Birth Control and Sex Drive

Birth control pills are among the hormonal birth control options. These contraceptives also include the vaginal ring, injections, and implants.

There are several mechanisms that will help to understand why the female half of humanity fades from sexual desire when using contraceptive drugs.


Sexual Dysfunction & Disorders

Using birth control pills can lead a woman to problems such as:


**Decrease in attraction.

**Difficulties obtaining an orgasm or its total absence.

**Pain during intimacy due to dry vagina.


Also, at the beginning of the use of contraceptive drugs, as well as after the end of their use, symptoms such as nausea, weight gain, and pain in the head and chest may appear. Not all of these factors increase libido.

Some birth control pills can cause depression and emotional instability, which also negatively affects a woman's intimate life.


Are there birth control pills that do not affect libido?

There are drugs that do not have a noticeable effect on libido. There are drugs that increase libido in one woman while reducing it in another. Therefore, it is difficult to say how a certain drug will affect female sexuality. Birth control pills of the 1st generation contained an androgenic effect, that is, their libido did not decrease.

However, they contained a lot of estrogens, which posed a threat to women's health. Most modern contraceptive drugs contain an anti-androgenic effect, which is not excluded, which will adversely affect libido.


The androgenic effect of 2nd generation contraceptive drugs was ten times weaker. 3rd generation birth control pills have little effect on testosterone. 4th generation birth control pills containing drospirenone have anti-androgenic activity. This will probably contribute to the reduction of female sexuality.

It should be noted that different women taking these drugs react to them differently.


In the new drug, Ethinyl estradiol has been replaced by naturally occurring estradiol. The use of such a remedy should not affect the libido. Estradiol tablets do not significantly increase the level of the protein that binds hormones and therefore testosterone does not decrease much. Ethinyl estradiol tablets increase hormone-binding protein but maintain testosterone at normal levels.

And although all this is more beneficial for a woman, it is a mistake to believe that these remedies do not reduce sexual desire in any way. There are those for whom these drugs are contraindicated, there are those who have side effects and others who lose their libido.


How do I restart my libido?

There are drugs that can increase female sexuality. However, they affect the symptoms, so only a specialist can figure out what the cause is and eliminate it. Together with the doctor, you can choose another drug. But if even with the help of a doctor it is not possible to increase the libido, which has dropped due to COCs, the doctor may suggest using a spiral or another drug instead of pills or contraceptives.

Negative effects, including decreased desire, may appear after you stop using birth control pills. This is due to the fact that these drugs contribute to the appearance of the fact that artificial hormones are formed in the body that differ from natural hormones.

It is advisable to stop taking birth control pills after talking with the gynecologist. The doctor will tell you how to properly cancel the drugs and help the body in its recovery to a normal hormonal background. After a while, the body will rebuild, and the libido will be restored. To speed up this process, you can take to adhere to the following:


**Complete rest.

**Adhere to good nutrition, and use plenty of vegetables and fruits.

**Reduce or eliminate the consumption of fatty foods, coffee, alcohol, etc.

**Take vitamins and minerals.

**Play sports. Some people need moderate physical activity, for example, a walk, and someone needs to constantly play sports.

**Support for partners.

It is essential to exclude complaints and pressure.

If you cannot solve the problem on your own, you should contact the specialists.


How do I choose the right contraceptive?

The choice of the drug is important to carry out in collaboration with the gynecologist. Sex hormones affect the whole body, in other words, the contraceptive drug affects the health of a woman. For this reason, birth control pills are sometimes also prescribed to treat certain illnesses.

When choosing a contraceptive, a specialist first assesses the general state of health of a woman and how one or another drug can affect her.

There are drugs that do not have a negative effect on libido. However, female libido is affected by various factors. Therefore, it is impossible to say exactly how the body will react to either drug.

One of the reasons for the extinction of sexual desire is the overconfidence of the woman herself that the use of birth control pills and libido are not compatible.