You’re curious. Or maybe you’re staring at an empty foil packet on the nightstand, wondering if your boyfriend just made a massive mistake because he thought "emergency contraception" was a team sport.
It happens.
Maybe it was a dare. Maybe it was a genuine misunderstanding of biology. Regardless of the "why," the question remains: what happens if a male takes Plan B?
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The short answer? Not much. At least, nothing permanent or life-altering. You won't sprout breasts overnight, and you definitely won't become fertile. Plan B, or its generic counterparts like Take Action or My Way, is essentially just a massive dose of a synthetic hormone called levonorgestrel. It’s designed to stop an egg from leaving the station in a female body. In a male body, it’s basically just a confusing chemical guest that doesn't have a room to stay in.
The Chemistry of Levonorgestrel in Men
Levonorgestrel is a progestin. While we often think of "estrogen" as female and "testosterone" as male, the reality is that all humans carry a mix of these hormones. Men naturally have small amounts of progesterone.
When a man swallows that little white pill, his bloodstream gets a sudden, sharp spike of progestin. Because the male body isn't built to respond to a "surge" of this specific hormone to prevent ovulation, the liver basically looks at it, shrugs, and starts the process of breaking it down for excretion. It's a temporary blip.
Short-Term Side Effects
Don't expect to feel great.
Even though it won't change your DNA or turn you into a different person, a high dose of any hormone can mess with your equilibrium. Most guys who ingest Plan B report feeling "off" for a day or two. Think of it like a hormonal hangover. You might deal with some localized nausea. Your stomach might do somersaults because levonorgestrel can be hard on the lining of the gut when taken in such a concentrated dose.
Some men report dizziness. Others get a dull headache that won't quit. This isn't because the pill is "attacking" your masculinity; it's just your central nervous system reacting to a chemical shift it didn't ask for.
Then there’s the mood aspect.
Hormones govern how we feel. A sudden influx of progestin can lead to a temporary bout of irritability or even a strange, unexplainable sadness. It’s the same "mood swing" side effect that women often report, just occurring in a body that has no biological use for the drug.
Will It Affect Your Testosterone or Sperm?
This is usually where the panic sets in. Guys worry about their "T-levels" or their future ability to have kids.
Let's look at the data.
There have actually been studies—real clinical trials—exploring progestins as a form of male birth control. Organizations like the Population Council and various researchers have looked into whether levonorgestrel could be used to suppress sperm production.
Here is the catch: to actually suppress sperm, a man would need to take these hormones consistently, every single day, for weeks or months. And even then, it’s usually paired with testosterone to keep things functioning.
One single pill? One time? It’s not going to do anything to your long-term fertility.
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Your testes are fairly resilient. A single dose of Plan B isn't enough to shut down the "factory." It might cause a microscopic, temporary dip in testosterone production for a few hours as the body manages the hormonal noise, but it bounces back almost immediately. You aren't going to lose muscle mass. Your voice isn't going to get higher. You aren't going to develop "man boobs" (gynecomastia) from one pill. That kind of tissue growth requires sustained, long-term exposure to high estrogen levels, and Plan B isn't even estrogen—it's progestin.
Why Plan B is Completely Useless for Men
There is a weird myth floating around some corners of the internet that if a man takes Plan B before sex, it somehow makes his sperm "inactive."
This is dangerously false.
Plan B works by delaying ovulation. It stops the egg from being released so the sperm has nothing to fertilize. It does nothing to the sperm itself. If a man takes Plan B and then has unprotected sex, his sperm are just as fast, just as healthy, and just as capable of causing a pregnancy as they were before he took the pill.
If you are the one who took it thinking you were protecting your partner, you didn't. In fact, you just wasted about $40 to $50 and gave yourself a headache for no reason.
The Biological "Lock and Key" Problem
Biology works on a lock-and-key system.
The "lock" for Plan B is the female reproductive cycle—specifically the feedback loop between the pituitary gland and the ovaries. When the "key" (levonorgestrel) is inserted, it tells the brain, "Hey, don't release that egg yet."
Men don't have that specific lock.
When a man takes the pill, the key is just floating around with nowhere to go. It eventually gets filtered out through your urine. It's an expensive way to make your kidneys work overtime.
What Real Experts Say
Dr. Bobby Najari, a urologist at NYU Langone Health, has noted in various medical forums that while the male body can process these hormones, they serve no therapeutic or contraceptive purpose for men. The consensus across the board—from the Mayo Clinic to Planned Parenthood—is that emergency contraception is sex-specific.
There is no "Male Plan B" currently on the market. While researchers are testing "slingshot" medications and non-hormonal gels that block the vas deferens, we are still years away from a pill a man can take after a mistake has been made.
What to Do If You Accidentally Took It
First, breathe. You're going to be fine.
If you've swallowed a Plan B, the best thing you can do is hydrate. Flushing your system with water helps your liver and kidneys process the medication. If you feel nauseous, eat something bland—crackers, ginger ale, the usual "sick day" snacks.
Don't go to the gym and try to hit a personal record. Your hormones are a bit chaotic right now, and you might feel more fatigued than usual. Give it 24 to 48 hours. By the second day, the levonorgestrel levels in your blood will have dropped significantly. By day three, it's usually like it never happened.
When to See a Doctor
Honestly? You probably won't need to.
However, if you experience severe abdominal pain, a rash (which could indicate an allergy to the inactive ingredients in the pill), or if you find that your heart is racing uncontrollably, go get checked out. Allergic reactions are rare but possible with any medication.
But for the vast majority of guys, the only "symptom" is a bruised ego and a lighter wallet.
The Bottom Line on Men and Emergency Contraception
We live in an era where health misinformation spreads faster than a cold in a kindergarten class. You might hear that Plan B is a "poison" for men or that it’s a "secret hack" for something else. It's neither. It’s a very specific tool for a very specific biological process that men simply don't have.
If the goal was to prevent pregnancy after the condom broke, the man taking the pill did nothing. The female partner must be the one to take Plan B. If she hasn't taken it yet and you're within the 72-hour window (though up to 5 days works for some brands like Ella), she needs to be the one to head to the pharmacy.
Actionable Next Steps
- Check the Clock: If the goal was pregnancy prevention, ensure your female partner takes Plan B as soon as possible. The sooner it’s taken, the higher the efficacy rate.
- Monitor Your Symptoms: If you (the male) took the pill, watch for nausea or dizziness. Stay hydrated and avoid alcohol for 24 hours to let your liver process the hormones without extra stress.
- Don't Double Down: Taking more than one won't "fix" the first mistake; it will only make the nausea worse.
- Update Your Kit: Use this as a reminder to check expiration dates on condoms or discuss long-term birth control options with a partner so you don't find yourself staring at a Plan B box again.
- Verify Your Sources: In the future, if you're unsure about a medication, use resources like the FDA’s Office of Women’s Health or PubMed to look up drug interactions before ingestion.