8 Things We Learned From A Male Birth Control Test Subject

'I Tried Male Birth Control'

Male birth control might be coming sooner than we think -- and thanks to Reddit, we know something about how it might work.

Redditor icheissesatch took part in a research trial at The Rockefeller University in 2010 and shared some details about his experience in an August 2013 post.

According to icheissesatch's post, the trial drug was:

A male birth control that stops the testes from making sperm... a man-made hormone that is like testosterone, called MENT. MENT causes the body to make less sperm by decreasing the hormones your body needs to make sperm.

Here are eight things we learned about this male birth control -- from a man who tried it:

  1. The trial drug came in a gel form, which the subject applied to his abdomen every day after showering.

  • Said gel smells like a mix of hospitals and rubbing alcohol.
  • It took a few days to start working.
  • It can take up to nine months for sperm levels to return to their baseline after stopping the drug.
  • The subject didn't notice any side effects, though he reported feeling "in the mood" a bit more often.
  • The drug came in a pump bottle, kind of like shampoo.
  • He had to avoid kids after applying the gel, in case it rubbed off on them.
  • He thinks men would use it, though it would need to be marketed well. "I do have my fingers crossed that it is received well and it becomes the new standard to share the responsibility of safe sex," icheissesatch wrote.
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