Skip Your Period
Treatment Guide
Did you know that there is a safe and effective way to stop your period long term? Whether you're dealing with painful cramping, PMS, moodiness, heavy bleeding, or hormonal acne, the hormonal ups and downs of the menstrual cycle can make day-today life a challenge. Using birth control pills to skip your period is very safe, common, and convenient. Your doctor or OBGYN may recommend this method if you have painful periods or heavy bleeding, but it's a safe way to skip your period for anyone taking birth control pills!
Birth control pills are a safe and effective way to stop your period so you can go back to living life on your terms—not your period's.
Take control of your cycle and never have to worry about inconvenient bleeding, packing enough period products, unpleasant cramping, and all the other symptoms your cycle brings. If you don't know how to skip your cycle using birth control pills, you're in the right place. Learn more about this safe birth control regimen right here.
How to skip your period
Skipping your period is called menstrual manipulation or menstrual suppression—basically, stopping your period. Birth control pills control your fertility using synthetic hormones. Depending on the type of birth control you are taking, they may use a combination of synthetic estrogen and synthetic progesterone, or only synthetic progesterone (also called the “mini pill”), to prevent your body from releasing an egg.
In each pack of birth control pills, you’ll see the last 2-7 pills of the pack (depending on the band you use) are a different color or are marked differently than the others. These pills don’t contain any hormones and are placebo (inactive) pills. You’re still protected from pregnancy while you’re taking these pills, but these placebo pills allow for bleeding to occur. This bleeding is called a “false period” or "withdrawal bleed"—it’s not medically necessary, but it can provide assurance that you are not pregnant. If you find this bleeding inconvenient, there’s no reason you need to have it! There’s a simple way to skip your period using birth control pills.
How do I order Skip My Period?
- Step one: Place an order for Skip Your Period from Wisp and choose the birth control pill you would like, and whether you'd like to subscribe to treatment.
- Step two: Your Wisp doctor will ensure the medication is safe for you to take before approving the prescription and having it delivered to your door.
- Step three: Take your pill as prescribed and say goodbye to your period!
Important note: Hold onto the patient information leaflet that comes with your prescription and make sure you consult it as required and check out your treatment guide sent to you by your Wisp provider.
How do I take birth control pills to skip my period?
You will take a pill everyday, but will skip over the placebo pills (the last 7 pills in your pack). When you take the last active pill in your pill pack on week 3, you will discard the remaining pill pack with the placebo pills intact and start a new pill pack the following day starting on week 1. This will allow you to skip your cycle successfully.
Wisp is offering six different birth control options that can be delivered four packs at a time (a three-month supply) so you can skip your period safely:
All you need to do is choose the pill you’d like, and we’ll deliver it to your door!
If you already received a prescription for Skip Your Period, you can review the medication details here.
How to manage breakthrough bleeding?
It’s normal to experience breakthrough bleeding for the first 3 months as your body is adjusting to a new contraceptive formulary, or adjusting from monthly cycles to skipping cycles. Once you start skipping successfully after your third month, if you happen to experience breakthrough bleeding you can manage it the following ways:
- Take Ibuprofen 400- 800 mg three times daily for 5-10 days
- Take 3-4 days off your oral contraceptive to allow a scheduled cycle (No backup method is needed if you have continued taking your birth control daily)
Nicotine can also cause unscheduled bleeding with contraceptives as well. If you are a nicotine user consider stopping as this may also improve your breakthrough bleeding episodes. Some people will experience regular interval bleeding (every 2 months, 3 months, 6 months, etc.) which can be managed by allowing a scheduled cycle during those times. Should your bleeding continue to be persistent or intolerable after attempting management with the above recommendations, please reach out to your Wisp provider for further recommendations which may include switching to a new form of contraception.
Are there side effects for Skip Your Period?
As with all medication, there is a chance you may experience some side effects. These can include:
- Mood swings
- Fluid retention
- Mild acne
- Breast tenderness
- Headaches
- Change in libido
Everyone responds differently to changes in their hormone cycle so you may experience all of these side effects, or none at all.
Is skipping your period safe?
There is no medical reason you need to have a menstrual cycle while you’re on hormonal contraceptives. As the hormones in your body decline when you take the placebo pills, this triggers your body to begin a period, or withdrawal bleed. However, if you continue to take the active pills, you maintain a consistent daily dosage of estrogen and progesterone allowing you to skip your cycles. Skipping your cycles on birth control has no impact on your future fertility or risk for cancers. In exceedingly rare cases, there can be more serious side effects. To determine if Skip Your Period will work for you, consult with your doctor prior to use.
