PROGES-TERONE-TIN-TOGEN

... and why doesn't everyone know the difference and why does the difference matter?

Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash

Hormone specialist Dr Sara Gottfried's appearance on American neuroscientist Dr Andrew Huberman’s Huberman Lab podcast recently was important for a variety of reasons.

First off, it's where I found out that oral contraception reduces testosterone, which among other things, leads to reduced clitoral volume. Hearing Gottfried say that the clitoris can shrink by up to 20 percent from the birth control pill (BCP) almost sparked me to drive off the road. I already knew from experience it was not benign (more on that below), but that clitoris thing has been really hard to process. (Having not measured it, I’ve no baseline.)

Also, to be very clear, I’m not anti-BCP, nor anti-HRT, this is not medical advice, and I’m not trying to scare or trigger or call out anyone who is on the pill or taking progestin in a patch or a pill or through a Mirena coil. There is no reason to panic. I’ve loads of friends and acquaintances who are very happy …