Birth Control or Pleasure Control? One Side Effect of The Pill that You May Not Have Heard About

Although its primary purpose is to help women enjoy safe sex, hormonal birth control isn't without its disadvantages. What can happen when it takes the fun out of the very activity it is supposed to facilitate?

Case #: 626

Concern：

I am a 19-year-old female who is going crazy. I can't seem to get an orgasm and I have tried everything. I have masturbated frequently to try to achieve an orgasm, but I have been unsuccessful in achieving one. My boyfriend has a good size penis that is about 6-7 inches when erect. I have been on birth control since I have started to have intercourse; could this have something to do with it? I love him and I want to stay faithful with him, but I don't know what to do. Am I normal? Thank you for listening to my problem. Is there anything that I can do?

Discussion：

Hormonal birth control, which includes both oral and non-oral methods of administration, comes with a long list of potential side effects. This intimidating list includes everything from decreased libido and weight gain to, very rarely, blood clots and heart attacks.

For many women, the side effects of the pill (or ring, or shot, or patch) are minor or non-existent, and the convenience and reliability of hormonal birth control methods outweigh the inconveniences that they cause.

Women taking the pill for reasons unrelated to birth control, such as to treat a medical problem, may also find that the benefits justify the downsides. Conversely, some women on the pill find themselves suffering from libido- and pleasure-dampening side effects that can become so severe that they defeat the purpose of taking them in the first place.

How The Pill Can Affect your Ability to Orgasm:

Although it's not one of the more commonly reported side effects, hormonal birth control has been linked with orgasm disorder and orgasm difficulty in women.

According to medical research, the powerful synthetic estrogens and progestins that often comprise hormonal birth control can dramatically lower the body's natural testosterone levels. Testosterone production, which is a necessary function for optimal libido health and sexual pleasure, is suppressed along with ovulation when you take birth control.

The synthetic hormones in birth control also affect the liver, causing it to produce more sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). SHBG is, as the name suggests, a chemical that clears the body of sex hormones.

As a result of these hormonal manipulations, some women who use the pill experience greater difficulty getting the level of stimulation they need to achieve orgasm.

What to Do:

Keep in mind that many women, if not most women, cannot orgasm from PIV stimulation alone. Unlike men, the procreation of the species does not depend on our ejaculation, so it's not surprising that female orgasms are a less reliable result of intercourse than male orgasms are.

Many women consistently require at least some clitoral stimulation to cum. It could be that intercourse simply isn't your thing. However, since you have lost the ability to orgasm under any circumstances and didn't have a lot of experience with intercourse before starting the pill, consider switching to an alternate form of contraception that does not rely on hormonal manipulation.

Research is inconclusive as to how long the orgasm-dampening affects of birth control pills can last. While you recover, you may benefit from certain medicinal herb supplements (see more: Natural Renewal Remedy for Vaginal & Clitoral Desensitization) that promote healthy sex hormone production.