Is it Safe to Delay Your Period?

Getting your period when it’s late can feel like a blessing, but a lot of the time it feels more like a curse. Whether Aunt Flo shows up on the first day of vacation, the morning of a big event, or in the middle of a competition, the timing is often a major inconvenience. Fortunately, with the help of medical providers and prescriptions, there is a way to control when you get your period, but you may have some questions like, should you try to control your period with period delay pills? Is it safe to delay your period?

Yes, it is perfectly safe

First of all, yes, it is safe for most people. Side effects are very rare and doctors have used birth control pills for decades to help women control their cycles. Once the period delay pills are stopped, menstruation will begin as normal in two or three days, with no recurring issues, and no loss of fertility in the future.

What is a menstrual period actually?

Monthly bleeding is merely the shedding of the uterine lining when pregnancy does not occur. Each month the uterus prepares for the implantation of an embryo by building up the uterine lining to provide a safe place for a fertilized egg to attach and develop. When fertilization doesn’t happen, the egg is flushed out along with the uterine lining. This cycle is controlled and influenced by hormones and is often accompanied by a plethora of symptoms (pre-menstrual symptoms, or PMS for short) that vary from person to person.

What are period delay pills?

Progesterone is the hormone that regulates ovulation and menstruation---when progesterone levels drop, it's a signal to the uterus to begin menstruation. Norethindrone is a synthetic form of progesterone. If Norethindrone or another brand of progesterone is taken as a form of menstrual suppression, then the levels of progesterone don't drop off and menstruation won't begin. Stopping the bleeding means temporarily interrupting the hormones, but no more than that. Once you stop taking the medication, progesterone levels will drop off as they would naturally and cause your period to begin.

This is not birth control

Although you can take birth control pills to regulate your cycle, and Norethindrone can be used as a form of birth control, using it this way to skip your period will not prevent pregnancy. Using Norethindrone to delay your period involves a different dosage of medicine than using it to prevent pregnancy. Period delay pills are meant to be taken for only a short time and should not be relied on as birth control.

Never take any medications without discussing them first with a licensed medical provider. Although safe, there are some things the provider should know about your health before they can be prescribed. A Wisp provider will discuss the possible side effects of taking the pills with you and the proper amount and timing of taking the pills.

It’s easy to get period delay pills from Wisp the next time your period doesn’t quite line up with your plans. Just order online and we’ll ship your medication right to your door—no muss, no fuss.