Can birth control actually affect sexual desire? If so, is this chemical and is it permanent?
Recent research has identified a link between oral hormonal birth control and an increase in a hormone called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) that remains elevated even after discontinuation of the birth control. SHBG binds testosterone in the blood stream, rendering it useless to the body. In this case, a woman may have “normal” testosterone levels, but because of the elevated SHBG, a low libido. The thing to remember is that all women are different. Not all women notice a lessening in libido in response to birth control and testosterone is only one part of the complicated female sexual response. I do not recommend that women stop taking oral hormonal birth control simply because of this finding, but notify your prescribing clinician if you have any change in your libido.
