Skipping periods for years

Noreenmarie1234
Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was wondering if anyone else does this.

I've been on birth control for about 10 years and haven't had a period since I started taking it. I use them to skip my period (don't take the placebo 7 days). My doctor said its completely safe and fine to do this but I was just wondering if anyone else does it.

I feel like it's pretty uncommon to do it but I see so many people complaining of periods so I don't know why more people don't do it. (People who are on the pill that is)

Replies

  • KNoceros
    KNoceros Posts: 326 Member
    “Tri-cycling” the combined pill (taking 3 packs back to back without a 7 day break) is not uncommon and is sometimes even medically recommended.
    I wouldn’t do it forever though. There are good reasons to shed that old endometrium / not let it get too big.

    Glad to read you’ve also spoken to your doctor about this.
  • IllustriousBee
    IllustriousBee Posts: 70 Member
    I've done it in the past. I'm on Yaz, which has only 4 placebo pills. I have a "period" every month now, but it only lasts for like a day and a half. Yaz is also prescribed for PMDD, which is why I'm taking it. I do keep extra pills around in case I want to avoid a period for a vacation or something like that. Just so you know, the period you have on birth control pills is not a real period. It's actually just withdrawal bleeding, so there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing what you're doing. The only downside is that you might have breakthrough bleeding or spotting that can be hard to stop if you take the pill continuously (which is the reason I stopped doing it). I'd rather deal with the regular day and a half of bleeding instead of random bouts of bleeding, but if that doesn't happen to you, keep on skipping those annoying things.
  • jo_nz
    jo_nz Posts: 548 Member
    I tried to do this when I was on the BC pill, but would get breakthrough bleeding, so found it easier to stick with the placebo pills so I'd at least know when to be prepared.
    I could run two packs together to skip one period, but and more than that and it would go off track.
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    IllustriousBee wrote: »
    I've done it in the past. I'm on Yaz, which has only 4 placebo pills. I have a "period" every month now, but it only lasts for like a day and a half. Yaz is also prescribed for PMDD, which is why I'm taking it. I do keep extra pills around in case I want to avoid a period for a vacation or something like that. Just so you know, the period you have on birth control pills is not a real period. It's actually just withdrawal bleeding, so there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing what you're doing. The only downside is that you might have breakthrough bleeding or spotting that can be hard to stop if you take the pill continuously (which is the reason I stopped doing it). I'd rather deal with the regular day and a half of bleeding instead of random bouts of bleeding, but if that doesn't happen to you, keep on skipping those annoying things.

    Does the Yaz help with the PMDD? Have you noticed a positive change?
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    I'm on a pill (not bc)that has elevated my prolactin levels plus I'm underweight so I haven't had a period in 2.5 years. I really don't want it back and afraid that it will come back if I ever stop taking Reglan
  • panda4153
    panda4153 Posts: 418 Member
    I have an IUD and have not had one in almost 12 years now. My doc said there is even evident that having fewer periods puts you at less risk for some cancers. It used to be that women had more pregnancies on average then today so they had fewer periods before menopause, but as we stopped having hoards of children, we have more periods. Fewer may actually be better for us
  • IllustriousBee
    IllustriousBee Posts: 70 Member
    [quote=Does the Yaz help with the PMDD? Have you noticed a positive change?[/quote]
    I have noticed a huge change. I started out on a low dose tri-phasic pill, and I would still get PMDD symptoms. It wasn't AS bad as it was without any pills, but I still had the extreme irritability and just overall icky "I hate everything" feeling on the lower dose/third week of the pills. I tried anti-depressants, and the side effects weren't worth it. I'm in perfect mental/emotional health most of the time. The side effects were not worth feeling a little better on my one emotionally icky week a month. Now, on Yaz, I don't notice anything different about any particular time in the month. I take the "period pills" and I don't even have any unpleasantness then. There's only 4, so it's usually only a 1-2 day "period." The only unfortunate thing about it so far is that I think it contributed to my weight gain. I definitely noticed my appetite skyrocket when I started taking it. Once I realized it, I was able to control it though, and I'm back at my pre-Yaz weight now.

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  • GummiMundi
    GummiMundi Posts: 396 Member
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    I was wondering if anyone else does this.

    I've been on birth control for about 10 years and haven't had a period since I started taking it. I use them to skip my period (don't take the placebo 7 days). My doctor said its completely safe and fine to do this but I was just wondering if anyone else does it.

    I feel like it's pretty uncommon to do it but I see so many people complaining of periods so I don't know why more people don't do it. (People who are on the pill that is)

    I have done it on rare occasions (for example, when my period is due during vacations), but it was only very recently that I learned that some people would do it for long spans of time. I always thought it wasn't a safe practice - not that I had something to back up my opinion, though. I suspect that if I had known it was safe I wouldn't have had my period for all these years too (yes, I hate it that much). Now I'm just waiting and hoping menopause doesn't take long to happen, so that I can put the whole thing behind me.
  • panda4153
    panda4153 Posts: 418 Member
    Fidgetbrain wrote: »
    panda4153 wrote: »
    My doc said there is even evident that having fewer periods puts you at less risk for some cancers. It used to be that women had more pregnancies on average then today so they had fewer periods before menopause, but as we stopped having hoards of children, we have more periods. Fewer may actually be better for us
    Do you have a source for this, all I find when I search is symptoms of cancer related to periods and that is lowkey terrifying because I’ve been avoiding birth control cause of the side effects and risks but don’t want any children 🥺

    I will can’t seem to find it, my Dr gave me some info on some studies years ago about it, and I remember reading them, but I can’t find them now.
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  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    edited July 2021
    When I was in perimenopause and my periods were irregular I had to take progesterone every three months to induce a period. My doctor told me that was to reduce the risk of the endometrial lining cells developing cancerous changes. I know that having a thickened endometrial lining is a risk factor for endometrial cancer. I don’t know if this same risk applies if you are actively suppressing your periods with hormones - but it is something I would look into.
  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,133 Member
    My 17 yr old daughter uses the pill this way and although it isn’t an approved use her doctor said it was totally safe
    I have the coil and also have gad no period for 10 years
  • alexmose2
    alexmose2 Posts: 208 Member
    I do this and LOVE not having a period. Sometimes I get migraines on what would be my period week, but they pass quickly.
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  • Antiopelle
    Antiopelle Posts: 1,184 Member
    I have a coil (Mirena) and haven't had periods for 25 years. Now going into perimenopause, I start to have a very slight change.
    I have a gyn/ob check every year and she has always assured me that it was completely safe, and even a good starting point for the coming menopause.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    edited July 2021
    Fidgetbrain wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Fidgetbrain wrote: »
    panda4153 wrote: »
    My doc said there is even evident that having fewer periods puts you at less risk for some cancers. It used to be that women had more pregnancies on average then today so they had fewer periods before menopause, but as we stopped having hoards of children, we have more periods. Fewer may actually be better for us
    Do you have a source for this, all I find when I search is symptoms of cancer related to periods and that is lowkey terrifying because I’ve been avoiding birth control cause of the side effects and risks but don’t want any children 🥺

    Over the decades, I have tried many forms of birth control and by far my favorite form is being monogamous with a man who has had a vasectomy :)

    I guess we’ll both be rockin with the too many periods cancer 😔✌️ (/j)

    Not necessarily.

    I don't use hormonal contraception and have had only about twelve periods in the past eleven years, due to pregnancy and lactational amenhorrea. Breastfeeding also reduces one's risk of breast cancer, while use of hormonal contraception may increase it slightly.

    I might have to dig around a bit to find it, but there are studies of nuns (so not sexually active women who aren't using contraception) and while statistically they are more likely to get certain forms of reproductive cancers, it's far from a certainty. You're really just talking about relative risks. And women who live in convents have other health advantages that are more statistically likely than in other groups of women - very low rates of Alzheimer's or other dementia, for example. And they tend to be very long lived. Again, not a certainty, but it makes for interesting questions about lifestyle.

    I am personally not a fan of hormonal contraception (why fix what ain't broken) but there's a lot of confusion about the actual health risks, especially since taking it is kind of assumed as a given in modern culture. I don't think there's really any therapeutic benefit to regular bleeding or even regular cycle lengths, by themselves, besides psychological ones. Wanting the appearance of regular cycles without actually cycling is kind of odd to me. I would say regulating hormones and encouraging/pinpointing ovulation is actually a different goal and designed for improvement of health.

    I'll say also that I'm aware that my view is a bit of a minority one, but I do like to throw it out there because I think it's worthy of consideration. My life is very happy and healthy as a mom of many, even though it wasn't the life I envisioned for myself in my teens and early twenties. :)

    ETA: I'll also add that fertility is not guaranteed in the absence of contraception use, as seems to be commonly viewed. Subfertility, infertility, and secondary infertility are real issues and many women are surprised by it, thinking it would be easier to get pregnant than actually ends up being the case. I'm probably more of an oddity for *never* having that problem thus far.
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    edited July 2021
    I have a Nexplanon (arm implant) and it stopped my periods completely. I spotted for 6 months after getting it placed the first time (originally placed in 2016, replaced in 2019), but since then, 0 periods and 0 babies. 10/10 will replace if I can't just get sterilized when I'm up for removal next year (planning on bilateral salpingectomy, leave the uterus and ovaries but remove their ability to talk to one another basically). I'm more concerned about maintaining that baby score of 0 than about keeping my subscription to Satan's waterfall paused, so sterilization is the goal and I'm OK with my period coming back as long as we've disabled the egg factory.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Fidgetbrain wrote: »
    panda4153 wrote: »
    My doc said there is even evident that having fewer periods puts you at less risk for some cancers. It used to be that women had more pregnancies on average then today so they had fewer periods before menopause, but as we stopped having hoards of children, we have more periods. Fewer may actually be better for us
    Do you have a source for this, all I find when I search is symptoms of cancer related to periods and that is lowkey terrifying because I’ve been avoiding birth control cause of the side effects and risks but don’t want any children 🥺

    Over the decades, I have tried many forms of birth control and by far my favorite form is being monogamous with a man who has had a vasectomy :)

    Yep, I've tried a bunch of methods and this is also my favorite.

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