Patch & Sex drive ???

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-18-2004
Patch & Sex drive ???
4
Thu, 11-18-2004 - 1:22am

Hiya!~

I am a new mommy to a 9 month old son and am on bc patch, Ortho Evra. I haven't been on bc for over 2.5 years due to ttc. I've been on this patch since my son was 6 wks old and have been experiencing a low sex drive. It's gotten to the point where my hubby is almost begging me to go off the patch. I'm not sure if the patch or pill will differ in this area or not. I was just wondering if anybody else who is or has been on the patch experienced anything similar. I will say that the "free week" off the patch I tend to start feeling those sexy sensations and about a week into the patch, it's gone. Hmmm....
if anybody has any suggestions or stories similar to my problem, please post.

Thanks!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-15-2004
Thu, 11-18-2004 - 8:11pm

I actually went on the patch because the pill was killing my sex drive. The patch is supposed to lesson the side effects because it isn't metabolized in your liver (which elevates other hormones resulting in the various side effects) like oral pills do, so really- I think every body is different.

How one hormone affects one person is different then the next, I have been on the patch for about 4 months now and my sex drive is back to normal- ie, very high!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-18-2004
Sun, 11-21-2004 - 11:39pm
Thanks for your reply. I guess we all react differently, hey! Maybe in about a year, I'll finally go off the patch to ttc again - maybe. DH will surely love that! For sure! Take care!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 11-22-2004 - 9:27am

It's a blessing and a curse! The patch and the pill and the ring and Depo Provera work because they suppress ovulation. So because they're not ovulating, your ovaries are pretty quiet and not producing as much of anything, including testosterone (yes, your ovaries produce testosterone) as they would if you weren't on birth control. While reduced testosterone can be great for women who have hormone-related acne, it's not so good where your libido is concerned. If you look at your husband, testosterone is what makes things go bump in the night!

For some women, certain pills are better than others as far as the libido goes. For some of us, the absence of other troublesome side effects and the effectiveness of hormonal birth control is worth it. But for other women, it's not and they'll move on to another method.

It's totally a personal decision! If you want to try something else and see how it goes, why not? All it takes is a simple phone call to your doctor.

Good luck!

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2004
Mon, 11-22-2004 - 3:35pm

I had a similar experience as the earlier post (clevergirl).

I was put on the patch because it had the lowest amount of hormones out of all the hormonal bc options. When I was the pill, it completely killed my sex drive, and I could usually tell pretty much immediately after I would start taking them. I switched pills a couple of times, nothing worked. But the patch has been wonderful! My sex drive is back to normal as well. I am very happy with this (obviously).

But, as everyone else has posted, different bc can definitely have varying effects on different people.

I wish you the best of luck!

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