Low Libido & The Pill

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]We're seeing more and more women who are perimenopausal and using birth control pills asking to add testosterone to their treatment regimens. And here's why it's not indicated.

[00:00:12]If you're having low libido on birth control pills, that's a known side effect. And actually, a simple pill change may improve your libido, and that's clearly documented in the medical evidence. And adding testosterone isn't necessarily going to improve libido. In fact, pills increase your sex hormone binding globulin. And so, sex hormone binding globulin actually binds to your testosterone, so decreases your free testosterone that's circulating in your body. Adding more testosterone hasn't been shown to improve libido in that situation. But sometimes, a simple pill change to a different combination or a different formulation is the magic that you need to improve your libido. And pills also can cause vaginal dryness and decrease blood flow to the vagina. So, if you're suffering from vaginal dryness, we know painful sex causes a decreased libido. Adding vaginal estrogen does make sense.