Reschedule period anyone?

nati24k

First of all, I know, I'm gonna talk to my doctor on Monday, so it's not like I'm taking all I see in the net as final words, but there is no wrong on asking for advice.

Ladies! my wedding is on Jan 18, 78 days aprox, I'm on my period right now, and I just checked my menstrual calendar, and the forecast for my period on Jan is on the 18th!!!! I'm taking pills, I've been taking pills for a loooong time now, and I've heard that you can reschedule your period. My fiance and I are in abstinence till the wedding nigh (started this week), so I dont worry about pregnancy if I have to stop taking pills for some time. 

I need advice, and would love to hear if any of you have done this before?
Thanks in advance, and yes i will talk to my doctor on Monday too!

artbyallie

Since you are on the pill, your doctor will be able to tell you if it is okay to go straight into your next pack, skipping the placebo week.

thejucheidea

I've heard of people on these boards doing it (and one crazy chick who asked if she could just shove some parsley up her cooch to delay her period), but I personally am not bothered enough by my period to have wanted to reschedule it for our wedding. I don't use birth control either though, so it wouldn't be an option.

NavyBlue143

You can usually skip your placebo pills and go straight to the next pack without issues. I've done this when having my period would just be too much on my plate because I get so moody.

Blergbot

Definitely discuss this with your doctor. It depends on what kind of pill ou are on. Some you can skip the placebo week and some you can't. For example, I tried this when I was on Orthotricyclen without consulting my doctor. It is a three tier bc pill, so it doesn't work the same way a two tiered bc pill will (if your bc pills are all one color, except for the placebo week, then you're probably fine, but if there are three colors in the pack, then that is a different story). So I didn't have my period during the normal placebo week, which was great, but then I had breakthrough bleeding (basically one long period) for two months! So just make sure!

nati24k

wooowww! that parsley thing, just wow! haha

nati24k

So i talked to my doctor. I was supposed to start taking the pills on Saturday, but just in case I didn't, she told me that what I should to is, start taking the pills normally today, and because my pills don't have placebo pills, and when I finish the pack start taking the other one immediately, and then leave 7 pills. I hope this will work, she even told me its fine, that we have time and we even have time to change the plan use a menstrual cup sometimes, and its very comfortable, but I don't want to be on my period on my night and honeymoon! Hope this wooorksss!!! I

PrettyGirlLost

It should work just fine.  I take Seasonale which is a 3-month, continuous BC dose and for the most part I skip the placebo pills at the end of the 3 months and go right to the next 3 month pack.

And yes, I told my OBGYN about this and she said it was fine, that most women skip their placebo pills for extended periods of time.

nati24k

Hey! thanks for sharing! So what exactly does skipping the placebo pills do? Does it stops your period for some time? or how does this works? Thanks!

nati24k

Oh! and is the effect the same? I want kids some day, dont get me wrong, its just that i don't want to get pregnant just before i get married, maybe in 5 years or so its fine.

dharmabunny

nati24k said:

Hey! thanks for sharing! So what exactly does skipping the placebo pills do? Does it stops your period for some time? or how does this works? Thanks!

In gross simplification, drop off of hormones signals = the shedding of uterine lining. No hormone drop = maintaining uterine lining, in whatever state it's in. Among other things the BC hormone mix is maintaining or not allowing to progress.

One thing to keep in mind. When I was on BC, I could not pull this stunt too often. If I did, I'd start spotting for an entire cycle. But that's me. Everybody's physiolpgy and every pill behaves a little different.

jojobrn

Everyone's body is different, I took Seasonale and half way through every pack I started spotting. But I had great luck when I used nuvaring in shifting my cycle around by a week at a time.

nati24k

Thanks for all the comments, really, they helped a lot! Haha I also started reading around the web and found a very funny comment saying that you can stop your period by putting two slices of lemon in your feet soles, but warning! she say is very dangerous to do this! O_o

jellybeann

nati24k said:

Oh! and is the effect the same? I want kids some day, dont get me wrong, its just that i don't want to get pregnant just before i get married, maybe in 5 years or so its fine.

There is no medical reason for the placebo pills to even exist. They were put there when hormonal birth control was just starting to come on the market - drug companies thought that simulating a period (because the one you get while taking hormonal BC is not a real period, you're not actually ovulating) would result in more women using the pill because they would still "cycle" like normal. I hate having my period, and I get migraines with my hormone fluctuations, so I've been continuously on the pill for a few years with no detrimental effects (a little spotting here and there). The effect is the same, and you should still keep up with taking the pill every day - if you do the chances of pregnancy are very slim. Many/most people nowadays still take the placebo pills to get the bleeding every month to make sure they're not pregnant, and I think that's what the main purpose of them are in today's world.

So, in short - yes it's ok to move your cycle around, it's even ok to skip the placebo pills altogether and go straight into another pack for however long you want. Just make sure you discuss it with your physician before you change up your bc habits.

Source:  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/birth-control-pill/WO00098