![]() ![]() You might have to ask your doctor to contact your insurance provider to ensure you get more frequent refills, since skipping a period means you’ll go through a pack of 21 active pills every three weeks rather than every four. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll keep referring to it as a period here.)īut don’t be surprised if your insurance company gives you a hard time with this method. This is often called a “period,” but it’s not the same thing. Withdrawal bleeding occurs when you stop taking the active form of birth control - like when you get to the placebo pills in a pack or take out a NuvaRing for a week - and hormone levels dip. Natural menstruation occurs after your ovaries release an egg that then goes unfertilized but birth control suppresses the natural hormone fluctuation that occurs during the four phases of the menstrual cycle, which means you don’t ovulate at all. (In fact, if you use hormonal birth control, you’re already technically not getting your period. If you’re already on the pill, you can skip your period by just starting a new pack instead of taking the week of placebo pills. “If somebody is just interested in skipping one period, I usually talk to them about combined hormonal birth control pills.” This will give you the most decision-making power over when or whether you have a period. “Is this their honeymoon or a vacation or something where they don’t want to bleed just once? Or would they really prefer to have a lighter, or even absent, period long-term?” says Denny. When Denny’s patients raise the idea of skipping their period, she’ll first ask them why they want to skip. ![]() The birth control pill may give you the most control over skipping your period. (And of course, be sure to talk with your doctor before trying anything new.) Here’s what to know about skipping your period, with advice from Denny. It can also save you big bucks on period products, which are only becoming more expensive. Not to mention more pronounced symptoms for people who have endometriosis, dysmenorrhea, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a severe form of PMS that requires medical treatment to manage. Skipping your period can relieve inconvenient symptoms like cramping, fatigue, mood swings, bloating, and headaches. But the rationale for this decision was cultural - researchers have known for a long time that placebo pills aren’t necessary - not medical. (This also helped reassure patients that they weren’t pregnant). ![]() “That’s just not true.” When birth control pills were designed in the 1960s, researchers mimicked the prevailing cultural belief that a 28-day cycle was “ a sign of normal reproductive female function” by encouraging users to take 21 active pills and then go pill-free to experience withdrawal bleeding the following week. ![]() Colleen Denny, a board-certified OB/GYN and the director of family planning at NYU Langone-Brooklyn. “Many people either have read or heard from their families or friends that a period is necessary to clean out your uterus or something like that,” says Dr. Unless you’re actively trying to get pregnant, there’s no reason you need to have a period at all. My gynecologist suggested I skip the bleeding altogether - advice that immediately relieved my monthly suffering. Birth control pills helped, but because I have endometriosis, I still had cramping and other symptoms during my placebo pill week. When I was a teenager, I had heavy, painful periods that made it hard to juggle editing the yearbook, captaining the Quiz Bowl, and applying to college. Photo-Illustration: The Cut Photos: Getty ![]()
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