Increase Your Sex Drive Q & A
What about oral contraceptives?
Dear Dr. Seth,
I heard that the pill decreases sex drive in women. Is this true? Is there any way to increase the sex drive without going off the pill? I am on quite a low dose already. Anxiously awaiting a response.
Miranda
Dear Miranda,
Birth control pills work because they replicate the hormonal signals of pregnancy. In other words, new pregnancies can't occur because the body thinks it's already pregnant, so ovulation (the ripening and release of an egg from the ovaries) doesn't occur. You've hormonally tricked your body into thinking that you're pregnant. So the next question is, what happens to your libido when you are pregnant? Anything, absolutely anything. It may go up, it may go down, it may go up-then down, down-then up, or it may not change at all. To answer your question, yes the pill can decrease libido (sex drive) in some women, while others find an increase or no change. Many things can cause fluctuations in libido, decrease or increase sex drive, and for most women, the thoughts that you have are more important influences on libido than hormonal influences. I really advocate women finding out more about their own arousal, and pleasures. Pleasure is less often something that someone "gives to you"; rather, it is often something that you participate in, or orchestrate all together. It's important to be able to communicate with someone else what you like, how and when you like it, and what you like to be doing at the same time. But, if you don't know what you like, how can you plan that for yourself, or communicate it to others?
