Period Delay
Period Delay Tablets
If you need to delay your period, complete the online assessment and brief consultation and our doctor will review your suitability for treatment. If approved, our pharmacy will then dispense and dispatch your requested treatment to your door.
All medicines sourced by the pharmacy are from Australian wholesalers, who are fully licensed in Australia, so you can be confident that you are receiving genuine medication.
Overview
Why Delay Your Period?
There are multiple reasons why women wish to delay their period, after all, life plans do not stop for 3 to 7 days a month. Some peoples periods come with light bleeding and without pain, while others suffer from crippling pain, heavy bleeding and discomfort. Common reasons for delaying periods are:
- Avoiding bleeding during an important event - such as holidays, sports or weddings
- Avoid drops in productivity
- Avoiding painful conditions like migraines and endometriosis
Whatever your reason for delaying when your period is due, having the option to postpone your period can allow you to reclaim events otherwise skipped. Doctors call this menstrual manipulation.
How to Delay Your Period
There are many ways to manipulate the menstrual cycle. Evidence-based treatments do this by modifying the level of the naturally produced hormone progesterone in the body. Progesterone is the hormone that drops around the time of menstruation which causes the lining of the womb to shed. This shedding is what comes out as menstrual bleeding.
So, by keeping the levels of progesterone high enough to prevent the shedding you can stop your period until progesterone levels stop being manipulated.
Please note that Australian law prevents us from naming specific prescription treatments. After completing an assessment, you will be presented with the treatment options our doctors can prescribe. Our doctors will then assess whether the treatment is suitable for you. You can also seek advice from your local GP or pharmacist.
Period Delay Pills
These are the most popular method to delay the period if not taking a contraceptive pill. These pills work by increasing progesterone levels. These are particularly useful if the use of the pill or mini-pill is not wanted or isn’t an option.
They are best used three days before your period and are taken one tablet three times daily. Your period should then come two to three days after stopping the treatment.
These tablets do not work as contraceptive pills and while taking them it is important that other contraceptive methods are used to avoid pregnancy.
Although being safe for most women, the treatment is only recommended occasionally as side effects such as low mood, acne, and libido changes can occur.
Combined Contraceptive Pills (COC)
The hormones in each pill of the combined oral contraceptive have a progesterone based hormone in them. Depending on the exact pill you are on, the number of active tablets can vary. Usually, they have around 21 active pills followed by a 7-day break or 7 days of sugar pills. These 7-days of inactive pills allow what’s known as a breakthrough bleed or withdrawal bleeds to occur around 3 days after you stop actives.
By continuing active pills and not taking inactive pills it allows for progesterone levels to stay high, delaying your period. Each pill can vary in results depending on the strength of each ingredient, for your specific pill you should refer to your GP/ online doctor or product information leaflet for more information. It should be noted that it is only recommended to delay your period occasionally in accordance with guidelines for each pill stated in the consumer medication leaflet (CMI).
Side effects such as the increased risk of blood clots, mood swings, change in libido and headaches, may make these contraceptive treatments unsuitable for many people.
Long-Acting Contraceptives (LARCS)
These LARCS are devices placed into the body the release the hormone progestogen-only. These treatments have a high chance of stopping your periods at 23-50% of women no longer getting periods until the device is removed or expires.
Natural Treatments to Delay Periods
It should be noted that all natural remedies used for delaying your period have no scientific evidence to back them up and some have side effects. Apple cider vinegar and lemon juice are perhaps some of the more popular remedies for delaying your period. While the consumption of these may not be harmful, the acidity can worsen teeth enamel and worsen acid reflux and as such, they are not generally recommended or reliable.
