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FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

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Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#211

Post by isykt »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #198
NateEag wrote: post #76

This reminded me to look up Vasalgel again (a single-application, non-hormonal, long-lasting, reversible male contraceptive that is unfortunately not yet commercially available), and I see that it seems to have taken a meaningful step forward: https://www.parsemus.org/humanhealth/male-contraceptive-rese... Apparently a company's moving forward with an attempt to productize it: https://www.planaformen.com/ With an opt…

It's often funny to me how there will be such a massive gnashing of teeth about whether or not something is prescription or OTC available to women, when Men essentially have no contraceptive choice and have 100% liability the moment it leaves our body, potentially including in cases of paternity fraud. It'd be like if we told women they had to have the baby the moment their egg accepts a sperm, regardless of the reas…

Men can wear condoms and/or get a vasectomy.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#212

Post by noodlenotes »

sixothree wrote: post #25
schoolornot wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's time for the FDA to just do quality checks but otherwise screw off. I'm tired of having to order 100% safe drugs from Indian pharmacies. No question they are colluding with Big Pharma. Is there any reason the "Farmacia" model of Latin American countries, where you go in and pay per-pill for whatever you want wouldn't work here?

Out of curiosity (and ignorance), what kind of things are available in India that are gatekeeped here?

Sunscreen! Korea and Japan have great sunscreens that don't feel oily or icky on your skin because they're able to use more modern ingredients. The FDA hasn't approved new sunscreen ingredients since 1999.

This is important for people (commonly women) who regularly use skincare treatments that make their skin extra sensitive to the sun. They want daily facial sunscreen that doesn't feel greasy. We end up buying it on eBay because it's not allowed to be sold in the US.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#213

Post by spondylosaurus »

Ensorceled wrote: post #193
mustacheemperor wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are the first commenter to relate anything like even a secondhand real life experience with oral birth control. This thread (edit: at the time I am posting this) is full of men with little real knowledge of this drug insisting on why it’s reasonable it took 50 years for this to be available OTC. I don’t think the contents of their explanations are likely to be accurate, but I think they still explain why it took…

There is a lot of horrid comments in this thread ("Just have lots of kids!" and "Great, now people can live their addictions without worry"). It's a mix of ignorance, intolerance, misogyny and with a topping of "total lack of empathy". I'm a bit mollified by the number of people responding to all of the horrid comments.

Also, a lot of people don't realize that oral contraceptives offer benefits beyond literal contraception. I've been on the pill since I was a teen because it's the only thing that keeps wicked endometriosis symptoms at bay (and coincidentally have had the best luck on a progestin-only pill similar to the one that just got approved). And this is despite being in a monogamous relationship with a cis woman for the past five years—zero pregnancy risk there :P

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#215

Post by [deleted] »

mustacheemperor wrote: post #74
elijaht wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of that ends up being bureaucratic wastes of time though. My partner was on birth control for years and had to jump through so many hoops - Had to go to yearly appointments to continue receiving it - Could not pick up more than a month at a time, which created logistical issues since they HAD to take it daily - Had to get the prescription renewed every three months or so, which often led to delays filling it It…

You are the first commenter to relate anything like even a secondhand real life experience with oral birth control. This thread (edit: at the time I am posting this) is full of men with little real knowledge of this drug insisting on why it’s reasonable it took 50 years for this to be available OTC. I don’t think the contents of their explanations are likely to be accurate, but I think they still explain why it took…

[deleted]

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#216

Post by nemo44x »

zarathustreal wrote: post #192

Endocrine-disrupting substances being sold over the counter.. I hope this doesn’t come back to haunt us

Yeah, more estrogen will be added to the water supply unfortunately. 90% of birth control isn't metabolized and comes out in the urine. This can have effects for wildlife and possibly humans.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#217

Post by pyuser583 »

travisjungroth wrote: post #194
neuronerdgirl wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good time to remind people that tylenol dosages as written on the bottle are just within the safety window to avoid toxicity[1]. Having done the math myself, you can't even take the extra strength stuff at the recommended timing without skipping a dose each day. Drugs, even OTC ones, have very real risks, and gatekeeping BC is laughable given the risks of not having it freely available. [1] https://www.health.harvard…

Tylenol/paracetamol/acetaminophen also barely works. It increases the effectiveness of an aspirin and caffeine combo to relieve headaches (but not migraines). It’s generally ineffective against chronic pain, back pain, and severe pain. It’s a weak fever reducer. It’s one of the most popular medications in the world and its use isn’t especially supported by science. To the point of this thread, don’t mistake official…

Could you give me some sources on acetaminophen effectiveness? I’m really interested in this.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#218

Post by bastardoperator »

lalaithion wrote: post #8

This is amazing, it will help a lot of people have access to a drug that can vastly improve quality of life without being gatekept by their doctor. Just one note about the phrasing of all the headlines: they’re phrased as if the FDA did a good thing, but it’s better to imagine this as the FDA _stopping_ doing a bad thing. The only reason that we haven’t had over the counter oral contraceptive for the last fifty years…

We also don't have to worry about pharmacist denying people (mostly women) birth control because they have moral objection to it.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#219

Post by Forgeties79 »

libraryatnight wrote: post #199
uncletaco wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This thread (edit: at the time I am posting this) is full of men with little real knowledge That’s almost every reply on HN that isn’t specific enough to let someone shine through with their tech experience. It’s been like this as long as I’ve been here. EDIT: It occurs to me that I've been here for just over 10 years as of last month. Time really flies.

[flagged]

And then when you try to point it out they pearl clutch/gasp and accuse you of having an agenda/over-interpreting their words. It’s very frustrating.

Re: FDA approves first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive

#220

Post by fzeroracer »

CivBase wrote: post #111
WesternWind wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same people who hate and politicize abortion also usually hate and politicize contraceptives. I don't know if that had an impact in the choice to seek approval or not, but I wouldn't be surprised. If it looks like Trump might win the electoral college and the Dems might lose Congress, it might not be the worst thing to have stocked up on.

I don't know where this is coming from. I'm aware that a significant portion of conservatives are very religious and some religious people object to contraception. But I'm not aware of any concerted effort by Republicans to ban or restrict pre-pregnancy contraceptives in my lifetime. And while I have plenty of thoughts about Trump, I'm not aware of him ever suggesting an interest in restricting access to contraceptiv…

> But I'm not aware of any concerted effort by Republicans to ban or restrict pre-pregnancy contraceptives in my lifetime.

Really? Because Texas has been marching in that direction for some time now. There was a recent ruling that when it comes to contraceptives that agencies cannot protect minor confidentiality from their parents. Multiple republican think tanks push the idea that contraceptives kill babies and should be banned as abortifacients. You can see these attacks starting in multiple locations [1] [2]. The goal is obviously attack anything with dubious claims of abortifacient, then reduce access to anything that is not (by removing contraceptives from sex ed, reducing access, and preventing people from talking to doctors about it).

[1] https://www.cathmed.org/catholic-medical-association-applaud...

[2] https://studentsforlife.org/learn/contraception/

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