Did you know that you can skip your periods???

Medically reviewed by Sophia Yen, MD, MPH – Written by Pandia Health Editorial Team

Here’s how: Just skip the sugar pills or ring- free week and you can literally skip your periods.

For Ring users, just change your ring every 4 wks or every month. There’s actually 35 days worth of medicine in the ring and there are only 31 days max to every month. So you’re covered!

The first time you try, usually you can get to 3 months with no periods and then you get some spotting. When you get spotting, come off the pills for 5 days (you’ll get a withdrawal bleed during that time) then go back on your pill or ring (a new one) one the 6th day whether or not you are still bleeding. You’ll get further each time i.e. the 1st time, you get to 3 months with no period, and then the 2nd time – 6 months with no period, then 1 yr, then Voilà, no more periods!

You can read here about how the co-inventor of the Pill created the pill to have a 1 week withdrawal bleed (fake period) because he wanted to help facilitate “the rhythm method” which was acceptable to the Catholic church. However his co-founders knew that “a cycle of any desired length could presumably be produced.”

The article also states that “incessant menstruation” is a modern construct. That women, in our “natural state,” wouldn’t have as many periods as we have in the modern world. In Mali, women only have about 100 periods in their lives. This is because they start having periods later, which means fewer periods per year, and they have more babies and breastfeed longer. Meanwhile in the US, we have ~ 350-400 periods in our lifetimes. We have endometrial cancer and ovarian cancer from all that extra building of the lining and shedding of the lining and popping out eggs each month – in Mali, they have none.

So, by having fewer periods, you are decreasing your risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer, decreasing blood loss (which can lead to lower academic performance if you become iron deficient), and using fewer feminine hygiene products (decreasing the burden to landfill).

There is a theoretical increased risk of breast cancer with the increased exposure to estrogen from the birth control pills, so definitely check your breasts for any lumps that don’t go away and report them to your doctor. But some say this risk is association and not causation and the National Cancer Institute cites studies that show the risk goes away after 10 years off the birth control pills.

Now you know that those with uteruses can skip our monthly bleed.

So, if you have finals coming up, a competition, a sports event, vacation… you can SKIP THAT PERIOD. Are you going to do better on the GRE/MCAT/finals, on your period or off your period?

— Dr. Yen

References:

Endometrial cancer prevention http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-endometrialcancer-contraceptio-idUSKCN0QP2AH20150820

Ovarian cancer risk reduced by the American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org/cancer/ovariancancer/detailedguide/ovarian-cancer-prevention

Blog posts are not a substitute for professional medical advice. The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and are NOT a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of YOUR doctor/primary care provider before starting or changing treatment.