How long does birth control take to stop period

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Disadvantages
Taking only the active combination pills
Taking extended-cycle or continuous regimen pills

There's no guaranteed way to delay your period, but it may be possible if you take the combined contraceptive pill.

If you take a combined contraceptive pill, you can delay your period by taking the packets back-to-back.

How you do this will depend on the type of pill you take.

Examples are:

monophasic 21-day pills, such as Microgynon and Cilest – you take a combined pill for 21 days, followed by 7 days without pills, when you have a bleed (period). To delay your period, start a new packet of pills straight after you finish the last pill and miss out the 7-day break.
everyday (ED) pills, such as Microgynon ED and Lorynon ED – you take a combined pill every day. The first 21 pills are active pills and the next 7 pills are inactive or dummy pills, when you have your period. To delay your period, miss out and throw away the dummy pills, and start the active pills in a new packet straight away.
phasic 21-day pills, such as Binovium, Qlaira and Logynon – the mix of hormones in each pill is different, depending on which phase you're in. You need to take these pills in the correct order to have effective contraception. Speak to your pharmacist, community contraception clinic or GP surgery for more information before taking phasic pills back-to-back.

Taking your contraceptive pills in the ways described above will not affect how they work as contraceptives.

If you're not sure which pill you're on, which pills in the packet to miss out, or you need advice, speak to your pharmacist, community contraception clinic or GP surgery.

Taking the combined pill can cause side effects, such as:

feeling sick (nausea)
headaches
mood swings
breast tenderness

If you're taking a progestogen-only contraceptive pill, you cannot delay your period by taking packets back-to-back.

But you may be able to switch to the combined contraceptive pill or take another medication to delay your period.

If you're not sure which type of pill you're taking, speak to your pharmacist, community contraception clinic or GP surgery for advice.

See your GP for advice if you want to delay your period and you're not taking the combined contraceptive pill.

They might be able to prescribe medication called norethisterone to delay your period.

Your GP will advise you when to take norethisterone and for how long.

You'll usually be prescribed 3 norethisterone tablets a day, starting 3 to 4 days before you expect your period to begin.

Your period should arrive 2 to 3 days after you stop taking the medication.

But norethisterone does not act as a contraceptive when used in this way, so you could still get pregnant.

You'll need to use another type of contraceptive, such as a condom.

Norethisterone may not be suitable for everyone, for example if you have breast cancer or a history of blood clots. Speak to a GP for more information.

How well it works in delaying periods also varies between women.

Some women taking norethisterone have reported side effects, such as:

irregularities in menstrual cycle
breast tenderness
nausea
headache
disturbances in mood and sex drive

If you currently use another type of contraception, switching to the combined contraceptive pill will allow you to delay your period.

You may also be able to start taking the combined pill if you do not already use contraception.

But you may need to start taking this pill several weeks before the time when you want to delay your period, and it's not suitable for everyone.

If you're switching to or starting the combined contraceptive pill, you might need to use additional contraception during the first few days of taking it.

Ask your pharmacist, community contraception clinic or GP surgery for more information and advice.

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Page last reviewed: 17 August 2022
Next review due: 17 August 2025

Overview

Many women choose to skip their period with birth control. There are various reasons for doing so. Some women want to avoid painful menstrual cramps. Others do it for the convenience.

Learn what doctors have to say about the safety of skipping your monthly menstruation.

When you swallow birth control pills, you’re ingesting one or more synthetic hormones. This could be a combination of estrogen and progestin, or just progestin, depending on the type of birth control that you’re taking. These hormones work to prevent pregnancy in three different ways.

First, they work to prevent your ovaries from ovulating, or releasing an egg each month.

They also thicken the cervical mucus, which makes it harder for sperm to reach an egg if one is released. The hormones can thin the uterine lining, too. This means that if an egg does get fertilized, it’ll be difficult for it to attach to the uterine lining and develop.

Birth control pills are over 99 percent effective when used correctly. This means taking the pill at the same time every day. If you miss a day or you’re late taking your pill, the efficacy can decrease. With typical use, the failure rate is about 7 percent.

Several different types of birth control pills are available.

Some are similar to the pill packs that were first made available in 1960. They included 21 days of pills with active hormones and seven placebo or inactive pills. When you take an inactive pill, it allows for bleeding that mimics normal menstruation.

There are also packs that allow for 24 days of active pills and a shorter menstrual-like bleeding period.

Extended-cycle or continuous regimens consist of a couple of months’ worth of active pills. They can either reduce the number of periods you have or eliminate your period entirely.

There are a number of reasons why you may want to skip your period.

It’s generally safe to do so if you’re on birth control pills. However, it’s best to check with your doctor first. You’ll want to make sure that there’s no medical reason for you to continue with your current menstruation schedule.

Taking birth control pills to reduce or eliminate your period is just as safe as taking them in the conventional way, says Gerardo Bustillo, MD, OB-GYN, at Orange Coast Memorial in Fountain Valley, California.

Menstruation isn’t physiologically necessary. In general, women today experience many more menstrual cycles over their lifetime compared to women of previous generations, says Bustillo. There are a few reasons for that, including the following:

Many women today start menstruating at a younger age.
Women today have fewer pregnancies on average.
Women today don’t breastfeed for as long.
Women today generally reach menopause later in life.

According to Lisa Dabney, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the monthly period that traditional birth control pills allow for may have had more to do with marketing than anything.

“When the birth control pills first came out, they were designed for women to get their periods every four weeks like a ‘natural’ period,” she says. “This interval is really set up by the cycle of the pills and was set up that way so women would more readily accept them.”

There are a lot of potential positives for skipping your period, but there are also some downsides.

Advantages

According to Bustillo, regular ovulation and menstruation could increase your risk for diseases such as endometriosis and ovarian cancer.

Skipping your period may also cut down on the amount spent on feminine hygiene products.

Disadvantages

Breakthrough bleeding can randomly occur. However, it generally only happens within the first few months of starting a no-period birth control regimen.

Although breakthrough bleeding generally lessens over time, you’ll want to talk to your doctor if it seems to be getting worse or more frequent after you start a no-period birth control option. If this does happen, make sure you do the following:

Follow all directions from your doctor or pharmacist. Missing a pill makes breakthrough bleeding more likely.
Track any bleeding you experience. This can help you determine if it’s happening more or less often than in previous months.
Look into options that will help you quit smoking if you smoke. Breakthrough bleeding is more common in women who smoke than in women who don’t smoke.
Learn the signs of early pregnancy so that you know when you may need a pregnancy test. Reduced periods can also make it more difficult to tell if you’re pregnant.

There are two main ways to skip your period with birth control pills.

Taking only the active combination pills

If you’re using a combination pill pack, you just need to take only the active pills with no breaks in between. You should talk to your doctor or pharmacist so they can show you which pills are active and which are the placebo pills. You’ll want to throw out the placebos.

If you take the active pills continuously, you won’t get a period until you stop them.

If you stop taking active pills, you may experience a “withdrawal” bleed, which is similar to your period. Dabney recommends that you allow this to happen once every three to four months.

Dabney says some birth control pills have a higher risk of abnormal bleeding than others. You should check with your doctor if you want to start skipping your period. They may recommend that you change the type of pill you take.

You’ll also want to check with your insurance provider to make sure they’ll cover more pills in less time, since you’ll be going through pill packs faster.

You should not be off of the birth control longer than 7 days, or you will lose contraception efficacy.

Taking extended-cycle or continuous regimen pills

Extended-cycle or continuous regimen pills are designed to skip or eliminate your period. The following pills combine the drugs levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol:

Seasonale, Jolessa, and Quasense have 12 weeks of active pills followed by one week of inactive pills. These are designed to allow for one period every three months.
Seasonique and Camrese have 12 weeks of active pills followed by one week of pills with a very low dose of estrogen. These are designed to allow for one period every three months.
Quartette has 12 weeks of active pills followed by one week of pills with a low dose of estrogen. These are designed to allow for one period every three months.
Amethyst has all active pills that are designed to eliminate your period for the entire year.

:No placebo pills? No problem
Seasonique and Camrese pill packs don’t contain placebo pills. They do offer one week of pills with a very low dose of estrogen. These pills may help reduce bleeding, bloating, and other side effects that might be caused by a week of pills without hormones.

Taking birth control pills aren’t the only way to skip your period. Other options include the progestin-releasing intrauterine device (IUD), progestin injection (Depo-Provera), progestin implant (Nexplanon), and the combination NuvaRing or contraceptive patches.

“The Mirena IUD works even better than pills to reduce overall bleeding,” Dabney says. “Many women on the Mirena IUD either get very light periods or no periods at all.”

If you aren’t sure about the pill, speak with your doctor about your other options. Make sure you speak with your doctor before using a birth control patch to skip your period. Compared to birth controls pills, the patch has a slightly increased risk for blood clotting. However, the patch is the same general formulation as combination pills.

No birth control option is right for every woman. Meet with your doctor to discuss which options might be best for your body and lifestyle. You should also meet with your doctor if you’re already taking birth control pills but want to start skipping your period.

Talking to your doctor will help ensure nothing gets missed and help to avoid lapses in your pregnancy protection. Hearing about all of your birth control options can help you make an educated decision about which one is best for you.