Key Takeaways
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Periods can be delayed safely with the right medical guidance and treatment.
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Norethisterone is a prescription medicine that can delay your period for up to 17 days when taken correctly.
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It works by maintaining high progesterone levels, preventing the womb lining from shedding.
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The combined contraceptive pill can also be used continuously to delay periods.
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Natural methods like diet changes or home remedies are not proven to effectively delay periods.
Periods are never fun, but they can be even more annoying when you have a big event or trip planned. In this post, we'll explore different ways to delay your period and answer any related questions you may have.
Understanding The Menstrual Cycle
Before we talk about how to delay your period, it's important to understand the basics of the menstrual cycle.
This natural process happens every month to prepare a woman's body for pregnancy, and then to reset it if you don't become pregnant. An average cycle lasts 28 to 29 days but can vary massively whilst still being normal.
Your cycle consists of several phases:
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Follicular phase: During this stage, an egg develops in one of your ovaries.
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Ovulation: A mature egg is released from the ovary.
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Luteal phase: The uterus prepares for a potential foetus.
If the egg isn't fertilised:
- Menstruation: Also known as your period, this involves the shedding of the uterine (womb) lining, which lasts for 3 to 7 days.
Delayed Periods
There are several natural ways your period can be delayed.
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Stress: Both emotional and physical stress can disrupt the hormonal balance in the body, which can lead to irregular or absent periods.
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Diet and exercise: Extreme changes in diet or exercise routines can affect hormone levels and delay your period. Being significantly over or underweight and intense exercise are common causes of delays.
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Hormonal imbalance: Conditions that affect your hormones, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or thyroid disorders, can impact your periods. They may be delayed, or heavier/lighter than usual.
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Pregnancy or breastfeeding: Pregnancy is often the first thought for sexually active women when they miss their period. Hormonal changes during breastfeeding can also cause absent or irregular bleeding, with some women relying on this as a method of contraception.
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Age: During puberty, when menstruation first starts, you're likely to be less regular. As you reach menopause, menstrual bleeding may also become less regular as hormone levels drop.
Should I Be Worried About Missing My Period?
Whilst a missed period may be nothing to worry about, it can be a sign of a health condition. If you're sexually active, especially if you're not using contraception, consider taking a pregnancy test.
If you're worried it's something more serious, you're experiencing other symptoms, or you've missed your period 3 times or more, it's time to see your GP.
Why Would You Want to Delay Your Period?
There are loads of reasons you might want to delay your period.
Delaying your period can give you more freedom for that wedding you're attending or to sunbathe at the pool on your next trip away.
A multi-day camping trip would be a lot easier without having to worry about changing your tampon.
Your period cramps can interfere with important sports events and make it difficult to concentrate during your exams.
Maybe you just want to feel empowered and in control of when you have your period. Whatever the reason, there are various ways to control your cycle.
How Can I Delay My Period Naturally?
Your period can be delayed for the reasons we mentioned above, like stress, exercise, or a medical condition. But that doesn't mean we're suggesting you overexercise or go on a diet to delay your period.
When searching for "natural remedies to delay your period", you may hear suggestions like consuming gram lentils, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, gelatin, and various other interesting foods and supplements.
Whilst it might seem like a good idea to delay your period naturally, there's limited evidence that any of these methods actually work.
The good news is that there are several period delay medicines that do work, with the scientific evidence to prove it.
Delaying Your Period With Norethisterone
Norethisterone is a medication that's commonly used to delay your period. It can be taken for up to 30 days.
You'll start taking norethisterone 3 days before your period is expected to start, three times a day, and continue throughout the time you want to delay your period.
After you stop taking norethisterone, your period should start after 2-3 days.
How Does Norethisterone Work To Delay Your Period?
Progesterone is a hormone that's naturally found in the body. In women, levels vary throughout their cycle, dropping towards the end. As progesterone levels fall, the lining of the womb sheds and your period starts.
Norethisterone is a synthetic form of progesterone that works similarly to progesterone, to stop your womb lining from shedding. This can delay your period until after you stop taking the medication.
Start a Free ConsultationAdvantages And Side Effects Of Using Norethisterone
Norethisterone is an effective way to take control of your period with few side effects. It's a short-term option that's suitable for most women and is easy to take with a prescription.
Common side effects of norethisterone include spotting or irregular bleeding, nausea (feeling sick) abdominal pain, mood changes, and breast tenderness.
More serious side effects are very rare but are more common in certain groups of people. Women with a medical history of diabetes, autoimmune disorders, breast cancer, and heart problems should talk to their doctor about whether norethisterone is suitable for them.
The medication should generally be avoided in women at a high risk of blood clots or with unexplained bleeding from the vagina.
You should not take norethisterone with the combined contraceptive pill. However, you may be prescribed norethisterone alongside other hormonal contraceptives. Speak to a medical professional for advice on the best combination for you.
It's important to remember that norethisterone isn't a contraceptive pill, and doesn't effectively prevent pregnancy.
Other Medical Alternatives
Many women use their hormonal birth control pill to control their period. How this works depends on the type of pill they're taking, whether it's the combined oral contraceptive pill or the progestogen-only pill. Other hormonal contraceptives can also be used to delay your period.
The Combined Contraceptive Pill
Women taking the combined contraceptive pill usually take a 7-day break between pill packets. With the "everyday" combined contraceptive pill, 7 placebo pills (without the active drug) are included after every 21 active pills.
By taking several packets back to back, your hormones stay high thus delaying periods. If you're taking the "every day" combined pill, you may need to switch to the 21-day pill packets to do this.
The Progestogen Only Pill (Mini Pill)
As you already take this contraceptive pill every day, you can't change the way you take the pill to delay your period. The good news is that 50% of women taking the mini pill stop having periods or have them much less often.
If you still get periods whilst taking these birth control pills, you may be able to take norethisterone as well. For more advice, Start a Consultation to discuss delaying your period with a prescriber.
Other Hormonal Contraception
By using them continuously, you can also delay your periods using the birth control patch or vaginal ring.
The hormonal IUD can stop periods altogether in 20% of women, but can lead to irregular periods.
Whether you want to start on a new form of contraception, start taking norethisterone, or take it alongside your contraception, it's important to seek medical advice.
Summary
Your period can get in the way, so it's great that there are ways to delay it. However, it's important to seek medical advice before getting started.
Here at Quick Meds, we offer remote period delay consultations to assess your individual needs. Medication is delivered quickly and discreetly to your door. Want to delay your period? Start a consultation today.
FAQs
Is it safe to delay my period?
Generally, if a medical professional has reviewed you and told you to go ahead, delaying your period should be safe. However, as with all medications, there can be side effects.
Delaying your period long-term using norethisterone is likely to lead to side effects, but is commonly done using the combined pill.
As long as you don't have any underlying medical issues and have checked with a medical professional, it's usually safe to delay your period long-term using combined oral contraceptives. You're more likely to experience breakthrough bleeding, though.
How often can I use norethisterone to delay my period?
You can take norethisterone for a maximum of 20 days. In other words, you can delay your period for 17 days, as you have to start taking the treatment 3 days before. Norethisterone is recommended to be taken as a "one-off" rather than regularly.
You shouldn't take norethisterone for longer, or more regularly, without authorisation from a medical professional. If you want to regularly delay your period, it may be better to take the combined contraceptive pill.
Can delaying your period affect fertility?
After stopping taking any hormonal contraceptives, it may take a few months for your fertility to return to normal. However, studies suggest that delaying your period doesn't impact fertility long-term.