a mess for everybody haha.
  
  It's not always the mother being deceptive.
  My mother wanted a child. A family. She was clear about it from the start. My dad didn't. Probably didn't communicate it. He didn't bother using protection either. When my mom got pregnant on the first go, he wanted an abortion. No responsibility.
  He tried to hide his autism from my also autistic mother. They didn't understand autism back then. She herself considered aborting me out of fear of having a retarded child. She zoned out for weeks, and when she learned I was a girl, she believed god had blessed her. For she thought girls can't be autistic.
  Lo and behold, my sister and I were neglected intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Because they did not understand parents supposed to teach children, not threaten them with a belt when the kid doesn't adhere to their autistic whims/expectations.
  We raised ourselves with 0 guidence and am I far behind the average person. They are both not asocial, lonely and happy we exist as a means to reduce their misery.
  They should never have had children. Life is a mess.
  
  I misread the [raised herself] bit as [raised you herself] and I thought maybe you were a halucinating ai generating word salad for a minute lol.
- It’s a shame that male birth control has been so much more difficult to develop
  Nah, condoms exist since ages and has many other benefits.
  
  The problem with condoms though is that they suck. Like, ugh, I'll put on the toque of shame but stopping a frisky moment to apply birth control is just plain annoying.
  Give me the swim team hiatus pill I can take before getting the penis brain, please and thanks.
  
  I use Arch
  
  Condoms + another birth control is more effective then just condoms
  
  Condoms can break and have potential to make intercourse less pleasant, especially for men.
  Male birth control can serve both as a backup to a condom and as a way to experience the pleasure of sex without condom while not risking impregnation.
  It essentially has the same benefits as female birth control, except men can now be in charge too, and can also use this kind of protection when it is not recommended to a woman for medical reasons. Besides, you can always combine both to make it extra reliable.
  Sure, condoms are essentially the only way to stop transmission of STIs during penetrative sex. But when we talk about healthy permanent partners, this is not commonly an issue.
  
  Nah, condoms have existed for ages and have many other benefits.
  FTFY
  
  Yes, we all know condoms exist, thank you for your input.

Friendly reminder of the core problem: medical treatments are all balanced against the risk of what it counteracts.
Undergoing physical and chemical changes to grow another creature inside you and have it damage everything on the way out is pretty risky. Female birth control only has to be less risky than that.
A male has zero physiological risk from impregnating someone. Therefore, anything except a miracle drug with high efficacy and almost zero side effects is going to stall at the trial stage.
On another note, that speaks to how safe and effective vasectomies are.
- Written by someone who has never had to pay child support.
  
  Yeah zero psychological risk is a bit of an overstatement. Zero physical maybe, but there's definitely psychological risks, and I'm not even thinking about child support
  Edit: I can't read, it says physiological and I'm just deficient in the reading
- I will say this as often as I can, getting the ol snip snip was the best decision I've ever made.
  
  Who doesn’t love cream pies!?!?!?!
  
  Do you have kids or did you never want them?
  
  Agreed. I have zero regret.
- There are also plenty of medical reasons for even sexually inactive women to take hormonal birth control. This isn't only about pregnancy, which as you say can have all sorts of physical consequences.

Oh, I'm way ahead of them there, with 44 years of shitty diet and lifestyle choices.
- I've been ingesting mirco plastics on purpose to avoid having children!
  
  It seems to be working. They found microplastic in every testicle in their study
  
  you should be ingesting macroplastics if you want real results

Ha jokes on them, the plastic in my balls is permanently shutting of my sperm!
- Plastic is stored in the balls
  
  thank you

Everyone brace yourself! The Christians are looking for Bible quotes right now!
- If altar boys could get pregnant, the church would have approved birth control long ago.
  
  oof
- Birth control was always prohibited im Christianity (at least Catholics, the ones I know the most about), from condom to pills to IUD, this won't change it.
  Any christian that is against one kind of birth control but in ok with other is just freestyling dogmas
  
  Catholics yes, Protestant no. Both are Christianity. You need to read more, or at least watch some Monty Python.
  https://youtu.be/ifgHHhw_6g8
- https://youtu.be/fUspLVStPbk
  
  Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
  https://piped.video/fUspLVStPbk
  Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
  I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
- I’ve only ever read the first couple chapters of The Book of Armaments.
- It is God who ridicules them, and leaves them bewildered in their transgression.
  
  Hail Satan

- Women's birth control hasn't exactly been side-effect-free, what with the strokes. But also, sauce?
  
  Pretty sure that was a joke...
- The point of the joke is not that they think men are being babies about it. It is that women's birth control causes these same side effects, along with strokes, and a number of other serious, long term issues. However when women say they do not want to take birth control, and instead opt for doing things that require more responsibility of the man, they are often told similar things concerning the negative effects they get when using it, and they should just deal with it.
- Did this happen? Or was this a satirical take on something that happened to women?
- Lmao that's kinda funny response though

And moments after its efficacy was proven, Louisiana banned it.

Man my birth control seems way safer and way more effective. It's called: "Obesity, Trichotillomania, and absolutely fuck all confidence."
- Trichotillomania
  I looked that up. Ouch! Is it ok if i ask whether it hurts or feels 'good' to do? You have an urge, or is it like a nervous tic? I'm curious what it is like if'n it's no trouble
  
  Not the person you responded to, but for me it comes and goes as a result of OCD. It does hurt, but not terribly. To describe the urge, it's a bit like if there's a big bug on your arm. Once you notice it, it's difficult to not immediately swat it away, and until you do get it off, you're gonna be very aware that there's a bug on your arm. It's pretty much the same feeling, just directed toward hair instead of bug.
  It might be totally different for other people, but that's just my experience.
  
  Honestly the pain may be the part that causes the addiction. For me it started when I was 11. I was stressed, untreated for ADHD, and an eyelash was in the way so I just plucked it. The result was immediate relaxation. The next time I got an eyelash I just plucked it before I got stressed. Then I started plucking em when I was bored. Then puberty came and I got the same obsession with ance. That was a long one, then it went to these weird gland things in my mouth for a little bit, then it started on my beard which is by far the worst. It doesn't hurt anymore, but the moment it itches, fuck everything.
  It's not an urgent anymore it's like scratching an itch. It's automatic. I can't control it undless I have gloves or wrist braces for the carpal tunnel doing this gave me.
- Can't help you with Trichotillomania but hitting the gym tends to help with weight and confidence. I don't know your situation but I was bordering on obesity and I was suggested 10min warmup + stronglifts 5x5 + 10min cool down as a routine. I did it for almost a year and it definitely had a impact on my weight and confidence.
  If you're not sure where to start have a session with a personal trainer with the purpose of setting up your own routine and then just stick with it. It feels really hard at first but after you start seeing results it'll get easier.
  
  It certainly helps with fitness, and somewhat with confidence, but just being fit isn't going to get you laid. I'd also see a therapist regularly for the mental and emotional parts of health.
- Been working great for me so far!

Not saying the pill won't eventually appear but the track record for men contraception hitting the market is not good. It always get cancelled in an endless loop of disapointment.
People serious about sharing the load or protecting women from the aide effect of birth control should look up vasectomy or thermal contraception. It works.
I've been on thermal contraception for 6months myself and my sperm production bas completely stoped with no side effects. Highly recommend.
- Hehe "sharing the load"
- Should be noted vasectomies aren't reliably reversible after a certain point, but if you know you don't want kids, by all means. I'd rather my partner take that leap than me have to have more invasive surgery
  
  Yeah my bad for puting both in the same bag i totally agree. I meant to say that thermal contraception is a good alternative to birth control that men can use, just as vasectomy is a viable alternative to tubal litigation. And both are easier and with less side effect than the woman counterpart.
- Thermal protection? Isn't that permanent?
  
  It is not in this case at least. The method relies on using a device (usually a ring) to push the testicles hiver in your body, and the temperature there is enough to stop spermatogenesis. The current method involves stopping every 3 years for at l'East 6 months to ensure production returns to normal. There is no documented side effect, though it should be noted that as always in this area, fully documented medical trial are pending. You my ne referring to other methods using higher temps or external device such as heating boxer but i have not experienced not researched those so i cannot answer you.

can't wait for the inevitable surge of pregnancies, as people learn that that sperm doesn't just fucking disappear, and that it needs to be manually cleared first.

If it flies, look for a huge spike in stds
- Huge spikes in STD’s is already happening due to other factors
  https://www.healthline.com/health-news/sti-increase-syphilis-cases-spike-74-in-four-years
  Wear a rubber kids. No one likes a raunchy coochie/schlong
  
  No one likes a raunchy coochie/schlong
  Untrue. There are some people that specifically seek that, along with the STDs called "bug chasers." Since I've been cursed with this knowledge, so must you all be.
  
  Just have a Jolly Rancher then.
  
  Honestly, I think condoms are unrealistic. Fucking with a condom is so totally useless that you almost feel a bit resentful of the woman after. Like she has bad minge or something. The first time I had sex I was a good boy and used a condom and I just quit after a while, and sat down and wondered what the fuck was wrong. She thought I'd finished.
  Saying "wear a rubber" is stupid. For a lot of people, sex with a condom is completely useless. I'll wear one the first time with a woman as I ofc want to get imtimate, but the sex itself will be useless.

Me still waiting on Vasalgel after 2 decades.
- Pharmaceutical companies just aren't interested in it.

I've heard of a male birth control every couple years and still nothing on the market. Usually it's because there are slight side effects and that's considered to much of a risk meanwhile female birth control can cause blood clots and whatnot. I'm too jaded to believe this will ever come to fruition.

Every sperm is sacred!
- for the downvoters, it's a song from a Monthy Python movie, so comedy (and great one at that!)

I find it strange that many people here are against this when the alternative is a surgical treatment that often can't be easily reversed, and even when it is, often lowers the likelihood they will have a kid.
Chemical solutions are way better in that regard because if they are done right they don't damage any tissue and their affects are temporary.
- I'm not against it but you'd have to be crazy to trust a guy who doesn't want to use a condom because he swears he's on the pill. It seems like it opens up a wild new avenue for sexual assault.
  The reality is that the consequences of sex are asymmetric. I suppose this is an interesting option for couples in a relationship though.
  
  asymmetric?
  Like you've ever trusted a woman that has said "It's okay, I'm on the pill" first time you hit the sheets?
- Fuck yes, sexual repression what a banger idea that is modern and haven't even been considered for literally thousands of years and proven abusive to exactly every human being on the planet
  
  Oh yeah, I'll just tell my wife that we're never having sex again because we've now got enough kids. I'm sure this will be a healthy and emotionally viable way of strengthening our relationship over the next 30 years or so until the menopause.

When it comes to birth control for far too long women have been getting the short end of the….. oh, nevermind

god damn the comments on this post are the fucking wild west

... in mice.

Finally! Finally they're trying to take the bullets out of the gun instead of trying to make a stronger bulletproof vest. I feel cautiously optimistic!
I'm a bit jealous that there's no side effects, though. Depo made me gain 30lbs in ONE month. I'm lucky it made my tits significantly bigger (Went from a B to a DD), but that was not a fun experience.

She would still have to either trust him or take birth control herself as well.
- Is any birth control really trust free?
  
  The only thing that works is abstinence. It's like handling a gun. Don't put your dick in something that you can impregnate unless you're ready for kids.
  Disclaimer: This comment is not meant to be taken seriously. Even though it's true.
  
  Get a vasectomy, it’s pretty close
  
  Condom. You can see that it's there. Closest you can get.
  
  Be me
- You're always supposed to use multiple methods regardless.
  
  Pullout game strong af. Using it for years.
  Having said that, I don't recommend it.
  Edit: the down votes 😆 I said I don't recommend it! At least I'm responsible towards others!
  I have two kids already, we take good care of them. Having another one would just mean more love. Don't worry guys. 😊❤️

Original article:
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adl2688
- Awesome!

Safe, cheap, permanent but trivially reversible male birth control was invented in 1979 and has yet to be approved for US sale.
- Can you share more info?
  
  Probably talking about RISUG, although the US equivalent is Vasagel.
  Basically Vasagel plugs up the Vas Deferens so sperm can't get out, and RISUG rips sperm to shreds as they come out. It lasts for 10 years, and is reversible with a shot of baking soda.
  RISUG is approved in India (where it was developed), and Vasagel is being developed by a foundation instead of a pharmaceutical company, so progress has been slow.
  
  RISUG is a technique by which a polymer with specific electrical properties is injected into the vas deferens. This polymer messes up the flagella on sperm that pass nearby. Since “nearby” is a distance larger than the radius of the vas deferens, this means all sperm passing through get their flagellum screwed up, can no longer swim, and is therefore immotile.
  It makes the man essentially sterile, until he wants to reverse the effect at which point a second injection simply washes the original polymer layer off the inner lining.

I can't find much on the mechanism of action (serine/threonine kinase antagonism), other than it's been tried to fight cancer and failed, hopefully it doesn't have any terrible side effects.
It sounds safer than the retinoic acid antagonist one that was posted a while ago anyway, I can't imagine a drug that does the opposite of tretinoin will be popular.

When some "every sperm is sacred" loons in Alabama (probably calling themselves "the Sons of Oman" or some corny shit, decides to sue, l imagine it'll be treated the same way they have treated women's contraception and medical abortion.
Surely.
- Sons of Onan is unironically a pretty good name for an anti-masturbation extremist group
- I’m doing my part.
  Every sperm is sacred
  
  Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
  Every sperm is sacred
  Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
  I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.

Don't forget also the male morning-after pill: you take it the next day, it changes your blood group

I'd love to switch between shooting blanks and livefire on-demand.

Helpful related content for people who understand German:
https://media.ccc.de/v/fusion19-8327-verhuetung_fuer_maenner

Has anyone heard about the andro-switch ring before? It is supposed to work without taking any pills and be free of side effects (except for carrying a silicone ring around the testicles). https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/986261
- Looks like you have to wear it for at least 15 hours a day for several months before it's effective..
- Yes I'm using it. It works as expected

So only the lucky unfit sperm destined to produce one who wears a red cap will be able to successfully fertilize the egg?

I don't trust drug companies not to mess up.
- That's why they do clinical trials
- Honestly this is valid. I wouldn't take this immediately. I would wait a few years to see if there are any side effects, too much money to be made.

- What woman is going to trust a man not to instantly change her life.
- Men are so fragile.
- It's not a toggle switch, both can take it.

There's a fair amount of talk in the comments for and against condoms. Has anyone considered a custom fit silicone penis sleeve as a more pleasurable alternative?
- They aren't an alternative.
  From the website you linked's own FAQ
  While a sleeve is non-porous and should not allow fluids to escape they have not been tested nor are they recommended to be a form of contraception.
  Yes a condom can be worn under a sleeve. Wearing one over a sleeve will not help if you are wearing it as a form of contraception.
  
  I think they have to say that.

Male self control breakthrough keeps their dick in their pants and don't have sex for a while. Try it some time, it's fantastic.
- I tried it, but when I'm around your mom, she keeps begging for it!

I will never ever trust this. Not with how gender/maleness is treated these days. What 'they' consider safe can be entirely political and ideology-based, rather than a biological fact.
- Who's "they"?
  If it's Urologists, like, those are the experts. If it's someone on Twitter, they don't matter. If it's women as a whole… oh, boy. Dude. If it's "the jews", OH. BOY. DUDE. HOW EVEN?
  
  It's not jews, it's not women, and it's not strictly urologists. It's everyone in government and the medical field who can influence what is and isn't considered OK.
- statistically, you'll probably die in a car crash but the news doesnt even report auto accidents anymore.
- Found the incel
- good god.
  go back into your cave and stop telling people what you think, please.
- Living up to your name cro magnon