While you wait: The best current methods

Looking for a halfway decent method while you wait for these new methods to be developed? Tried most of the current methods (pills, NuvaRing, copper IUD, progestin IUD, condoms) and they’re not doing it for you? Here are some methods we know about that we consider the best of a bad lot.

For women:

• If you have the money to travel: the GyneFix frameless IUD in Belgium, England, or Vancouver. See IUD Divas for more information and UK contact info. In the U.K., family planning services are free through the National Health Service, even for foreign visitors. See the manufacturer’s site for contact e-mails for availability in other European countries. Clinic contact for Vancouver, Canada can be found on IUD Divas. And Vancouver is a lovely place to visit!

• If you have plans to travel to China or have relatives to visit there: the uterus-shaped Yuangong indomethacin IUD, a copper IUD with a slow-release ibuprofen-like drug right inside it to prevent the increased bleeding seen in the first few months of using a copper IUD. The manufacturer is ISO9000-certified Yantai Family Planning Medicine & Apparatus Co., Ltd., and the quality appears to be good. Discussion can be found at IUD Divas.

• If you are young enough to still have regular cycles (say, still in your 20′s or 30′s) and are a careful and conscientious type: the Fertility Awareness Method coupled with condoms during your fertile time. See Planned Parenthood or the website of the most popular book on the subject, or do a search for “fertility awareness method,” to learn more.

For men:
• If you’re a conscientious type: heat methods as a backup for condoms (or your partner’s method). You can experiment with various techniques, such as a hot pack while you surf online or watch your favorite TV show, and buy a home sperm count test to see how well it’s working. See more at the Male Contraception Information Project heat methods page.
• If you’re done having kids and okay with permanence: vasectomy. To get the best vasectomy, go to someone who specializes in no-scalpel vasectomy and does several hundred or more a year. These docs have ultra-low rates of side effects. We know of two masters in Canada (Dr. Ron Weiss in Ottawa and Dr. Michel Labrecque in Quebec), but there are master vasectomy docs in every major city.
• If you’re done having kids, okay with possible permanence, and willing to be a guinea pig: ultrasound. Ultrasound machines are available for about $1300 and are widespread in chiropractors’ and physical therapists’ offices. However, it is unknown how much ultrasound is needed for long-acting contraception in men. You would have to read all the literature, determine for yourself, and use another method for backup. If you are the type who likes to experiment and want to know more, see the MCIP ultrasound page.
written summer 2012