Contraceptive injections, side effects reduced sexual desire

A year ago, because of worrying about an unwanted pregnancy, the female patient used birth control injections.

The patient does not have underlying diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, pituitary disease, thyroid disease and no metabolic disorders. The patient is married with 2 children, has a good marital relationship, and is not under economic or work pressure.

After 6 months of injection, the patient saw a clear decrease in sexual desire, loss of sexual motivation, and no longer interested in thinking about "sex".

This symptom has lasted for more than a year without any improvement. The frequency of sexual intercourse used to be 3-4 times/week, but now it is 1-2 times/month. In addition, all sexual intercourses have reduced lubrication, vaginal dryness leading to pain during intercourse. The patient shared that the "out of sync" state in sexual intercourse with her husband causes the couple to quarrel and have discord in their life.

At the hospital, test results showed that the patient had decreased estrogen and testosterone levels and increased prolactin. Changes in these indicators lead to increased inhibition, decreased sexual arousal, directly affecting sexual desire, menstrual disorders, loss of appetite, fatigue, stress, frustration and discomfort.

The doctor diagnosed the patient with decreased sexual desire after the contraceptive injection. The doctors ordered the patient to perform the necessary ultrasound and tests to rule out some risks and advised treatment with endocrine therapy combined with lifestyle changes.

After 2 months of treatment, the patient's desire increased, he regained his inspiration when making love, and the frequency of sexual intercourse increased to 3 times/week. After 3 months of treatment, he stopped taking the medicine completely, the patient returned for a check-up and the results showed that there was no recurrence of decreased desire.

According to Dr. Pham Minh Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Center for Gender Medicine, this is one of the typical cases of decreased sexual desire due to side effects of contraceptive injections.

Notes when using and injecting contraceptives

Combined oral, vaginal, and transdermal hormonal contraceptives can decrease testosterone production, thereby reducing sexual desire.

Side effects of hormonal contraceptives can lead to certain effects on women's sexual function such as: vaginal dryness, decreased lubrication, pelvic floor symptoms such as painful intercourse, urinary incontinence, vestibular pain and interstitial cystitis.

In addition, combined oral contraceptives have also been associated with long-term and short-term anatomical changes, such as vulvar atrophy and decreased thickness of the labia minora and vaginal area. In addition, this type of oral contraceptive affects ovulation inhibition and menstrual cycle regulation, reducing sexual desire and frequency of sexual intercourse.

The longer the duration of use, the younger the age at which birth control pills are used, the more likely it is that a woman's sexual function will be negatively affected.

Source: https://laodong.vn/suc-khoe/tiem-thuoc-tranh-thai-bi-tac-dung-phu-giam-ham-muon-tinh-duc-1381037.ldo