Amanda.Rx
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2008
- Messages
- 903
I had mentioned this on another thread and Namaste was interested, and I didn''''t want to totally thread jack so I thought I would start a new one. I think this is a topic that all ladies should be aware of. Most of you know that I''''m in pharmacy school, so I''''ve done a good bit of research on this topic because I thought it was interesting and experienced it myself.
It''''s true- birth control (of any type) can decrease your libido (or sex drive). Here''''s how it works: When your birth control is metabolized (usually by your liver), you produce metabolites that can increase your serum levels of a substance called SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin). SHBG binds up the free testosterone in your body (yes, ladies, we all have a little bit of testosterone). The testosterone is a main contributer to your sex drive. If you increase your levels of SHBG, you increase the amount of testosterone that it binds, leaving less free testosterone to contribute to your libido.
Typically, this unexplained decrease in libido may appear within 3-5 years of consecutively taking birth control. It may also be more prominent with the birth control pills marketed to improve acne (because they are much less androgenic).
There was a study done (I''''m not sure if it was statsitically significant or not) but it was published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine by Dr. Claudia Panzer. They stratfied women into 1 of 3 groups: women who had never taken the pill, women who previously used the pill, and women who were currently taking the pill. They measured the blood levels of SHBG before the study, at 80 days after stopping the pill and at 120 days after stopping the pill. Here''''s what they found: at the beginning of the study, women on the pill had SHBG levels 4 times higher than women who had never used the pill. Even 120 days after stopping the pill, their levels were still 2 times higher than women who had never used the pill. What this means is that using birth control pills COULD permanently increase your levels of SHBG, making decreased libido a long term problem. It is not clear if or when SHBG levels would return to normal after discontinuing the pill (the only data we have is at 120 days). Further study would need to be done to determine this.
After many months of frustration over my decreased libido (in an otherwise fabulous relationship), I ran across this study, and it concerned me enough to stop taking my birth control. I talked with my SO about it, and he was OK with my decision and we have used other forms of non-hormonal birth control since. I stopped taking my birth control in March and I feel that it may have helped (but my "personal" experience is also confounded by the fact that my SO is living in Germany and I haven''''t seen him much since March).
If you are totally against taking stopping your birth control, there are some other options you can switch to that have a higher androgenic content. I will warn you, however, that pills with a higher androgen content may make acne worse (but so will stopping your medication). There is also no data that pills with a higher androgen content will prevent your SHBG levels from increasing but increased androgen content does lead to increased testosterone production.
Here are a few options with a higher androgen content (highest to lowest): Ovral, Loestrin 1.5/30, Loestrin 1/20, Lo-Ovral, Nordette
Those pills with the lowest androgen content (usually marketed to improve acne) include: Yasmin, Ovcon 35, Cyclessa, Ortho-Tri-Cyclen, Modicon
*All the above listed were brand names- the generic name will be different.
I hope that may be helpful for some of you- sorry that it''''s so long, but I wouldn''''t have taken the time to write it if I didn''''t feel it was good information to share.
It''''s true- birth control (of any type) can decrease your libido (or sex drive). Here''''s how it works: When your birth control is metabolized (usually by your liver), you produce metabolites that can increase your serum levels of a substance called SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin). SHBG binds up the free testosterone in your body (yes, ladies, we all have a little bit of testosterone). The testosterone is a main contributer to your sex drive. If you increase your levels of SHBG, you increase the amount of testosterone that it binds, leaving less free testosterone to contribute to your libido.
Typically, this unexplained decrease in libido may appear within 3-5 years of consecutively taking birth control. It may also be more prominent with the birth control pills marketed to improve acne (because they are much less androgenic).
There was a study done (I''''m not sure if it was statsitically significant or not) but it was published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine by Dr. Claudia Panzer. They stratfied women into 1 of 3 groups: women who had never taken the pill, women who previously used the pill, and women who were currently taking the pill. They measured the blood levels of SHBG before the study, at 80 days after stopping the pill and at 120 days after stopping the pill. Here''''s what they found: at the beginning of the study, women on the pill had SHBG levels 4 times higher than women who had never used the pill. Even 120 days after stopping the pill, their levels were still 2 times higher than women who had never used the pill. What this means is that using birth control pills COULD permanently increase your levels of SHBG, making decreased libido a long term problem. It is not clear if or when SHBG levels would return to normal after discontinuing the pill (the only data we have is at 120 days). Further study would need to be done to determine this.
After many months of frustration over my decreased libido (in an otherwise fabulous relationship), I ran across this study, and it concerned me enough to stop taking my birth control. I talked with my SO about it, and he was OK with my decision and we have used other forms of non-hormonal birth control since. I stopped taking my birth control in March and I feel that it may have helped (but my "personal" experience is also confounded by the fact that my SO is living in Germany and I haven''''t seen him much since March).
If you are totally against taking stopping your birth control, there are some other options you can switch to that have a higher androgenic content. I will warn you, however, that pills with a higher androgen content may make acne worse (but so will stopping your medication). There is also no data that pills with a higher androgen content will prevent your SHBG levels from increasing but increased androgen content does lead to increased testosterone production.
Here are a few options with a higher androgen content (highest to lowest): Ovral, Loestrin 1.5/30, Loestrin 1/20, Lo-Ovral, Nordette
Those pills with the lowest androgen content (usually marketed to improve acne) include: Yasmin, Ovcon 35, Cyclessa, Ortho-Tri-Cyclen, Modicon
*All the above listed were brand names- the generic name will be different.
I hope that may be helpful for some of you- sorry that it''''s so long, but I wouldn''''t have taken the time to write it if I didn''''t feel it was good information to share.
300x240.png)