Skip a Period

A monthly period is a nuisance for many women. It can be very trying to cope with the various physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms. An ill-timed period can completely derail your plans. Whether you will be going on vacation, getting married, or just planning a long weekend away at the wrong time: you can use hormonal birth control to skip or delay your period. Ask your gynecologist about birth control pills and the NuvaRing.

Steps

Choosing a Method

1. Ask a gynecologist. Taking birth control is the safest and most effective way to skip a period, and you should never begin a birth control regimen without first consulting a licensed physician. Tell your gynecologist that you want to skip your period, and ask him or her to recommend the best method for you.
   • Remember: using birth control does not necessarily mean that you are sexually active. There are many reasons that you might want to skip a period!
2. Plan ahead. Be aware that if you aren't already on a hormonal birth control plan, it may take as long as two to three months for your body to adjust to the new cycle. You may not be able to skip your cycle for those first few months. Start your contraceptive regimen at least three months in advance if you want to be absolutely sure that you'll be able to skip your period.
3. Choose a birth control method. You need a hormonal form of birth control – no implants or injections. A traditional IUD does not release hormones, but one that contains hormones (like Mirena) does. The two standard methods are monophasic birth control pills and the NuvaRing.
   • Monophasic pills: The active pills contain the same mix of hormones each week. Monophasic pills are steady and stable, with less spotting than multiphasic pills, making them better-suited to skipping periods. To skip a period: simply start a new packet of pills as soon as you finish the last active pill, and skip the seven-day placebo phase.
   • Multiphasic pills: The mix of hormones in the active pills changes from week to week to account for the various phases of your cycle. This variability means that you must take the pills in the right order to effectively protect yourself. Ask your gynecologist about which pills are okay to skip.
   • NuvaRing: This is a small, bendable ring that you insert into your vagina for three weeks at a time. Usually, you remove the ring for one week each month – but you can leave the ring in for this extra fourth week in order to skip your period. If you put in a new ring immediately at the end of the four weeks, then you can continue to offset your period.
4. Arrange to fill your prescription early. Skipping a period with birth control entails continuing to take regular dose of active birth control pills through the usual week-long placebo pill period. In order to do this, you'll need the next month's batch of pills by the end of the third week of your "birth control cycle," Contact your medical insurance provider to make sure that you can refill your prescription at least a week early. If your insurance provider won't authorize an early prescription, ask your gynecologist to prescribe your contraceptives in 90-day batches to ensure that you'll always have enough.
5. Understand the drawbacks. Birth control pills are convenient, but they must be taken at the same time every day to be truly effective. There is a small risk that the NuvaRing will fall out of your vagina, in which case you must rinse it with sanitary water before re-inserting it. Any kind of hormonal birth control may trigger related hormonal fluctuations that affect other aspects of your health. Remember: you are essentially convincing your body that it is pregnant.
   • There are some birth control pills (continuous birth control, or CBC) that are designed for a period once every four months.
   • Approximately 20 percent of men whose partners use a vaginal ring say that they can feel the ring during sex. This may be a low risk – but it is something to consider nonetheless. If you decide to use the Nuvaring, keep in mind that you can remove the ring to have sex and then replace it after sex. Nuvaring remains effective as long as it is not out for more than 48 hours.

Using Birth Control Pills

1. Prepare your pills. Confirm that you're using monophasic pills and that you already have the next pack. Make sure that you can discern between the active pills (which suppress your period) and the placebo pills (which trigger a week of withdrawal bleeding). Use a calendar to chart out your birth control schedule for the weeks leading up to the period that you want to skip.
   • Monophasic pills cause less spotting than multiphasic pills, making them better suited to skipping periods. However, you can still skip a period using multiphasic pills. Ask your gynecologist about which pills you can skip in order to miss your period.
   • If you aren't already on a birth control program, speak to your gynecologist about starting. Only take birth control pills that you've been prescribed by a licensed physician.
2. Take the pill as prescribed for three weeks. If you are taking monophasic pills, then you just need to take the same pill every day. If you are using multiphasic pills, then you'll need to be careful to keep to the schedule. If you aren't sure, ask your gynecologist for advice on how to proceed.
   • If your birth control is packaged with a "period week" of placebo pills, feel free to discard the placebos. They are sugar pills, and you won't need them if you are going to skip your "period."
3. Start a new pack of active pills. Skip the placebo pills. Begin the next month's birth control packet immediately at the end of the regular three-week regimen. Make sure that you are ready with the new pills as the three-week mark approaches!
   • Remember: if you're taking birth control, you are not actually getting your period on the fourth "placebo" week of the month. The bleeding that occurs is "withdrawal bleeding" as your body responds to stopping the hormones. Withdrawal bleeding does not pose a serious risk to your health and skipping withdrawal bleeding does not affect your health. It is safe to skip your period indefinitely using hormonal birth control.
   • You may experience minimal spotting. However, this should not last more than a day. Monophasic pills are more stable than multiphasic pills, and thus less likely to trigger spotting.
4. Stop taking the pills to have a period again. If you've been taking the pills for three or more weeks, you can pause to take a period whenever it's convenient. Simply stop taking your active birth control pills for four days. Then, start taking the active pills again.
   • Consider taking up to a week's break from your contraceptive after any skipped withdrawal period. It's good to give your body a rest.

Using the NuvaRing

1. Make sure that you have the next month's NuvaRing. For regular use, you would leave the NuvaRing in for three weeks, then remove it for one week before inserting the new ring. If you are using your ring to skip a period, you can leave it in for up to four weeks before starting a new ring.
2. Keep your ring in for four weeks, then immediately replace it. At the end of the four weeks, remove the NuvaRing and replace it with a fresh ring. This will re-dose your body with hormones, effectively skipping your period.
   • The regular ring cycle ends after three weeks. You may leave it in for the fourth week, or you can remove it and replace it immediately with a fresh ring.
3. Leave the ring out to have a period again. If you've been using a NuvaRing for three or more weeks, simply remove it for four days to get your period again. After four days, put in a new ring to resume your cycle.

Tips

• Newer brands of pill-form contraceptives are designed to provide only four periods per year. These pills are called continuous use contraceptives. Ask your doctor if one of these brands could be right for you.
• Hormonal contraceptives must be used exactly as prescribed in order to achieve the advertised effectiveness. Forgetting to take a pill for more than a day or two can compromise your entire birth control plan.
• Women using the patch should talk with their doctor about using the patch to skip periods. Also, the patch may not be as effective for contraception in women weighing over 200 lbs.

Warnings

• Never use anyone else's prescription medication.
• Many forms of hormonal contraceptives are hindered when they are used while you're on antibiotics.
• All hormonal contraception is associated with a risk of blood clots. Some studies have shown that patches may not increase the risk of clots at all, or they may double the risk.
• It can take two to three months for your body to adjust to its new cycle. You may not be successful with skipping your period during the first few months of beginning a hormone-based contraceptive regimen.

Things You'll Need

• Hormone-based contraceptive in pill, ring or patch form
• Time: 2-3 months of a hormonal contraceptive regimen

Related Articles

• Be Prepared for Your Period
• Deal With Your Period While Camping
• Deal With a Heavy Period

Sources and Citations

See also

• Determine Why Your Period Is Late
• Manage Your Period
• Delay Your Period
• Enjoy Periods
• Tell a Friend You Have Started Your Period
• Have Sex During Your Period
• Stop Your Period Early
• Cope With Periods
• Get Rid of Menstrual Cramps
• Deal With Your Period

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