Tell me about your experience delaying your period

July 26, 2023 1:03 PM

Have you taken the pill or the mini-pill temporarily in order to skip/delay a period? Please tell me about your first-hand experiences.

My app predicts that I will get my period on exactly the days I need to be attending and speaking at an out-of-town conference in a few months. I have endometriosis and while not all my periods are disabling, enough are that this is a problem. My strong feeling is that allowing this to proceed naturally and crossing my fingers is not a live option. I'm supposed to schedule surgery but won't be able to get in before October, the period in question.

I don't use hormonal contraception for good reasons, but I am willing to put up with side effects for a few months. I'll be talking to my doctor in August about getting a temporary prescription for September and October, but I'd love to go into that with a background sense of what questions I should ask and what I should worry about. In particular, should I be pushing for the mini-pill, which is the thing that comes up if you google "medication to delay period"? (I don't plan to rely on it for birth control during this time.)

Please don't send me your reckons! Personal experience or actual medical knowledge only. (I've found that period questions cause my period-having friends to give a lot of guessy advice and I can do guesses myself!)

posted by babelfish to Health & Fitness (22 answers total)

My personal experience was that trying to skip my period with pills did not work when I was early in my pill use (so, the same kind of time frame you'd look at for temporary use).

It did sometimes delay it slightly, but I did not have luck with a full skip until I'd been on a monophasic pill for quite a while, maybe a year in.

This is all just extremely individual, though, I'm afraid. My experience won't be yours, won't be a third person's.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 1:26 PM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

I spent two decades using various pills, the patch, the nuvaring, and the Mirena IUD to skip or delay periods, and I really wish I hadn't.

With everything but the Mirena, I always had breakthrough bleeding, so ultimately my period was even less predictable. It prolonged my period - off of birth control I can at least get it over with faster.

I was depressed and had an unstable mood (which I didn't even realize was from the BC because I went on it right when I started puberty, so I blamed that, and afterwards blamed other life stressors), and now have painful, fibrocystic breasts that multiple doctors have told me are probably from birth control.

I believe that your periods are a real problem and that even with the side effects I'm listing, you might still find it worth it. The only one that actually stopped my period is the Mirena, but that's just what worked for me, everyone is so different. I think it would be a good idea to test different options so you know it's going to work for the conference and aren't dealing with any unexpected side effects.
posted by wheatlets at 1:26 PM on July 26, 2023

I'm no longer on the pill, but when I was that was one of the best things about it--using it to skip periods when I was on vacation. I asked my doctor about it and she said she recommended getting my period at least 4 times a year, but I never skipped that often. I never had any side effects when I skipped. Now that I recall, the only reason I didn't skip more often was because that meant I had to purchase the pill more frequently and at the time it was financially inconvient for me.
posted by shornco at 1:27 PM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

In the UK you’re usually prescribed norethisterone for this purpose. I’ve done this and it was straightforward, though I think it delays your period rather than skipping it, and it can be heavier when it does finally arrive.

I don’t have endo, so not sure how that would affect things. But just to give you another possible approach to investigate.
posted by penguin pie at 1:31 PM on July 26, 2023

(Norethisterone is a progesterone tablet so is hormonal, but AFAIK it’s not used on its own for contraception so I assume it differs in some way from the pill…)
posted by penguin pie at 1:34 PM on July 26, 2023

Response by poster: Norethisterone is the mini-pill! Just popping in to say that breakthrough bleeding is easy to handle, what I need to not get is the cramps/fatigue.
posted by babelfish at 1:38 PM on July 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

the side effects of starting the pill are more than I would be willing to endure for a temporary need. I feel fine after a couple months but starting birth control can be a rough hormonal ride - but if your need is strong enough! I'd need to be on the pill for at least two cycles before I could delay or skip one effectively, but that did always work fine for me. You could get seasonale which is designed to be taken continuously, but I used alesse and took it continuously. Some pills are different dosages during your cycle, those ones don't work as well for skipping.

The mini pill caused a lot of acne for me so I switched off quickly.

The mirena stopped my period immediately as well, and I've never had side effects at all. (the insertion is painful ofc)
posted by euphoria066 at 1:39 PM on July 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

I miss being able to do this. I was on an combo (estrogen/progesterone, "Apri") pill that I took continuously, and skipped randomly once or twice a year to allow a period. That pill worked well, used it for many years.

I'm no longer allowed to have estrogen b/c of clotting risk from autoimmune crap. I'm on the minipill, which is progestin-only and continuous, no placebo week. It's meant to skip periods. I have periods now despite this, and hate it.

My experience, and general experience, is that different pills really have different effects in terms of mental health, weight gain, etc. on different people. It's not uncommon to need to try a few different ones.

That said, I think your plan, to get it started now and skip for your conference, is great. I'd suggest a combo pill, not the minipill, though.
posted by Dashy at 2:14 PM on July 26, 2023

I had very minimal pain with my Mirena insertion, it felt like a small pinch and a minor cramp. My anecdotal evidence with IUDs is that people either find insertion horrible or absolutely nothing.
posted by wheatlets at 2:15 PM on July 26, 2023

Look into lo loestrin fe, it's the lowest dose combo pill on the market. You can take most birth controls "continuous" and skip the placebo pills to lessen or skip your periods entirely or months at a time.

The mini pill (progesterone only) made me bleed like crazy, among other things and did not stop or delay my period. At one point I bled heavily for 10 days. I'm a person with endo and a host of other health issues. Now in surgical menopause. YMMV.
posted by Crystalinne at 2:29 PM on July 26, 2023

When I did this I had "breakthrough" bleeding for two months. It started soon after my usual start time and just kept going . I felt mildly crummy most of that time, but not as extreme as my usual period. It'a like the misery is spread out over all that time.

I really only tried it once, so maybe it was coincidental or maybe I'm prone to it: I get a lot of break through bleeding, both with the mini pill (although not for two months, except for that one time) and when I get a new nexplanon (anatomy does not allow for the mirena, which was the original plan). So definitely ymmv.
posted by ghost phoneme at 2:30 PM on July 26, 2023

Best answer: Yes, I did this when I took the bar exam, although it was to induce an early period, not skip it altogether. My recollection is that a couple of weeks before the exam, I took progesterone for a few days (three?) then came off it to induce an early period. It worked fine and nothing bad happened. My gynecologist treated it like a totally normal thing to do.
posted by HotToddy at 2:46 PM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: This isn't exactly what you asked, but it is One Weird Trick that worked for me when my period was set to line up exactly with a long-anticipated beach vacation. Instead of delaying it, I tried speeding up a couple periods by drinking raspberry leaf tea. I would steep the tea super strong (as directed by the box) and drink a few mugs a day, starting a couple days before I hoped to start my period. I honestly did not think this would work and it TOTALLY worked (of course, ymmv and I don't know if the endometriosis effects anything, or if you alread drink a ton of this tea). For me, it prodded my period to come 1-2 days earlier than the usual cycle days for a couple months, with the result being my period was no longer happening on the vacation. Everything went back to normal after.

Maybe keep as a "can't hurt" option if you don't end up taking the mini-pill for whatever reason.
posted by LKWorking at 2:47 PM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

It worked for me, sent you me-mail with more info.
posted by Narrow Harbor at 2:56 PM on July 26, 2023

It worked for me -- I didn't even know this was a thing until I was getting married, and my gyno said, "Hey, take extra pills so you don't have your period on your honeymoon."
posted by BlahLaLa at 3:16 PM on July 26, 2023

I have endometriosis, and took continuous hormones for about four years. First up was Lo Loestrin, then I switched to just plain Loestrin, then I switched to Sprintec, then finally the minipill. I switched varieties for reasons unrelated to periods and menstrual pain/fatigue. I'm no longer on hormones because I had surgery last year and that helped me immeasurably.

In my experience, all of these pills worked pretty much immediately in terms of suppressing my period and preventing me from experiencing my typical monthly horrendous cramping. Although I had varying levels of breakthrough bleeding, that was never accompanied by severe pain. Did I still have more minor levels of pain? Yes, off and on. Did I still have fatigue, also yes, off and on. But those symptoms would have been manageable enough to attend and speak at a conference.

Good luck!
posted by darkchocolatepyramid at 3:20 PM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Crystalinne: You can take most birth controls "continuous" and skip the placebo pills to lessen or skip your periods entirely or months at a time.

Yes, can confirm that you can do this. It's bad for your blood pressure but you can absolutely do it.
posted by capricorn at 3:24 PM on July 26, 2023

Best answer: Came to recommend speeding up your period instead of trying to suppress it. Both bc pills and the Mirena blocked bleeding for me, but I still experienced cramps and fatigue.
posted by coldbabyshrimp at 3:28 PM on July 26, 2023

I have been skipping periods for literally years straight by running my (bog standard generic) HBC pill packs together. It's extremely effective for me (I know it's not for everyone) has caused me absolutely zero negative issues (my blood pressure is great) has completely suppressed my endometriosis symptoms, and I am FREEEEEE from the dictates of my fucking broke ass dime store reproductive system.

I started skipping periods when I went on the pill at 18, got the Mirena for 3 years and that mostly halted my periods entirely before its hormones wore out and my endo symptoms returned, then went back on the pill at maybe ~30 and have run my packs continuously since then, with maybe 5 one week long breaks. I am 37. Modern medicine is GREAT.
posted by phunniemee at 3:51 PM on July 26, 2023 [8 favorites]

Oh also my gyn is totally on board with this and prescribes my HBC continuously, so I get 4 packs of 21 pills in my 3 month supply. All free. Thanks, Obama.
posted by phunniemee at 3:52 PM on July 26, 2023 [3 favorites]

I (44 yo cis woman) am on the mini pill to manage my peri menopause symptoms, which include heavy bleeding, cramps, fatigue, and brain fog—and started when I was 40. I was not on hormonal/estrogen birth control in my 30s because I didn’t like the way it made me feel, and I was/am in a monogamous relationship with someone who has had a vasectomy. I started estrogen birth control again right after I turned 40, and my periods suddenly became…unmanageable.

While I still appear to have plenty of brain fog, most of my other symptoms have seemed to be relatively well-managed by the mini pill so far. I had a minor breakthrough bleeding event during my first month on the mini pill (at pretty much the exact time I would have otherwise had a period normally), but no periods or bleeding since in the last four months.

You do need to be sure to take the mini pill at roughly the same time every day, though (within a 3 hour window, if I remember right), and my gyno wants me to do an IUD just so I don’t have to worry about that. So far, the timing window been a non-issue for me, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Before I started the mini pill, I would sometimes skip the placebos in my estrogen birth control to avoid having a period, with no adverse effects. My blood pressure has remained low even as I’ve gained a little weight (thanks, I think mostly, to middle age and a decrease in physical activity).

I was initially not super thrilled to have to switch to the mini pill, but it turns out to have been a pretty positive experience so far—at least for me! YMMV.
posted by pinkacademic at 6:00 PM on July 26, 2023

If you're looking for anecdotal experience from someone who wasn't on birth control, but then got on it to time their cycle, this is commonly done in IVF from a few days to approximately six or seven weeks. I had been off the Nuva ring for a year when I had to take pills to delay my cycle so that the holiday office closures wouldn't hinder my upcoming retrieval. It worked as it was supposed to, starting birth control on the first day of my period. Some clinics will have you use the active pills for multiple weeks, skipping the placebo so that you don't have a period at all during that time.

I do not suffer from endometriosis, so I can't speak to that, but there's a lot of info online about this protocol.

Good luck!
posted by icaicaer at 8:09 PM on July 26, 2023