Thoreme

male contraception thermal penile ring testicular verge testicles contraception for men andro-switch Labrit Maxime

how to better share the contraceptive burden

understanding male contraception

On this page you will find all the information about male contraception. 

Do you still have questions? Maxime Labrit answers them !

Free, no information required to connect! 

You can connect to the spermanence whenever you want between 7 and 8:30 pm every Tuesday to ask your questions, give your feelings or simply talk about contraception with the designer of the ring.

 

Male contraceptive methods

Under development

Polymer injection

  • Risug in India, Vasalgel or ADAM in the United States (different chemical compositions)
  • injection of a hormone-free gel into the vas deferens
  • blocks the passage of spermatozoa
  • considered more reversible than a vasectomy
contraception-masculine-thermal-andro-switch
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Non-hormonal pill

  • 99% effective in mice
  • human clinical trials planned for late 2022/early 2023 in the US
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Kaizen-G.Maréchal

Hormonal pill

  • two derivatives under study
  • Phase I human clinical trials underway
 
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Kaizen-G.Maréchal

Experimental and employed in the process of certification

The thermal method

  • to wear 15 hours a day, 7 days a week
  • effective after a minimum of 3 months.
  • theoretical  effectiveness: 99.6%.
  • from 37° the production of spermatozoids collapses
  • reversible 3 to 6 months after stopping 
  • Out of 1331 exposure cycles, only one pregnancy was observed. 
male contraception thermal penile ring testicular verge testicles contraception for men andro-switch Labrit Maxime
Bobika

Hormonal injections

  • 1 injection per week
  • limited to 18 months as per WHO guidelines, but can be renewed annually
  • theoretical  effectiveness: 99%.
  • effective 3 months following the intervention
 
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Recognized

Withdrawal

  • natural" method
  • withdraw before ejaculation (beware: the pre-ejaculatory fluid contains spermatozoa)
  • theoretical  effectiveness: 96%.
  • practical efficiency: 80%.
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Kaizen-G.Maréchal

Vasectomy

  • considered definitive, though there is a possibility of regaining fertility
  • marginale en France (<1%), mais en augmentation
  • 4 months wait between the initial appointment and the operation
  • theoretical  effectiveness : 99,90%.
  • practical efficiency : 99,85%.
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Kaizen-G.Maréchal
Download the 2023 recommendations

The male condom

  • protects against STIs
  • works immediately
  • theoretical  effectiveness: 98%.
  • actual effectiveness: 85%.
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Kaizen-G.Maréchal

Explain to me...as if I were 5 years old, male contraception

The Drenche

Contraceptive equity, a taboo subject.

In France, contraception in couples currently relies solely on women in 2/3 of cases (Le Guen et al 2017). Some women find it hard to cope with their contraceptive methods, others remark on the mental load concerning the lack of choice women have regarding contraception. It is high time this changed!

In 2022, it is still not officially possible for men to use the male thermal contraceptive method through testicular lifting, even though it is natural, safe, effective and reversible. However, both internationally and in France, a majority of men are ready to use a male contraceptive method (Heinemann et al. 2005).  

Methods exist and are reliable, but their distribution is limited for two major reasons:

  1. A general lack of knowledge
  2. Lack of training of the medical population involved in contraceptive prescribing (Mieusset et al. 2022 - Travers and Wanda 2022).
 

Male thermal contraception.

Since the 1990s, the thermal method has been available.

It is based on the temperature dependence of spermatogenesis. It has been clinically demonstrated that the thermal contraceptive method meets the criteria of official contraceptive methods: effectiveness, reversibility, absence of side effects and acceptability. Environmental, social and economic criteria are also important in the choice of contraceptive modalities. See the studies

Thermal male contraception is one of the accessible alternatives, so that men can shoulder their part of contraceptive responsibility in a shared and mutual way. This approach makes it possible to finally address these issues relating to sexuality, fatherhood and fertility.

State of affairs

As of 2022, it is still not officially possible to use the thermal contraceptive method, even though it is effective and reversible.

  • 1979 - Creation of ARDECOM (association for research and development of male contraception)

    A group of libertarians founded ARDECOM, which for almost ten years united around 200 members in its men's discussion groups.

  • 1985 - Dr Roger Mieusset highlights the possibility of contraception by testicular ascent

    As part of the experiments carried out in conjunction with ARDECOM, Dr Roger Mieusset highlights the impact of testicular lifting on male fertility in a study.

  • 2018 - Maxime Labrit invents the Andro-Switch

    The authorities suspend the sale and distribution of the Andro-switch until it complies with European regulations.

  • December 2021 – Sales of the ring are suspended

  • January 2022 – The artist LSF supports free access to this contraception

    To show their support for the cause, LSF designs decorative objects: the REVERSIBLE TALISMANS.  

  • April 2022 - Creation of the Entrelac.coop cooperative

    A small team decides to set up a cooperative to unite all those interested in helping the Andro-Switch with its regulations and marketing.

  • May 2022 - Petition: For Contraceptive Equity Now!

    The Slowcontraception association launches the petition, SIGN IT HERE

  • September 2022 - Entrelac launches call for members

    Join the members' team on their website: ENTRELAC.COOP

  • March 2023 - Entrelac Wins $300,000 Male Contraceptive Initiative MCI Award

    Clinical trials for ring certification are in preparation

    MCI

The different techniques

@Alter-Echos-male contraception
@Alter Echos

The "Mieusset" briefs or The Toulouse ball lifter (RCT in French)

Designed by Dr. Roger Mieusset of the Toulouse University hospital, these adapted briefs enable testicular lifting.

male contraception thermal testicular penis ring testicles contraception for men andro slip up ball jockstrap

The Andro-Switch ring

The lightest device for male contraception is no longer available for sale pending CE certification.

Support the project by discovering the artist LSF’s reversible talismans!

male contraception thermal testicular penis ring testicles male contraception andro ring

The spermapause or "heated boxer".

As an alternative, if testicular lifting is not an option, these boxer shorts are equipped with a heating element that warms up the testes locally.

male contraception thermal testicular penis ring testicles contraception for men andro slip up ball jockstrap

DIY testicular jockstraps

A variant of the contraceptive briefs, the jockstrap is comfortable and easy to create at home

male contraception thermal testicular penis ring testicles contraception for men andro slip up ball jockstrap

Contraceptive process

Check list:

  1. Make an appointment with your doctor for the consultation: The interview takes place in 3 steps (data collection - palpation of the testicles - prescription for the spermogram). To help you, this site is also made for professionals (protocols - practical guide - consent sheet). If he refuses, it is his right, use harm reduction medicine, and ask to be directed to a professional able to follow you. If this is not the case, contact family planning to be accompanied.
  2. Contact the laboratory near you. A map is available in the footer. Schedule your spermograms every three months as far ahead as their schedule allows.
  3. Choose the jockstrap you wish to wear. Test it to be sure you understand the movements of the lift and that the model is suitable. Test it on a few activities of daily life. Do not wear it regularly before the first spermogram.
  4. Plan how you will organize your average 15 hours per day. Think of your day as a 24-hour block. Wearing time should be between 2pm and 4pm over the course of 24 hours. Day, night, split, continuous, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that you find your rituals that correspond to you. Of course there is only one validated wearing protocol, but this does not mean that others are not possible, but simply that it would be too expensive to test all the possibilities.
 
Post it:
  • People with testicles are currently under-medicated and people with ovaries are over-medicated in the area of sexual and reproductive health. Use this soft medical follow-up to do some screening, ask for a complete health check up. This will allow you to do some screening.
  • Spermograms are reimbursed by social security in France. You can also do it without a prescription and it costs about 30 euros in France. At this time, there is no self-test for thermal monitoring. You will find in the resources a link to the [email protected]. Made with doctors, it allows you to make your own laboratory to do your follow-up in autonomy. This does not replace the follow-up done in the laboratory.
    To this day, no testicular ascending device is CE marked. This does not mean that it is not effective or safe. It simply means that there is a lack of interest in developing and offering methods for boys and this has been the case for 40 years. The steps are underway with Andro-switch which is accompanied by entrelac, and will be the first device officially recognized and available by 2028. In the meantime, it is up to everyone to take their responsibilities and to engage in practice to continue to justify the collective interest in wanting more methods for people with testicles.
  • The thermal method is based on what no other method has. Namely 40 years of practice, tens of thousands of people, and dozens of medical theses and clinical trials, each more reassuring and promising than the last.
  • Remember that you are to do what you want with your body, it is one of the last real freedom, and access to contraception and sexual and reproductive health is a fundamental right!

 

Aids :

Your attending physician

Family planning

The thoreme team

Spermanence every Tuesday night

User committees

Social networks

 
  1. If you are eligible for the method, you can start.
  2. During a good week, wear your device progressively, to reach 15 hours per day. If a discomfort appears remove your device, and put it back a little later. Massage your pubic area to relax the pubic pouch, cream yourself with liniment oleo-calcaire between two ports. Go slowly, it can take a little time to get used to this new ritual.
  3. Then start your 15 hours every day. Until you have a follow-up spermogram in 3 months, you are not on birth control. So use another method in parallel.
  4. Refine your ritual, during the launch until it becomes a habit like wearing a pair of glasses.
  5. It's okay if you wear your device more than 15 hours a day, and you forgot it. It is better to wear it too much than not enough.

 

Aids :

Your attending physician

Family planning

The thoreme team

Spermanence every Tuesday night

User committees

The entire ring community

Contraceptive threshold not met:

  • If you have not reached the threshold, check that your tool is suitable, increase the exposure time a little, and check with the team or a health professional to adjust your practice. We are not all thermo-sensitive in the same way, for some people 15 hours is enough, for others 17 hours is necessary. Schedule a spermogram in 30 days once the adjustments have been made, and continue to use another method of contraception.
  • You can play on the choice of the tool, the wearing time, the distribution over the 24 hours.
  • It is very rare to date, but it happens that for some, this method does not work. The heat is not enough, a recurring discomfort does not stop etc.. In this case, turn to another method and contact the thoreme team.
 
Contraceptive threshold reached :
  • Upon confirmation from the spermogram that you are below the contraceptive threshold of 1 million-ml sperm, you can, if you and your partner wish, use only this method.
  • Continue wearing your device as usual.
  • Have a control spermogram every 3 months.
  • Keep a "sperm jocker" for the day when you have doubts. Sometimes, even with rigorous practice, there is a doubt about the effectiveness. Keep the possibility to check at any time if you are below 1 million-ml.
  • 4 consecutive years maximum: Simply because we have no scientific trial of more than 4 consecutive years. This does not mean that it does not work afterwards or that it is risky. It's just that scientifically we don't know.
 

Post it:

  • 4 consecutive years, then take a break of 3 to 6 months and start again if you wish. Take the time to ask yourself questions at this point, is this method still suitable for me, what about my desire for parenthood, what does my partner want? Whatever the method, varying and changing regularly is a guarantee of effectiveness and risk reduction in the long term.
  • It is possible if you wish to stop sperm production. To do this, wear your device one or two hours longer each day to go below the contraceptive threshold of the vasectomy, which is 100,000 spermatozoa all immobile.
  • You can hybridize the tools, from the jock strap, to the andro-switch etc, the tools are complementary. The important thing is the daily and optimal exposure of the testicles to the body temperature.
  • If you forget to pump your testicles for more than a day, use another method for 30 days and schedule a spermogram at the end of the 30 days.
  • If an unplanned pregnancy occurs: The method has many advantages and also its risks. Heat acts on different levels of spermatogenesis that interest us, but there is one that does not. It is the alteration of the genetic capital which is reversible of course when stopped. These alterations are similar and common to therapies such as chemotherapy or acne treatment. Here is what an embryologist doctor, member of the Centre de Référence sur les Agents Tératogènes (Crat) and of the Académie Nationale de Médecine recommends to consider this risk in a proportionate way:
 
 

"In reading the elements described on spermatic DNA in the context of testicular hyperthermia, the possible risk in case of fertilization with an aneuploid gamete is that of finding this aneuploidy in the product of conception. However, this is a very theoretical risk since the possibilities of development of eggs carrying chromosomal missegregations are very limited. This has not been described for example in other situations where aneuploidies are possible in spermatozoa (paternal chemotherapy). A priori, in this context, if fertilization takes place during the period when sperm chromosomal changes are most marked, there is no reason to propose termination of pregnancy because the risks are very limited. It is only necessary to consider a prenatal diagnosis specifically designed to detect chromosomal abnormalities in numbers (blood marker assays coupled with an early ultrasound at 12 SA), or even an INFP if the result is positive or doubtful."

 
 

Aids :

Your attending physician

Family planning

The thoreme team

Spermanence every Tuesday night

User committees

The entire ring community

 

 
  • Whatever your reason for stopping, do not consider a pregnancy right away.
  • As explained above, the risk due to the teratogenic effect of the method is not zero, but must be taken into account.
  • Use an effective method of contraception when you stop for a few months.
  • So let your body get rid of the altered sperm. This usually takes 3 months, and up to 6 months. Assume that when your sperm count comes back within the WHO standards, you can consider that the poor quality sperm is gone. 
  • Once your spermogram is done and back to normal you can consider a baby project.

 

  • Aids :

Your attending physician

Family planning

The thoreme team

Spermanence every Tuesday night

User committees

The entire ring community

legend

wearing the device

effectiveness

use of another contraceptive

reversibility

medical follow-up

semen analysis

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associations and representatives on the ground

Family Planning, associations and collectives provide the public with various tools to learn about male contraception: sharing experiences, discussion groups, group consultations, workshops, networking.

contraception-masculine-thermal-andro-switch-Labrit-Maxime

ARDECOM

Since the 1970s, ARDECOM has been campaigning against patriarchal decisions and has been supporting the development of male contraception.

Thomas Boulou

Based in Quimper, the Thomas Boulou collective provides a Testicular Contraception & Male Responsibility service every first Saturday of the month.

GARCON

GARCON has been campaigning since 2019 for the research and development of contraceptive methods. Its primary objective is the diffusion and popularisation of the various contraceptive methods that exist today, particularly methods termed male.  

GYN&AMP;CO

Tired of caregivers with sexist, lesbophobic, transphobic, racist, etc. practices, a group of feminist activists set up Gyn&Co, a directory of caregivers who have a feminist approach to gynaecology.

Family Planning

A feminist and popular education movement, Family Planning campaigns for the right to sexuality education, contraception, abortion, equal rights between women and men and fights all forms of violence and discrimination.

SALF

La Société d’Andrologie de Langue Française est une  (SALF) is an association of general interest that brings together doctors and researchers in men's health from 13 French-speaking countries. SALF has 40 years of experience in male contraception research.

15 clinical studies

Followed by over 122 volunteers between 1985 and 2019 for up to 48 months.

Effectiveness

Of the 122 volunteers, only one pregnancy was reported due to misuse of the method.

Reversibility

100% reversibility in 2 to 3 cycles of spermatogenesis.

 

40 studies on the acceptability of male contraception

From 1979 to 2022, studies show increasing acceptability.

Side effects

Before trying testicular lifting, we invite you to attentively read all the instructions for using the ring:

We are currently collecting data on possible skin irritations (which can be easily soothed with liniment) as well as rare cases of residual urination experienced after wearing the ring.

history of scientific publications on male contraception :

  • Clinical trials of the thermal method

  • Theses and articles on acceptability

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