I am not sure what you mean by Placebo patch, but I am assuming that you are referring to the patch that is worn the 4th week when you get your period when using the "patch" for birth control. The hormone patch that is worn for birth control, supplements the hormones that our body already produces, and it increases some of the hormones to mimic pregnancy. That is how it works. It alters the hormones enough that a woman does not ovulate an egg.

It is that change in hormones, whether taken externally by the woman or occuring naturally in the body, that also changes sex drive. The hormone changes are part of the way the body insures that reproduction takes place. There are certain times during the full menstrual cycle that women experience increased sex drive. For some women, the time that sex drive is the highest is when she would be ovulating and for other women it appears to be when she has her period. It is believed that both testosterone levels and progesterone levels alter sex drive ever so slightly.

The function of testosterone in both men and women is partially related to sex drive. Those with higher levels of testosterone appear to have higher sex drive.

I hope this answers your questions and if you have more, or if you want to continue talking about the ones above, please feel free to write back.

Reviewed by Sexual Health Editorial Team