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Delaying your period: how do you do that?
file Delaying menstruation can be a solution for those who suffer a lot from menstruation, or for those who are traveling and would prefer not to lose any blood. But how exactly do you do that? And can it harm your health? We asked the menstruation expert Paula Kragtenfounder of online magazine Period! and author of the book Beautiful red is not ugly.
Also read: Dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain): what to do if you have painful periods?
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“Many women already delay their periods without realizing it,” says Paula. “If you take hormonal contraception, you prevent ovulation and therefore do not actually get your period. The bleeding that occurs during a stop week is a so-called withdrawal bleeding. Contrary to what many people still think, there are no health disadvantages if you skip the week off the single-phase pill and immediately start a new strip.”
Also read: HMB: Heavy menstrual bleeding
Postpone menstruation
If you are not using hormonal contraception: The doctor can temporarily prescribe the contraceptive pill. Start at least 2 months in advance. An alternative is a progestin pill (for example lynestrenol or norethisterone) prescribed by the doctor. If you take this about 1 week before the expected start of your period, you can delay your period by 2 to 3 weeks. If you stop taking the progestogen pills, you will get your period 2 to 3 days later. The blood loss is usually more severe. Please note: the progestogen pill is not a contraceptive. If you use a single-phase combination pill: Start a new strip immediately as soon as the old strip with 21 pills has run out, so without taking a break week. Taking the single-phase pill for up to a year without a week off in between is considered safe. If you use a one-phase combination pill where a strip contains 28 tablets (of which a number of pills are fake pills in a different color, which do not contain hormones), skip the fake pills and immediately continue with the new strip. If you use a two-phase combination pill : Then continue without a week off with the pills from the new strip that have the same color/composition as the last pills from the previous strip. If you use a three-phase pill or multi-phase pill: With a three-phase pill or multi-phase pill, the order of the pills – which contain different amounts of hormones – is very important. Delaying your period with the help of these contraceptive pills is therefore more difficult. Ask your doctor for advice to prevent an unintended pregnancy. Please note: the longer menstruation is delayed using oral contraception, the greater the risk of breakthrough bleeding (spotting). This form of interim blood loss is harmless, but of course annoying. That is why it is also recommended to take a break week after 2 to 3 strips. If you use hormone patches or hormone rings: You can also postpone your period with the help of hormone patches by sticking on for 1 or 2 weeks longer and therefore not having a patch-free week. The same applies to hormone rings: immediately insert a new ring after 3 weeks and skip the ring-free week with the monthly bleeding. The longer you delay menstruation in this way, the greater the chance of breakthrough bleeding. Consult with your doctor about how long you can use patches or rings without a week off. Compared to the pill, these forms of hormonal contraception have a slightly higher risk of thrombosis. If you use the progestogen-only method: With the progestogen-only method (minipill, hormone IUD, progestogen implant) there are actually no options to postpone the rules. But with these methods, periods (amount of blood loss) are usually very limited.
Also read: Is it harmful to take the pill?
Advance your period
Would you prefer a withdrawal bleed, for example to reduce the risk of interim blood loss? You can easily bring your period forward with the help of the single-phase contraceptive pill. Reduce the number of stop days between 2 strips. Or stop a strip sooner; After 2 or 3 days you will experience bleeding. Then you start a new strip. Always take the pill for at least 14 days in a row and never make the stop week longer than 7 days. If you do, the pill becomes less reliable.
Also read: What are the symptoms of endometriosis?
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Last updated: September 2023
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2023-09-24 22:05:12
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