There are many reasons you may be wondering how to delay your period. It’s no secret “that time” of the month tends to come at the worst possible moment. So you don’t have to skip out on that amazing white dress or be bloated during that long overdue beach vacation. As a leading obgyn in South Miami, we are here to help.
You may be asking how to delay your period naturally? Are there proven ways to delay your period? Is there a period delay pill? Are any of the ways to delay period safe? Read on as we explore the answers to all your burning questions and figure out how to keep Aunt Flo from crashing your party.
Can You Postpone Your Period?
The short answer is yes. Advances in modern medicine have made it easier than ever to delay or even stop your periods altogether. That being said, the method you choose determines if it’ll work. The only proven ways to delay your period are through artificial hormones. Although it might have crossed your mind that you can naturally defer your monthly cycle, most have been proven to be myths.
Common Myths on How to Delay Your Period Naturally
Generally, there is no natural way that is proven to help delay your period. Some popular misbeliefs include consuming:
- Apple cider vinegar
- Gelatin
- Gram lentils
- Lemon juice
- Green bean water
Unfortunately, none of these mentioned above have been scientifically proven to work. In truth, eating specific foods or drinking does not regulate period hormones. Unfortunately, when ingested in large quantities, they can have adverse side effects on your gums, mouth, teeth, and digestive system as a whole.
There was, however, a study by Robledo, T., Canzi, E.F., de Andrade, P.M. et al. that did prove a link between citrus juice and a shortened length and intensity of bleeding during menstruation. Yet, this one study did not give enough data to back up claims that lemon juice can pause the onset of your period. There needs to be more research on the subject, but it doesn’t hurt to have a glass of lemonade during that time of the month in hopes of shortening the duration or having fewer clots.
Exercise
We’ve all heard of female athletes missing cycles or stopping them altogether. Yes, excessive exercise may postpone the start of your cycle and, in some cases, delay puberty altogether. Leading many to believe physical activity is how to delay your period naturally.
While it is true, women who train a lot or do heavy manual work leading up to their cycle may notice it doesn’t begin on time, which is especially true if you haven’t worked out for a while and suddenly start a hardcore fitness routine. There’s a chance your period could stop or become irregular.
No research suggests exercise is a viable solution to postpone your period. In fact, it is usually an unplanned situation and can indicate a much larger problem.
The biggest issue is the cause of the delay could be something the Cleveland Clinic calls “the Female Athlete Triad.” The Triad is a potentially severe syndrome and can have devastating health consequences in the long term. It’s a group of three related conditions: amenorrhea (missed period), osteoporosis (loss of bone mass), and low energy availability.
How to Delay Your Period Effectively
Thankfully, there is a light in the dark. Even though there are no proven ways to delay your period naturally, you absolutely can delay your period with a bit of medicinal help. You have to use one specific method – Hormonal Birth Control.
Hormonal birth control comes in many different ways now. Still, the most common form is through “the pill.” I guess you can call it the period delay pill now because it is the most efficient way to beat back Aunt Flo’s visit.
Using the Period Delay Pill
If you’ve ever taken birth control pills before, you know they come in a 28-day pack, with the last seven tablets being placebo (fake) reminder pills. The lack of hormones in those last seven pills triggers your body to begin menstruation.
If you skip the placebo days and immediately begin your next pack of pills, your body never gets the signal for your period to start. Doing this for one cycle can delay your period for three whole weeks. The only catch is you have to already be on the pill for a while for it to work.
You’d need to begin medications at least one complete cycle before the one you’re looking to avoid. That means you can’t start taking pills a few days before your period is due and expect it to be delayed. Luckily, there are other options if the monthly bleed is breathing down your neck.
Other Ways to Delay Period
Oral Progesterone
Need to know how to delay your period when you’re on a time crunch? You can give Progesterone a try. Yes, that’s a mouthful to say. Let’s call it a hormone pill. It’s a synthetic form of the hormone that prepares the uterus for pregnancy. It builds up a nice little bed for your fertilized egg to snuggle into if there is one. When there isn’t, that bed is what makes up your period.
When you take this handy pill before your menstrual cycle, it prevents the drop of progesterone that triggers you to bleed, effectively pressing pause on the start of your period. The best part is, once you stop taking this medication, your period returns within a few days, as well as your fertility with little to no lasting effects.
The Patch or Ring
These methods are similar to the pill and are effective ways to delay period when you have the time to plan. They work in much the same way as the pill, but you simply remove the ring or patch instead of taking sugar pills for a week.
Thus, if you’re already using one of these as your means of birth control, you’d simply skip the seven-day break and immediately apply a new patch or ring. The effect lasts about the same time as continuously taking the pill.
Injections or IUD
Getting “the shot” with either depo-provera or DMPA can not only delay your period but can stop you from having them all together. It takes about a year for most people to begin to see changes in their period. So, this is definitely a long-term option and may affect fertility in the future. The same is true of using a hormone-producing IUD (intrauterine device). It takes about a year for it to stop your periods as well.
Is it Safe to Delay Your Period?
For the most part, yes. If your doctor gives you the green light to take hormonal birth control, it’s probably safe to use it to delay your period. There can be many side effects to using hormones to postpone bleeding.
One of the most significant issues with skipping your monthly is breakthrough bleeding. You may also experience nausea, breast tenderness, mood fluctuations, and lower sex drive. Occasionally, women have experienced period problems when returning to their usual cycle.
Still, Have Questions?
As a whole, delaying menstruation remains somewhat controversial. The good news is, we here at South Miami Ob-Gyn Associates want you to be happy, healthy, and safe. So, if you’re going to try delaying your period, book an appointment with us, and we’ll help you find the option that works for you.
