Today Sponge contraceptive approved by FDA (Yay!)

It is cheap, can be gotten at any grocer or pharmacy. It is good for 24 hours (or was when it was availble way back when). A woman could put one in and then not worry about her night. I am glad it is coming back.

that was my first thought too! :)

Har, I made a funny!

Wonder if any pharmacists will pitch a fit about OTC sales of the sponge.

even barrier methods are verboten to catholics.

a couple of months before my wedding. He never hesitated a bit and explained all about how long I needed to be taking the pill before trusting it to prevent conception. It was treated as routine, just as the salesclerk in the bridal salon advised me that if I was planning to take the pill, I needed to be "on" it for at least a month before having my wedding gown fitted.

YMMV, but in my experience and from what I've heard over several decades from other women, including nurses, Catholic doctors rarely refuse to prescribe contraceptives for women who request them. Those who do refuse can refer the patient to a colleague who will write the prescription, which, in cases I've heard of, just meant walking across the hall, not having to make an appointment to see another doctor.

And I've never heard of any pharmacist, Catholic or otherwise, refusing to sell barrier contraceptives. Besides, they're stocked on the shelves, not with the drugs.

Performing abortions or dispensing drugs that are intended to induce abortion are very different matters from prescribing/dispensing contraceptives and many Catholics and others refuse to be involved in abortions for reasons of conscience.

which explains why there were so many Caesars. I want to see the numbers on this "effective" claim.

It is a spermicide-carrier.

http://www.todaysponge.com/faq/effectiveness.htm

"The Today Sponge is 89-91% effective when used consistently and correctly."

According to Planned Parenthood (only listing barrier methods, here)

condom - 85%
female condom - 79%
diaphram - 84-94%
cervical cap - 84-91%

she tried to buy up as many as she could get her hands on! funny!

what all the hooha was about, but after reading some of these posts, I'll pass!

I'm there are some Pharmacist Fundies out there who are.

the Big V, Cialis, Levitra, etc. Woodies off and on (up and down?) for up to 36 hours and women can't protect themselves?!

Messy and gross. You have to leave them in for a certain number of hours. I can remember decades ago going to work in the morning with a diaphragm in and having to take it out in the ladies room. GROSS, GROSS, GROSS. At least with condoms, the guy can take it off immediately.

Sounds too much like we are going BACKWARDS in time.

I guess it's just a matter of perspective.

Eh, what do *I* know? Damn things could grow on trees like fucking mulberries and I STILL wouldn't be considered "Spongeworthy"

:7

talk about messy.

LOL!!!

:rofl:

LOL...

;-)

- and I know because I used it very briefly when they first came out.

You have to put it in and KEEP it in after sex. You have to keep it in at least overnight - maybe as long as 24 hours - I don't remember exactly how long as that was obviously years ago.

What happens is that it is a SPONGE (duh!) and it soaks up all those good "juices" and combined bodily fluids and they just sit there, cooking inside your body. By about hour 6 the sponge begins to SMELL REALLY BAD. It's not a smell you can hide. No amount of spray would kill it. And then you begin to ITCH . . . I could not WAIT to get that blasted thing out!

You are right - it's a step BACKWARDS!!!

If Medical Science can perform surgery on unborn babies in the womb, it seems to me they ought to be able to come up with a contraceptive that works.

It's good to use 2 forms of contras, eitherway.

or with a properly installed IUD.

You could put it in well in advance----I think you left it in place for 6 hours.

The problems you describe sound like you were sensitive to the spermicide and /or that this didn't "work" with your vaginal flora.

I do recall that women either loved or hated the sponge. I understood "Elaine's" pain.

I loved them too.

We used the sponge once too... briefly. Not only was it a pain for her, but it hurt like hell everytime I took a pee for hours after conjugal bliss. We were so happy to find better alternatives, although I suppose in a pinch....

?

After the last "encounter."

and if you know your partner is HIV negative then it's always more fund to lose the plastic barrier.

I used to use the sponge all the time, but my partner didn't like it. He said it "burned", I guess he meant the spermicide or whatever. (Is that the real reason they pulled it, potential injury to the phallus?)

As I recall, I could put the sponge in almost immediately before intercourse. Then again, it's been a while ;)

Why take them out in the ladies' room?
You can leave the sponges in for up to 24 hours. And they're good to go without repeat applications for that time.

My 2 cents--I loved the sponges. I too went around buying up all I could find when they went out of business. I didn't want to use the pill when I was nursing, and these were the best option. They're really not that messy--not nearly as bad as diaphragms. And, unlike diaphgragsm, they never gave me urinary tract infections.

Most important, this gives women another option (which I suspect is the main reason the FDA fought them tooth and nail for as long as they did). They can be bought w/out an RX, so women don't have to ask "permission" from a doctor (face it, in a sense that's what you're doing when you get an RX) to have protected sex.

Main problem--no protection against STDs.

:-)

uh oooh.....here come the "new"cons....take cover.

when I was a kid I knew of a Catholic family in the Church that had 21 kids (and I kid you not!)

I mean, this poor woman was pregnant 21 times!!!

And they expect people to do this??? Could you imagine what more of a mess the world would be?

NO THANKS!

I'm pretty sure they were gaming the system though. :evilgrin:

and military personnel to fight imperialistic wars.

Almost no one does anymore, most Catholics use contraception, but there's a couple in my parish with ten kids and they're obviously a really happy family, plus she has a great figure and lots of energy.

AMAZING!!!

That would be my Father's Mother. My folks only had 7. :)

because it prevents having babies, or what?:sarcasm:

The original product owner was told to fix up their plant or go out of business. They chose to ditch the biz.

that they caused toxic shock syndrome.

another agency will make it okay for pharmacists to remove them from the counters at Walgreens and Eckerds because they are "offended" by them.

If they own their own store, yeah, but not in a chain. Their retail and pharmacy sections are separate -- managers, etc.

pharmacist has a considerable amount of control over the OTC drugs... unless things have changed drastically in the fifteen years since I've worked in a pharmacy.

conflict or offend their "morality". I despise these people.

I'm sure those internet sales were swift when they removed this one from the market. And what was the real reason it was removed to begin with? They were really stalling.....but why? It's not because of the toxicity issue either.

:shrug: