[flutist22]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the list and my problem is that I'm 22 and have an almost non-existent sex drive right now. I know it's my birth control pill. I have switched around several times in the last few months due to spotting and I am on Yasmin right now. Even on Yasmin, I am still spotting the week before my period especially in the mornings. I'm just thankful it's not my 2nd week like on Ortho Lo.

Are there any non-hormonal options out there besides condoms, gels, spermicides, etc? I like the convenience of the pill but I can't take the hormonal imbalance and subsequent arguments with my husband because he wants sex more than once a week.

If I stayed on the pill, is there any type of herbal supplements or creams available that increase libido temporarily?

Thank in advance for any help,
flutist22

[need2bfit]

i know how you are feeling this happened to me too but i went off birth control for while and now im o ortho tri cyclin and i am not having any of those problems i hope you figure every thing out

[jamh]

i have taken a few different types of bc pills and i currently started yaz i have been on it almost a month and i have experienced low sex drive and lubrication issues... just try another pill i never had this side effect before with other pills

[sironside]

I'm having the same issues with dryness and vaginal pain with sex. It has also been causing problems between my husband and I. I read an article that suggests low sex drive can be permanent even after stopping BCP's. It talked about some kind of receptors that tie up testosterone and inactivate it (small amounts of testosterone gives women their sex drive which normally heightens during ovulation). Anyway, when it comes down to it, the small amounts of testosterone are inhibited as well as ovulation which causes low labido. The article said there was a study done with 3 groups of women (those currently on BCP's, those that have not been on BCP's for 24 months, and those that were never on BCP's). Those currently on BCP's had high levels of the receptors that inhibit testosterone, those that have been off BCP's for 24 months had slightly lower amounts of this receptor, and those that never used BCP's have almost none. They also studied how long these effects last and it seems that many women got some of their labido back after stopping BCP's but some women did not get any of it back. I am not saying believe everything you read but this is definately worth considering! I am only 21 years old and recently married and this is not how I want to live! This kind of information is important to include in any drugs we take because some risks are just not worth taking. If I knew this, for instance, I would not have started BCP's. But as it stands, I have been on them since 17 for acne and later as a contraceptive.

[youngthang]

Ms.Youngthang

u know it may not only be the BCPs bcuz i was first on the patch after i had my son, and then i got pregnat again with my daughter so i deciced to go with the shot this time around and i lost almost "if not" all of my sex drive. the last time i got the shot was in october last year and my sex drive is still very low. But whats funny is that i don't get turned on that much but after a few licks its on like popcorn! So maybe almost all
forms of birthcontrol have that one unfortunatly sideaffect.

[youngthang]

Ms.Youngthang

u know it may not only be the BCPs bcuz i was first on the patch after i had my son, and then i got pregnat again with my daughter so i deciced to go with the shot this time around and i lost almost "if not" all of my sex drive. the last time i got the shot was in october last year and my sex drive is still very low. But whats funny is that i don't get turned on that much but after a fewlicks its on like popcorn! So maybe almost all
forms of birthcontrol have that one unfortunatly sideaffect.