When Can I Use The Contraceptive Pill To Delay My Period
Most brands of the combined contraceptive pill can be used to delay your period if you have already been taking it for several weeks. You should not use the contraceptive pill to delay your period by simply starting to take the pill shortly before your period is due.
Taking two packets of the pill back-to-back artificially sustains the levels of hormones in your body. This delays the shedding of your womb lining, and therefore the onset of your period.
You can take up to three packets back to back. However some women do experience breakthrough bleeding or spotting and can feel bloated.
Most combined contraceptive pills can be taken back-to-back to delay your period, including Microgynon, Rigevidon, Cilest and Yasmin. Phasic pills, however, contain different quantities of hormones in each pill, and you should consult your doctor before taking more than one packet in succession.
Women on the mini pill normally take one pill every day, with no seven-day break. It is therefore impossible to use the mini pill to delay your period.
Do Natural Remedies Work
Limited evidence is available to support the use of natural remedies, such as shepherds purse or yarrow , to delay a period.
Other nonmedicinal factors can also affect a period. Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea is a disorder that affects hormones called gonadotropins, which affect periods. People with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea do not get a period.
Some female athletes experience functional hypothalamic amenorrhea and other menstrual disorders. Approximately of females who regularly exercise experience minor changes in their cycle, and 30% lose their period.
Other factors that can cause functional hypothalamic amenorrhea are stress and weight loss.
Other Ways To Skip Your Period
Taking birth control pills arent the only way to skip your period. Other options include the progestin-releasing intrauterine device , progestin injection , progestin implant , and the combination NuvaRing or contraceptive patches.
The Mirena IUD works even better than pills to reduce overall bleeding, Dabney says. Many women on the Mirena IUD either get very light periods or no periods at all.
If you arent sure about the pill, speak with your doctor about your other options. Make sure you speak with your doctor before using a birth control patch to skip your period. Compared to birth controls pills, the patch has a slightly increased risk for blood clotting. However, the patch is the same general formulation as combination pills.
Read Also: Can I Get Pregnant 6 Days After My Period
You May Like: Ocean View Kauai Vacation Rentals
Mental Or Emotional Stress
While it sounds absurd to recommend stress as a way ofachieving a good result, stress is known to change the menstrual cycle.The most known result of stress on the menstrual cycle is delaying the onset ofperiods.
To benefit from this remedy, you can choose to set a goalthat you know will lead to some emotional fatigue. For example, rather thandoing that project from school for a week, set yourself a target tofinish it in three days.
The only downside to this method is that some women areknown to respond in the opposite direction. Rather than having their menstrualcycle delayed, some have their menses come earlier than usual whensubjected to stress of any kind.
Ask Your Doctor About Hormonal Medication
If you’re not on hormonal birth control, you may be able to delay your period with hormonal medication containing norethindrone, which is a form of the hormone progesterone, the same active ingredient in hormonal birth control.
You need to start taking this medication a few days before the start of your period for it to delay your period. Note that you will probably get your period within a day or two of stopping it.
A small 2019 study found that people who took norethindrone to delay their period were less likely to experience irregular bleeding than those who tried to delay it with birth control pills. However, the study also found that those who took norethindrone were more likely to gain weight.
Visit your doctor for a prescription and check whether this option is suitable for you.
Read Also: Disney Vacation Club Military Discount
What Are Other Ways To Delay Period Besides Pills
Women who, for various reasons, do not want to or cannot use hormonal contraception, can try to delay or make their period come faster using other methods, but you should be aware that these methods are not as effective as oral hormonal contraception. Homemade methods to shift menstruation include:
-
Hot bath
-
Herbal infusions, especially common yarrow or black hollyhock infusions
-
Intensive workout.
Using the above methods, you can try to speed up your period by a few or dozen or so hours, but the likelihood of succeeding is not very high.
Proponents of natural medicine recommend using high doses of vitamin C to delay menstruation, but this method is neither scientifically proven, nor is it very effective. What is more, bear in mind that vitamin C surplus can contribute to the development of kidney stones.
Read also:
Delaying Your Period With Birth Control Pills
Are you interested in having fewer periods? It’s possible with birth control pills. Find out how and get answers to common questions about using birth control pills to delay or prevent periods.
Traditional birth control pills are designed to mimic a natural menstrual cycle. A traditional pill pack contains 28 pills, but only 21 are activecontaining hormones to suppress your fertility. The other seven pills are inactive. The bleeding that occurs during the week you take the inactive pills is withdrawal bleeding, which looks like a period. This is your body’s response to stopping the hormones. If you skip the inactive pills and start a new pack of active pills right away, you won’t have this withdrawal bleeding.
The bleeding that occurs while you take the inactive pills isn’t the same as a regular period. Nor is the bleeding necessary for health. This is good news if you take birth control pills and want more control over your menstrual cycle, either for personal or medical reasons.
Delaying your period can treat or prevent various menstrual symptoms. It might be worth considering if you have:
In addition, menstrual bleeding is sometimes simply inconvenient. You may want to postpone your period until after an important exam, athletic event, vacation, or special occasion, such as your wedding or honeymoon.
Breakthrough bleeding usually decreases with time, but there are some things you can do in the meantime:
Your doctor might recommend a schedule such as the following:
You May Like: Luxury Vacation Rentals Newport Beach Ca
How The Pill Interrupts Things
Now when youre on the pill, things are very different.
The pill delivers synthetic hormones estrogen and progestin to your body. It tells your system dont even bother releasing an egg this month . Ovulation is when a mature egg, good and ready to match with a suitable sperm, is released from the ovaries.
You May Like: 90 Day Probationary Period Form
What If I Want To Skip Just One Period Can I Do That
Yes, you can if youre on the Pill! Its pretty simple really: If youre planning on skipping that period you should take the pills up until the placebos and move up to the next pill pack in order to not get your period that month, Dr. McClellan explains. And if you want to go back to taking the placebo pills in a pack at some point, thats totally fine.
You May Like: Two Casitas Santa Fe Vacation Rentals
No Matter What Youve Heard Hormonal Birth Control Is The Only Real Way To Stop Your Period Or Make It Lighter
An anatomy lesson: Your uterus builds up a lining of blood and tissue each month just in case your egg gets fertilized. If no little sperm find your egg, your body sheds it allegg, blood, and tissue .
Behind the process are a couple of hormones called estrogen and progesterone, according to the Merck Manual. And when you’re on hormonal birth control , it manipulates your natural levels of estrogen and progesterone to keep you from getting pregnant typically by stopping your body from ovulating and/or by causing a change in the thickness of the mucus in the cervix to make it harder for sperm to get to the egg.
These are some of the popular types of birth control that can help stop your period:
It’s always wise to talk to your doctor first about stopping your period with birth control. They can advise you as to which method might be the best fit for you and your lifestyle.
How Does The Pill Work
The combined oral contraceptive pill provides a daily dose of synthetic ovarian hormones oestradiol and progestogen, which suppress the natural production of ovarian hormones to prevent ovulation.
The idea of an oral contraceptive using ovarian hormones was first proposed in the 1950s by American researcher Dr Gregory Pincus. His idea was to mimic the natural cycle, with 21 days of hormone, followed by seven days of no hormone to allow for a withdrawal bleed.
Read more:Dont panic about the pill its safer than driving to work
While the withdrawal bleed may seem like a period, it has little physiological relation to menstruation and may be lighter, shorter and less painful.
Nonetheless, early research described the 21/7 regimen as a morally permissible variant of the rhythm method, hopefully leading to acceptance by women, their doctors, and the Catholic Church.
Don’t Miss: Relaxing Vacation In Costa Rica
But Wont My Body Get Backed Up
Noâyou wonât get backed up. One thing to keep in mind is that when youâre on the pill you actually donât have a normal âperiodâ. In fact, the combined hormonal birth control pill doesnât allow your endometrium to grow as thick as it normally would, which is why your periods on the pill are much lighter than natural periods . If you skip a cycle, the continuous exposure of synthetic hormones will maintain your endometrium at the same suppressed level .
Have Sex To Delay Period
Can having sex right before your period delay it for 2 days?Most women need to know whether having sex can delay their period. The answerto that question is yes, having sex before the period starts can delay it.
- Some women claim sex may only delay the period for a day or two and no more.
- If you plan on delaying the menstrual cycle for longer periods, you better resort to another method.
Sex delays the period due to the surge of hormones that comes about due to arousal. Most women who experience this issue may think that they have become pregnant when it is a small issue of a delayed period. If this happens and the period is yet to appear about a week from its due date, you may need to take a pregnancy test.
Recommended Reading: Riu Caribe Cancun Vacation Packages
Your Period Makes You Really Sick
Unfortunately, some women suffer from severe symptoms before and during their periods that render them incapacitated for a number of days each month. Heavy periods that are accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are actually quite common. This is one reason a doctor may prescribe hormonal birth control, which often helps to minimize symptoms.
Your doctor may recommend taking a few packs back-to-back so that youre only getting our period 4-5 times a year.
How To Delay Your Period Naturally Without Pills
So far, the methods dealt with above involved pills. However, if you have reservations about using drugs or your body does not respond well to the drugs, you can still make your period delay naturally using home remedies.
Note: Most of the following methods are based on anecdotal evidence. They may work or not work.
Don’t Miss: Lava Lava Island Vacation Bible School
How Can Pandia Health Help
Should you decide to make your #PeriodsOptional, Pandia Health has your back! Not only do we offer a variety of birth control options, but we also have a ton of resources that can help you decide which method works best for your lifestyle. If you choose to take the pill or Twirla patch, dont forget to sign up for our FREE delivery service, so you can #SkipTheTrip the pharmacy and get your prescription shipped right to your mailbox.
Is Skipping Your Period Safe
Medical studies have reported no significant negative health effects when you skip your period on the combined hormonal birth control pill . That being said, itâs still important to mention that there have been no long-term studies examining the safety of continually skipping your period. Sometimes medical repercussions take a longer time and/or need a larger population sample size to emerge.
If you choose to stop taking hormonal birth control, your natural menstrual cycle and fertility will usually return to normal after one month, regardless of how long you skipped your âperiodâ .
Don’t Miss: Vacation Rentals Near Glenwood Springs Co
How To Delay Your Period When You Have A Vacation Coming Up
You booked the airfare, the room, and the activities. You took time off from work, bought a great new swimsuit, and are all packed. Everything about your trip is all set, except for one tiny thing your body didnt get the memo and youre going to have your period while on vacation. So many unexpected setbacks can happen even on the most perfectly planned trip, so the last thing you want to do is have to worry about your period. Well, good news, female travelers! If youre using certain contraceptives, you can easily delay your period for a vacation and its doctor-approved.
No matter where your vacation takes you, having your period during it is a pain. If your vacation plans entail activities by the water like snorkeling, kayaking, or sitting poolside youll be much more comfortable in your swimsuit not having to worry about bleeding and cramps. Or if your vacation is more focused on cultural pursuits, who needs to be constantly searching for a bathroom and making sure you have the right amount of sanitary products as you sightsee? And take care knowing that according to obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Pari Ghodsi, there is no harm if you do choose to use your birth control to skip a period during your trip.
As Dr. Ghodsi explains it, you can only skip your period when you are on a combined hormonal contraceptive, like birth control pills, the ring , or the patch .
The History Of Periods On The Pill
Since combined hormone birth control pills were first marketed in the 1960s, they were sold in packs rather than in bottles of pills in the belief that women would need the daily reminder of having each pill in a slot labeled with a day of the week. They were packaged with 21 active pills and 7 placebo pills, because researchers who developed the pill thought that mimicking a 28-day menstrual cycle would make the pill more socially acceptable, both for patients and for regulators, physicians, and clergy.
Using an artificial period to make the pill seem natural might seem silly, until you realize that prior to the US Supreme Courts Griswold v. Connecticut decision in 1965, states could outlaw contraception, and some did. And because that decision protected only married couples, single people didnt have a Constitutional right to contraception until the Eisenstadt v. Baird decision in 1972! So making the pill seem like it caused a normal menstrual period was likely a smart decision that helped hormonal birth control get FDA approval.
Recommended Reading: Brown Stuff Instead Of Period
Read Also: Vacation Home Down Payment Requirements
Try A Menstrual Cup Or Period Panties
Dont like lugging around boxes of tampons? Try an alternative!
Menstrual cups like the hello cup, DivaCup, or the Luna Cup are great for travel. Most cups are made with medical-grade silicone and can be left in your vagina for up to 12 hours, though this varies based on your flow. If you havent used a cup before, we recommend trying it out before your vacation to get used to it, but once youre a cup pro youll be able to get it in and out in no time!
If youre going on a longer trip and want to prioritize comfort, you can try period panties. They can absorb up to 2 tampons worth of period blood and are made with thin, breathable fabric that looks and feels like underwear. Super comfy with no visible panty lines. Check out Thinx, Dear Kate, Modi Bodi, or Panty Prop.
/12this Is How You Can Delay Your Periods Naturally
Mother nature can come calling any time of the month, so it is always better that we keep a tab on our monthly cycles. But there are times when we have a special vacation coming up or some festival or maybe some other reason and your period is the last thing you would want to deal with! Periods can wreak havoc on our emotional state and we won’t even begin talking about the physical pain it puts us through! Period cramps and mood swings can ruin a very well planned week. So what can be done to avoid them from surprising us on our special days? Delay them. Yes, but taking pills to delay periods can later make them even worse because of the high hormonal dosage in them. So we thought of bringing to you the top 10 ways that can delay your period naturally. Please note, these remedies are to be followed at least a fortnight before your date for best results.
Don’t Miss: Vacation Rental Property Manager Salary