Popular Reasons For Wanting To Skip Your Period
There are many reasons a woman may want to skip her period. Periods can be inconvenient for a whole number of reasons, especially if you suffer from particularly bad cramps and pains. Some women get so sick during their periods that they find themselves taking sick days from work every single month.
In this day and age, when we know how to skip a period, why not give women a chance to choose, and gain control over their cycles when they need it the most. These are some of the most popular reasons why a woman may choose to skip her period.
How Long After Stopping Birth Control Will You Get Your Period
Okay, so youre on birth control that has stopped your period, but now youre ready to leave that contraceptive method behind. While the exact timeline of when your period will return depends on a variety of factors, the Mayo Clinic says menstrual periods generally resume within three months after stopping birth control pills. This is also true of other types of birth control, with the exception of the shot, which can take much longersometimes between 6 and 18 months, according to the Center for Young Womens Health.
Regardless of the type, your body and menstrual cycle will need time to adjust. This could mean you get a typical period within a month, or you could experience spotting or irregular periods for a few months, according to the Cleveland Clinic. But remember, this is often temporary, and your cycle may return to its pre-birth control days in just a matter of time. For others, it may not.
How Should I Take Nikki
Follow all directions on your prescription label and read all medication guides or instruction sheets. Use the medicine exactly as directed.
Take your first pill on the first day of your period or on the first Sunday after your period begins. You may need to use back-up birth control, such as condoms with spermicide, when you first start using this medication.
Take one pill every day, no more than 24 hours apart. When the pills run out, start a new pack the following day. You could get pregnant if you do not take one pill daily.
You may have breakthrough bleeding, especially during the first 3 months. Tell your doctor if this bleeding continues or is very heavy.
If you need major surgery or will be on long-term bed rest, you may need to stop using this medicine for a short time. Any doctor or surgeon who treats you should know that you are using this medicine.
Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.
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Is It Safe To Skip Your Period
It was once thought that using birth control to skip a period would cause all sorts of problems in the long-run. Women were told not to skip their periods because its unnatural, unhealthy, and may cause fertility issues, breast cancer, or cervical cancer. Thats the whole reason why traditional birth control pills were originally designed to mimic the female hormone cycle.
Now, we know that this is not true. Most doctors agree that it is perfectly safe to skip your period using hormonal contraceptives. While youre on the pill, your uterine lining is not building up, so theres no real reason for it to shed each month. Besides, you dont even get a real period when youre on birth control youre just skipping or delaying the withdrawal bleed.
How Effective Is Nikki
When taken as directed, Nikki birth control is very effective at preventing pregnancy. However, it wont protect against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. In general, birth control pills are more than 99% effective at preventing pregnancy with perfect use, and 93% effective with typical use .
In terms of its effectiveness in the treatment of PMDD, clinical trials have shown that people who use Nikki have significant improvements in PMDD symptoms, such as negative emotions, food cravings, and bloating compared to placebo .
For the treatment of acne, people who used Nikki once a day saw a 40% reduction in acne lesions. After six months, about 1520% of Nikki users had clear or almost clear skin .
Aiming for 100% adherence is the best way to ensure Nikki works. Remembering to take your medication every day can be challenging, but there are tools that can help like smartphone apps, alarms, and leaving your pill pack somewhere youll see it every day.
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What Are The Side Effects Of Nikki
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives difficult breathing swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Stop using birth control pills and call your doctor at once if you have:
- signs of a stroke–sudden numbness or weakness , sudden severe headache, slurred speech, problems with vision or balance
- signs of a blood clot–sudden vision loss, stabbing chest pain, feeling short of breath, coughing up blood, pain or warmth in one or both legs
- heart attack symptoms–chest pain or pressure, pain spreading to your jaw or shoulder, nausea, sweating
- liver problems–loss of appetite, upper stomach pain, tiredness, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice
- increased blood pressure–severe headache, blurred vision, pounding in your neck or ears
- swelling in your hands, ankles, or feet
- a change in the pattern or severity of migraine headaches or
- symptoms of depression–sleep problems, weakness, tired feeling, mood changes.
Common side effects may include:
- nausea, vomiting
- headache, mood changes, feeling tired or irritable
- weight gain or
- changes in your menstrual periods, decreased sex drive.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
How Do No Period Birth Control Pills Work
Planned Parenthood, an advocacy group, says that combination birth control pill packs tend to come with 21 active pills and 7 placebo pills. That means youll take hormone-containing pills for 3 weeks and placebo pills for the final week each month.
That final week is when youd traditionally have withdrawal bleeding. But if you carry on taking the hormone-containing or active pills continually, youll skip the bleeding part.
Why? Because the drop in hormones triggers the body to release blood and mucus from the uterus lining. This is similar to a regular period, except the uterus lining doesnt thicken each month.
If theres no change in hormone levels, 2008 research shows that the body will continue as it is. However, spotting, or light bleeding, can still occur in some people.
While you can opt for an extended or continuous schedule with any combination pill, some pills also have few or no placebo options.
And these options are specifically designed for fewer or zero periods.
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Are Oral Contraceptive Pills Effective
When oral contraceptive pills are taken as prescribed, they are 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy. When OCPs are missed for one day or not taken at the same time every day, they are 91 percent effective.
Conditions that reduce the effectiveness of OCPs include
- Forgetting to take OCPs for two or more days
- Diarrhea or vomiting for more than 48 hours
- Taking medications such as certain human immunodeficiency virus medicines, certain anti-seizure medicines, the antifungal griseofulvin, the antibiotic rifampin and St. Johns wort
Condoms have to be used as a backup during these conditions. Different birth control methods have to be considered. These medications have to be taken long term.
How To Take Nikki
Take one tablet by mouth at the same time every day. The failure rate may increase when pills are missed or taken incorrectly.
To achieve maximum contraceptive and PMDD effectiveness, Nikki must be taken exactly as directed, in the order directed on the wallet. Single missed pills should be taken as soon as remembered.
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Use In Specific Populations
- There is little or no increased risk of birth defects in women who inadvertently use COCs during early pregnancy. Epidemiologic studies and meta-analyses have not found an increased risk of genital or non-genital birth defects following exposure to low dose COCs prior to conception or during early pregnancy.
- The administration of COCs to induce withdrawal bleeding should not be used as a test for pregnancy. COCs should not be used during pregnancy to treat threatened or habitual abortion.
- Women who do not breastfeed may start COCs no earlier than four weeks postpartum.
Pregnancy Category : There is no Australian Drug Evaluation Committee guidance on usage of Drospirenone and Ethinyl estradiol in women who are pregnant.
Labor and Delivery
There is no FDA guidance on use of Drospirenone and Ethinyl estradiol during labor and delivery.
Nursing Mothers
- When possible, advise the nursing mother to use other forms of contraception until she has weaned her child. Estrogen-containing COCs can reduce milk production in breastfeeding mothers. This is less likely to occur once breastfeeding is well-established however, it can occur at any time in some women. Small amounts of oral contraceptive steroids and/or metabolites are present in breast milk.
Pediatric Use
Geriatic Use
- Nikki has not been studied in postmenopausal women and is not indicated in this population.
Gender
Race
Renal Impairment
Hepatic Impairment
Females of Reproductive Potential and Males
Why Is My Bleeding Different On The Contraceptive Pill
The contraceptive pill prevents the lining of your uterus from growing thicker, as it would in a typical menstrual cycle . It also prevents ovulation and the typical cycling of reproductive hormones. When you have withdrawal bleeding, the bleeding tends to be lighter than normal menstrual bleeding.
Itâs also possible to have no withdrawal bleeding or only spotting during the days you take inactive pills . This is more common for people taking higher doses of estrogen, or a pill with a shorter hormone-free interval .
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Can The Depo Shot Stop Your Period
The Depo Provera shot only contains progestin and no estrogen. Thus, its not uncommon for women on this shot to experience irregular periods or spotting, especially in the first two to three months.
However, according to AAFP, up to 50 percent of women experience amenorrhea, after the first year of use. In case youre unfamiliar with the term, amenorrhea is the absence of your period. Furthermore, this number can jump to 80% with increasing duration of use.
So, can the Depo shot stop your period? Much like the IUD, it depends. As mentioned in Planned Parenthoods article, many women who get the shot stop getting their period after approximately a year of use. However, theres no guarantee as everyone has a different experience with it.
With this in mind, remember that Depo Provera might not be suitable for everyone. So, be sure to have a chat with your doctor to see if this is the right method for you.
Can Birth Control Help Regulate Your Period
While you might not be able to make your monthly visitor disappear forever, many forms of birth control can help regulate your period. This is great news for people living with irregular cycles and painful or heavy periods. According to the ACOG, combined hormonal methods that contain estrogen and progestin can make your period more regular, lighter, and shorter. This includes birth control pills, the patch, and the vaginal ring.
The bottom line is this: If you view your period as a monthly reassurance that youre not pregnant, then you might prefer to see it arrive on schedule. But if thats not you, asking your doctor about the types of birth control that are most likely to stop your period is something to consider.
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But Wont My Body Get Backed Up
Noâyou wonât get backed up. One thing to keep in mind is that when youâre on the pill you actually donât have a normal âperiodâ. In fact, the combined hormonal birth control pill doesnât allow your endometrium to grow as thick as it normally would, which is why your periods on the pill are much lighter than natural periods . If you skip a cycle, the continuous exposure of synthetic hormones will maintain your endometrium at the same suppressed level .
Before Taking This Medicine
Taking Nikki can increase your risk of blood clots, stroke, or heart attack. You are even more at risk if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, or if you are overweight. Your risk of stroke or blood clot is highest during your first year of taking birth control pills. Your risk is also high when you restart birth control pills after not taking them for 4 weeks or longer.
Smoking can greatly increase your risk of blood clots, stroke, or heart attack. Your risk increases the older you are and the more you smoke. You should not take this medicine if you smoke and are over 35 years old.
Do not use if you are pregnant. Stop using this medicine and tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant, or if you miss 2 menstrual periods in a row. If you have recently had a baby, wait at least 4 weeks before taking this medicine.
You should not take this medicine if you have:
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an adrenal gland disorder
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untreated or uncontrolled high blood pressure
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heart disease
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an increased risk of having blood clots due to a heart problem or a hereditary blood disorder
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circulation problems
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unusual vaginal bleeding that has not been checked by a doctor
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liver disease or liver cancer
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severe migraine headaches , especially if you are older than 35
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a history of jaundice caused by pregnancy or birth control pills
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if you smoke and are over 35 years old or
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if you take any hepatitis C medication containing ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir .
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How Do You Stop Taking Birth Control Pills
how do you stop taking birth control? just cold- turkey?
Theres no right way to go off birth control you can stop taking your pills in the middle of the pack, or finish the pack youre on without starting a new one. Medically, theres no difference, although finishing your current pill pack means youll know when youre going to get your period, whereas stopping in the middle will make it harder to predict when youll get your period. If its important to you to know when your period is coming, it might make more sense to finish the pack. If youre using the ring or the patch, its the same thing – you can stop whenever you want, but when you time it will affect when your next period happens.
After you stop taking birth control, your body and menstrual cycle will need some time to adjust, just like they did when you started the pill. You might notice some spotting or bleeding between your periods, and your periods may be irregular for a few months. But this is temporary, and your cycle will return to how it was before you started your birth control pretty quickly.
Remember that as soon as you stop your birth control, youre not protected from pregnancy anymore. So if youre planning to stop taking the pill and keep having vaginal sex, but you dont want to get pregnant, youll need to use another birth control method.
Tags:birth control, the pill, birth control pills, menstrual cycle
If You Do Not Want To Get Pregnant
If you dont want to get pregnant, you shouldnt rely on your lack of menstrual cycles as birth control. This is true even if youve been previously diagnosed as infertile .
As mentioned above, depending on why youre not getting your periods, its possible to ovulate and not get a period first as an indication that youre fertile again. Talk to your doctor about the best contraceptive choice for you.
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Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder Clinical Trials
Two multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of Nikki in treating the symptoms of PMDD. Women aged 18 to 42 who met DSM-IV criteria for PMDD, confirmed by prospective daily ratings of their symptoms, were enrolled. Both studies measured the treatment effect of Nikki using the Daily Record of Severity of Problems scale, a patient-rated instrument that assesses the symptoms that constitute the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. The primary study was a parallel group design that included 384 evaluable reproductive-aged women with PMDD who were randomly assigned to receive Nikki or placebo treatment for 3 menstrual cycles. The supportive study, a crossover design, was terminated prematurely prior to achieving recruitment goals due to enrollment difficulties. A total of 64 women of reproductive age with PMDD were treated initially with Nikki or placebo for up to 3 cycles followed by a washout cycle and then crossed over to the alternate medication for 3 cycles.
Top Things To Know About Your Period On The Pill:
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Your âperiodâ on the contraceptive pill is actually called withdrawal bleeding. It happens when the levels of hormones in your pills drop.
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Withdrawal bleeding is usually lighter and slightly different than the period you had before taking the pill
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Some people experience only very light bleeding or donât bleed at all during placebo pill days
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Your bleeding on the pill is likely to change over time
Do you get a period on when youâre on the combined hormonal contraceptive pill*? On the days you take no pills or take the pills in your pack with no hormones, you may experience bleeding. This bleeding is different than a period if you werent taking the contraceptive pillâand you may have times when you bleed very little or not at all.
*This article refers to the use of combined hormonal contraceptive pills, which contain both estrogen and progestin . Bleeding patterns will be different for people taking the progestin-only minipill.
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