and its reasonably reversible.

...for a mere $10,000.

I, too, would prefer reliable male contraception. I don't want to have to rely on the woman to take care of business. I'm not suggesting that women are unreliable or untrustworthy, but a pregnancy is as much my responsibility as hers, so I'd feel safer knowing I'm covered even if she's not.

Of course I'm not having sex so I guess I am covered.

The IUD of death that she mentions is the Dalkon Shield.

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear "IUD" now is a roadside bomb in Iraq.

vasectomy! seriously, it's very easy to get surgically sterilized if your gonads are on the outside, it saves everybody a lot of worry, and its reasonably reversible.

I got mine for free from the state of California since I had low income at the time, took about 8hr of my life, and a weekend in bed with a good book, didn't even need the vicodin they gave me.

I would never ask anybody to go on the pill or get an IUD, I went under the knife instead, and I'm so glad I did.

It annoys me to no end that some of the great ideas for male contraception have never been brought to market.

The best invention I've heard of is a small bimetallic insert for the vas deferens. It creates an electrochemical cell when the spermies pass through, which deactivates them. But you can't get it anywhere. There's also a magnetically-operated valve that can be turned back on non-surgically if you decide you want kids. Also not available.

In the meantime, men's only options are condoms (high failure rate) and vasectomy (pretty damn permanent).

At least women have the pill, depo provera, iud's, diaphragms, female condoms, rhythm, foam, sponges, rings, patches, and sterilization to choose from.

Not that I'm saying all of those are ideal either, but it would make a lot more sense if men had more options too. It's much easier to stop the little wrigglers at source than once they're already racing to their destiny.

MG, Unless you've dated an older woman who's already had a child, the chance of knowing a woman who's used an IUD is slim. Maybe you haven't spoken to many women about the effects of the pill on their body, because I know of many who cannot use it for a multitude of reasons.

I'm no woman, but I think that to say that this is what women go through would be inaccurate. I've never known a woman that had an IUD. They would all rather go through whatever mood swings are inherent with the pill, the shot, the ring, the patch or whatever hormonal control they use than to suffer all that bad stuff that girl did.

I didn't think the IUD was offered to women who have never given birth. This poor girl's experience is probably fairly typical for an untried cervix.

Apart from their failure rate, I wouldn't recommend the diaphragm for its difficulty in inserting properly, as well as its discomfort. Depending on which direction your cervix is pointing (it changes during your cycle) at the time, it can be tricky trying to know if you have it in right.

My boyfriend used to complain that it felt like he was banging against a rubber wall and usually it felt like I was stuffed full of rubber. It even makes a very distracting squeak!

My brother was conceived when my mum had an IUD. They joke about how they were going to call him Houdini.

led / ied
they both look so similar when written out, I guess I now understand why Boston froze in a panic.


Also, how long til some city gets shut down by a panic over an IUD?