"The Pill" and sex drive

mattsbride2006

I have noticed a huge difference in my sex drive since I have started the pill. I was so upset and confused and one of my friends mentioned that when she's on her period she always wants to have sex and when she not, she's never in the mood! Go Figure!!!! My poor husband, I was not prepared for this after I got married. I was actually very relieved when my friend told me she was going through the same thing and that it's pretty common. It's been over 3 years since we have been married and it's been like this the entire time! I'm actually looking foward to getting off the pill when we want to have kids because I will be in a better mood overall AND I'll have the sex drive I had before I started the pill. It is way to early in our marriage for this to be an issue!!!

OMG Guinea Pigs!!

This is extremely common, and is usually the #1 reason why so many of us here have either tried other pills in order to find one that doesn't do this (they all work so differently with each person), or have tossed out the pills all together and got an IUD or other non-sex drive reducing method.  Getting an IUD was the best thing I ever did, but if you're planning on having kids soon (like within 2 years or so), that may not be the best choice.

kjewell

The pill didn't kill my sex drive but it did kill my ability to orgasm for the 2 years that I was on it which was frusterating (and sometimes a sex drive killer in itself).  We decided to go off bcp and back to condoms.  Not DH favorite idea but it worked well for my problem.

americanrumba

Like OMGGP said, this is very common.  I thought it was common knowledge that the Pill kills your sex drive, but I guess it isn't because there is a post about it every day or two on S&R. Anyways, there are plenty of non-hormonal options - barrier methods, IUD, FAM, etc.

ChemBritt

Have you been on the same pill the whole time? Have you ever switched to see if it was any better? I would talk to your gyno. She/he may be able to switch you to a different pill (or BC method) with a different dose of hormones that might help with the sex drive.

Oh and there are other BC methods besides pills. There is the patch, the ring, and IUD or things like a diaphragm or condoms like pp said.

maryannelise

I didn't realize how much BCP affected my sex drive until I got off in December. Huge difference! While on the pill, I was rarely ever in the mood. Needless to sat, DH is much happier now.

maryannelise

I didn't realize how much BCP affected my sex drive until I got off in December. Huge difference! While on the pill, I was rarely ever in the mood. Needless to say, DH is much happier now.

daisycook

I have to agree....I went off of the pill recently and my sex drive is much higher now.

guineas12

I agree with everyone else. I tried 3 different brands of pills and they all lowered my sex drive. It has increased a lot since I've been off the pills, but I still sometimes wonder if it did something to permanently change me. Hope not!

Anyways, I would highly recommend the fertility awareness method. We have been using it for several years now and has worked great. I will post a link for more information on the method. Since, the method only has a 90% accuracy rate we combine the method with with-drawl meaning he pulls out the entire month except right before, during, and a few days after my period.

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/preventingpregnancy/fertilityawarenessNFP.html

angldoll

I feel your pain. I have pretty much been on the pill since I started having sex and while my husband was in Iraq I stopped taking it(I wasn't going to be having sex anyway). I have never been so horny in my life! I also have alot of side effects from it ie. fatigue, backache, moodiness. I know different types of birth control have different levels of hormones and affect everyone differently. You might want to talk to your doctor about a different kind. Definately something I'm going to bring up at my next doc's appt.