My wife has been taking birth control pills for about a year now. I had a vasectomy about 2 years ago so we can't get pregnant. The reason she takes the pill is so she can stop having a period. To accomplish never having a period, she takes the pill continuously without using the "week off" pills.

My question is: can taking birth control lower your sex drive? She thinks it might have. We have fantastic sex all the time however she says she doesn't get horny like she used to.

ordinaryguy

I'm not medically qualified, but I have heard that birth control pills can reduce a woman's sex drive. What would worry me more are the other well documented risks associated with long term use--blood clots/stroke, etc. If she smokes tobacco these risks are much higher. Is it worth taking on those risks just to avoid having a period? I'd recommend doing some in-depth research and consultation with someone medically qualified to make an informed choice about this. As a general rule, it's not nice to fool Mother Nature and that's what dosing yourself continuously with hormones amounts to.

J_9

I agree with the answer you have here about associated risks.

Also, taking it to prevent a period can be quite dangerous to her health.

She need a time for her body to flush out the old blood accumulated during the month. This could cause serious injury to her. She should consult her doctor before self-medicating.

imdma

Thanks for your responses. Thats the thing. We have to go to a doctor annually in order to do this and her doctor has mentioned that it is probably a good idea to stop taking the pill and have a period at least once per year (if not twice) which she does.

opelts

THIS IS WHAT I NEED TO KNOW... can taking birth control lower your sex drive?
cause this is my girls reason for not wanting sex often!!!!

giggles

Old Blood?! A period whilst on the pill is not a real period, it's "breakthrough" bleeding, a sort of withdrawal from the artificial pregnancy hormones the pill gives us. I don't think it's possible to have a "buildup" of blood in the system.

A good option for this man's wife, may be the depo provera injection taken every three months? Most women using this method of birth control have no periods whatsoever, but sometimes this takes a year to be the case. There are lots of scare websites against this particular drug, but I have met a few women who take it and prefer the lack of periods. I don't think it's a good idea to skip your pill free week on a COC type pill every month, but again check in with your GP to see what he or she recommends.

giggles

Yes it can lower your sex drive. Depending on the individual. I have been using Nuvaring, a slow-release contraceptive that's worn internally for 21 days per month for the last two years. It's quite a low dose, but recently, I've stopped using it, and my libido has shot up. Sometimes changing brand or type of pill may make a huge difference. Your partner will have to experiment with different brands to find what suits her best.
The newest generation of ultra low dose pills are less likely to interfere with libido.

J_9

Yep, old blood in this case. If she does not have a regular period she does not shed the entire uterine lining and what blood remains is considered "old blood"

Yes, the pill can lower the sex drive as it increases estrogen levels. Testosterone levels are what increase a sex drive.

Yes women do have a certain percentage of testosterone!!!!!!!!