The topic of how your libido changes once you stop taking birth control is a little nuanced, with experience pointing toward an uptick and a decline in sex drive. 

Before getting into this, it’s important to understand what happens inside your system when you take a hormonal birth control pill. Most birth control pills have estrogen and progestin in them, both of which can decrease testosterone levels in your body. Although we may think of testosterone as a male hormone, everyone has it, and this hormone is what fuels your sex drive. Additionally, pills also increase the levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), which binds to whatever testosterone you make, rendering them inactive. Both of these mess with your libido. 

Some experts think that the sex-drive-lowering effect of taking birth control can last long after you come off the pill, while others seem to think that your libido will bounce back once you stop. While popular knowledge seems to insist on a boost in sex drive after coming off the pill, there is also the idea that it is not necessarily a boost that you’re seeing but a return to your usual sexual appetite. Either way, you may experience a change in how often you want to get frisky with your significant other.