3 ms·

The article mentions that they're using Nexplanon, which, though it's a hormonal method as you say, is absolutely not comparable to chemical castration. It's re

The article mentions that they're using Nexplanon, which, though it's a hormonal method as you say, is absolutely not comparable to chemical castration. It's recommended for use by Planned Parenthood among other organisations, as it's convenient and has a low failure rate. All the "chemical castration" and "severe adverse reaction" seems to do here is introduce unwarranted FUD. As far as I'm able to find, the number of complications due to the implant are insignificant. It's like those disclaimers in drugs commercials where they mention a headache relief medicine might give you a heart attack. Sure it's possible, no it's not something many people need to worry about.

tcj_phx 9y ago
Some people defend the current contraceptive status-quo by reasoning "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." > is absolutely not comparable to chemical castration. Yes, the article is about Nexplanon, and DMPA (Depo Medroxyprogesterone Acetate) is what's used to chemically castrate men, and to render women temporarily infertile. But nexplanon's active ingredient suppresses the HPG axis [1] too. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothalamic%E2%80%93pituitary%E2%80%93gonadal_axis#Suppression https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothalamic%E2%80%93pituitary... My friend is that one-in-10000 who was especially vulnerable to pseudo-hormones. Her doctor didn't appreciate the significance of the main negative symptom she complained about (bleeding continuously for months), and injected her twice more anyways. She would be an inmate at the state's psychiatric hospital, or dead, if I hadn't taken an interest in her struggles. > As far as I'm able to find, the number of complications due to the implant are insignificant. Except to the people who have them. Here's a report from a random redditor: https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/4mofxf/the_birth_control_nexplanon_almost_ruined_me/ https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/4mofxf/the...
- Veratyr 9y ago
  I understand and sympathise with your friend's experience but: > Some people defend the current contraceptive status-quo by reasoning "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." Yes. This is how modern medicine works. Nearly every medication will cause an adverse reaction to a small number of people and there's really not much we can do about it. They produce a net good though so we use them. Also, I'm certainly not a doctor but doesn't Nexplanon release the same hormones in "the pill", used by millions of women around the world? I think the real problem is in this part: > Her doctor didn't appreciate the significance of the main negative symptom she complained about (bleeding continuously for months), and injected her twice more anyways. The problem here isn't hormonal birth control, it's an incompetent doctor. > Except to the people who have them. Here's a report from a random redditor She also seems to be a victim of an incompetent doctor.
  - tcj_phx 9y ago
    > > Some people defend the current contraceptive status-quo by reasoning "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." > Yes. This is how modern medicine works. Nearly every medication will cause an adverse reaction to a small number of people and there's really not much we can do about it. They produce a net good though so we use them. Feminists were making some progress with figuring out how to help women take better control their own fertility in the 1950's and 1960's... I have some of their books. Then the pill came out, and women were like, "why bother figuring out how our bodies work, and how to make them work better, when we can just take a little pill every day!" Or something like that. It's trivially-easy for men to render themselves temporarily infertile (edit: without resorting to condoms/surgery/pills). But there's no recurring business to the medical industry, so that body of knowledge is ignored. > [...] incompetent doctor. [...] incompetent doctor. Both of these doctors are just implementing their training, which is based on pharmacology rather than physiology. > Also, I'm certainly not a doctor but doesn't Nexplanon release the same hormones in "the pill", used by millions of women around the world? The various birth control pill formulas use different 'progestins', the class of chemicals that are sort-of similar to the natural Progestogens [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progestogen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progestogen

tcj_phx 9y ago

Some people defend the current contraceptive status-quo by reasoning "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." > is absolutely not comparable to chemical castration. Yes, the article is about Nexplanon, and DMPA (Depo Medroxyprogesterone Acetate) is what's used to chemically castrate men, and to render women temporarily infertile. But nexplanon's active ingredient suppresses the HPG axis [1] too. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothalamic%E2%80%93pituitary%E2%80%93gonadal_axis#Suppression https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothalamic%E2%80%93pituitary... My friend is that one-in-10000 who was especially vulnerable to pseudo-hormones. Her doctor didn't appreciate the significance of the main negative symptom she complained about (bleeding continuously for months), and injected her twice more anyways. She would be an inmate at the state's psychiatric hospital, or dead, if I hadn't taken an interest in her struggles. > As far as I'm able to find, the number of complications due to the implant are insignificant. Except to the people who have them. Here's a report from a random redditor: https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/4mofxf/the_birth_control_nexplanon_almost_ruined_me/ https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/4mofxf/the...

Veratyr 9y ago
I understand and sympathise with your friend's experience but: > Some people defend the current contraceptive status-quo by reasoning "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." Yes. This is how modern medicine works. Nearly every medication will cause an adverse reaction to a small number of people and there's really not much we can do about it. They produce a net good though so we use them. Also, I'm certainly not a doctor but doesn't Nexplanon release the same hormones in "the pill", used by millions of women around the world? I think the real problem is in this part: > Her doctor didn't appreciate the significance of the main negative symptom she complained about (bleeding continuously for months), and injected her twice more anyways. The problem here isn't hormonal birth control, it's an incompetent doctor. > Except to the people who have them. Here's a report from a random redditor She also seems to be a victim of an incompetent doctor.
- tcj_phx 9y ago
  > > Some people defend the current contraceptive status-quo by reasoning "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." > Yes. This is how modern medicine works. Nearly every medication will cause an adverse reaction to a small number of people and there's really not much we can do about it. They produce a net good though so we use them. Feminists were making some progress with figuring out how to help women take better control their own fertility in the 1950's and 1960's... I have some of their books. Then the pill came out, and women were like, "why bother figuring out how our bodies work, and how to make them work better, when we can just take a little pill every day!" Or something like that. It's trivially-easy for men to render themselves temporarily infertile (edit: without resorting to condoms/surgery/pills). But there's no recurring business to the medical industry, so that body of knowledge is ignored. > [...] incompetent doctor. [...] incompetent doctor. Both of these doctors are just implementing their training, which is based on pharmacology rather than physiology. > Also, I'm certainly not a doctor but doesn't Nexplanon release the same hormones in "the pill", used by millions of women around the world? The various birth control pill formulas use different 'progestins', the class of chemicals that are sort-of similar to the natural Progestogens [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progestogen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progestogen