Oxytocin Troches
The love hormone, in a troche. Oxytocin is the hormone your brain releases with touch, hugging, sex and orgasm, which is why it’s called the love or bonding hormone. For couples, each partner can have their own visit and their own prescription. A troche is a small, soft lozenge that dissolves in your mouth. Less oxytocin reaches the blood from the mouth than from the nose, and the amount varies a lot from person to person; nearly all the research used a nasal spray. No oxytocin troche is FDA-approved.
- For couples: each partner has their own visit
- For women and men
- Dissolves in your mouth, 25 IU
- Not FDA-approved
Troche · from $59/mo. Prices are preliminary.
How to use it
- Place a troche between your cheek and gum, or under your tongue, as your provider directs.
- Let it dissolve completely, without chewing or swallowing it whole. Try not to eat or drink until it’s gone.
- Store them as the pharmacy label says, and message your care team anytime about your dose.
- Form
- Troche: a soft lozenge that dissolves in your mouth
- Strength
- 25 IU per troche
- Pack
- A tray of 24 troches
- Typical use
- As needed, as your provider directs
- Who it’s for
- Adults, women and men
What’s inside
- Oxytocin (25 IU per troche): A hormone made in the brain and released during touch, sex, childbirth and breastfeeding. It plays a part in bonding and trust, and in labor and the let-down of breast milk. As a medicine, it’s FDA-approved only as an injection, given in a hospital during and after childbirth.
What the research shows, and doesn’t
In couples: in a lab study of 47 couples, those given an oxytocin spray before discussing a disagreement were warmer with each other and had lower stress hormones. In 29 couples who used a spray before sex at home, desire, arousal and erections didn’t change, though some ratings about the time after sex did. In a trial of 30 women with sexual concerns, sexual function improved over 8 weeks of a spray, but just as much on a placebo spray. Many oxytocin studies were small, and some findings haven’t held up. In the largest trial that added an oxytocin spray to 12 weeks of couples therapy, relationships didn’t improve more than with a placebo spray. No study has tested Oxytocin Troches itself.
Studies: Ditzen 2009, Biol Psychiatry 65(9):728-31 (PubMed 19027101): 47 heterosexual couples, 40 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo before a discussion of a conflict, in a lab; more positive relative to negative communication and lower cortisol on oxytocin. A single lab session, not a treatment course. Behnia 2014, Horm Behav 65(3):308-18 (PubMed 24503174): 29 heterosexual couples, 24 IU before sex at home; no change in drive, arousal, erection or lubrication; effects only in the orgasm and after-sex period and in partner-interaction ratings. Muin 2015, Fertil Steril (PubMed 26151620): 30 pre- and postmenopausal women with sexual dysfunction, 32 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo within 50 minutes before sex, 8-week crossover; FSFI +26% on oxytocin vs +31% on placebo, no treatment effect. Flanagan 2025, J Clin Psychiatry (PubMed 40392716; NCT03846505): 96 dyads in Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy, 40 IU 30 minutes before each of 12 weekly sessions, both partners; safe and tolerable, no added benefit on drinking or relationship functioning. Sippel 2023 (PubMed 36931134): uncontrolled pilot, 10 couples, 40 IU before 8 conjoint PTSD sessions; the placebo-controlled trial (NCT06194851) has not reported. Walum, Waldman & Young 2016, Biol Psychiatry 79:251-7: many intranasal oxytocin studies are underpowered, so some positive findings may not be true effects.
What to expect
- First uses
- A troche takes several minutes to dissolve. Some people notice a mild headache or a change in taste.
- First month
- Your provider checks in on how it’s going and can change the dose or timing.
- Ongoing
- Refills ship on your schedule, in discreet packaging.
Important safety information
Before you start
Your provider reviews your health history, medicines and allergies before prescribing, and prescribes only if it’s right for you. Tell your care team about any side effect, and get emergency care for chest pain, trouble breathing, or swelling of the face, lips or throat.
Side effects, and when to get help
In research with oxytocin sprays, side effects were no more common than with a placebo. The most common were a mild headache, light dizziness and a change in taste or mouth irritation. Stop and get care right away for confusion, a bad headache with nausea or vomiting, a seizure, fainting, a racing or uneven heartbeat, or swelling of the lips, face or throat.
Rules that keep it safe
Take only what’s prescribed: very large amounts make the body hold on to water, which can lower the sodium in your blood, so don’t drink unusually large amounts around a dose. Don’t take it if you could be pregnant. Don’t stack it with Melt for Women or any other oxytocin unless your clinician says so. It’s for you alone: never give it to anyone else, and never to someone without their knowledge.
Is it FDA-approved?
No. Oxytocin is FDA-approved only as an injection, given in a hospital to start or strengthen labor and to control bleeding after birth. This troche is compounded: prepared by a licensed pharmacy for you, and not reviewed by the FDA for safety, effectiveness or quality. Using oxytocin for closeness or sex is off-label.
About Oxytocin Troches
What is oxytocin?
A hormone your brain makes and releases into your blood and brain. Levels rise with touch, hugging, sex and orgasm, and during childbirth and breastfeeding, which is why it’s often called the bonding or love hormone. Researchers have linked it with trust, closeness and how we read other people.
What does the research show?
It’s early, and most studies are small. In a lab study of 47 couples, those given an oxytocin spray before talking through a disagreement were warmer with each other. In 29 couples who used a spray before sex, desire, arousal and erections didn’t change. In the largest trial that added an oxytocin spray to 12 weeks of couples therapy (96 couples), relationships didn’t improve more than with a placebo spray. Your provider can talk through whether it makes sense for you.
Can my partner and I both use it?
Yes, if it’s right for each of you. Each partner does their own online visit, a provider decides for each of you, and each prescription is only for the person it’s written for, so it can’t be shared. Your answers stay private from each other.
Troche or nasal spray: which should I choose?
A troche is easy to take, with no spray or needle. But less oxytocin reaches the blood from the mouth than from the nose, and the amount varies a lot from person to person; nearly all oxytocin research used a nasal spray. Your provider helps you choose.
How is this different from Melt for Women?
Melt for Women combines tadalafil with oxytocin in a film, for arousal in women. This is oxytocin on its own, for women and men. Don’t use them together unless your provider says so.
Is it FDA-approved?
No. Oxytocin is FDA-approved only as an injection, given in a hospital to start or strengthen labor and to control bleeding after birth. This troche is compounded: prepared by a licensed pharmacy for you, and not reviewed by the FDA for safety, effectiveness or quality.