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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Period delaying pills - is it now normal ...

128 replies

Figmentofmyimagination · 29/05/2015 11:00

...for young people to use these to delay their period so they can eg "swim while on holiday"? I'm pretty shocked to be assured this is now normal - (and of course taxpayer funded, as they are in education).

This is not a contraceptive. According to NHS choices, it is a pill available on the NHS to treat menstrual disorders, also used when treating some breast cancers.

Perhaps unsurprisingly its listed uses do not include "delaying your period to have a nicer holiday".

OP posts:

JohnFarleysRuskin · 29/05/2015 11:33

I read about it here.

Took it last summer and would do again. Absolutely brilliant (paid for it/mid 40s)

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 29/05/2015 11:33

What is unnatural is to go through the entire time between puberty and menopause with very few pregnancies, we were designed to have far fewer periods than we do now in our lifetime.

NameChange30 · 29/05/2015 11:36

What Winter said:
"It's very cheap, and not widely prescribed. If your concern is money, there are a million more important ways the nhs wastes money, this is not one of them.
Women having control of their own bodies is not trivial, its essential."

WinterOfOurDiscountTents15 · 29/05/2015 11:40

I think you're all missing the point. Why shouldn't women and girls be made to suffer and not enjoy a (presumably, occasional and expensive) holiday?

How are we all missing the point when several posters have already said this exact thing, or similar? Nobody has missed the point!

WienerDiva · 29/05/2015 11:42

YABU to mention costs of it to the NHS. And to pass any judgement as to what your dd wants to do with her periods.

And ditto to what others have said about it being absolutely fine.

Happyringo · 29/05/2015 11:43

This summer I'm going on my first sunshine holiday for years. Given that my periods last for approx 2 weeks, damn right I am absolutely taking a pill to make sure that I don't spend the entire fortnight spotting/full on bleeding/having cramps.

Frankly if you or anyone else think that's trivial OP I don't care - it's my body and also my money!

Pengweng · 29/05/2015 11:46

My friends at school often got this when going on holiday and that's going back a good 15-20 years. YABU to care what anyone else does with their own periods.

greenpaws · 29/05/2015 11:48

I just run packs of pills together continuously and take a double dose as that's what I need to make my periods stop. I don't even need it for contraceptive purposes but just want control over my body, as others have said. I don't even know when my period is 'due' any more, I haven't had one for about a decade.

I have very nice holidays, and every day life is far easier without having to worry about the hassle of periods.

coolaschmoola · 29/05/2015 11:48

You aren't old fashioned op, you were just ill informed.

I was taking Noristherone at 18 for the same reason ....and I'm old enough to be your dd's mother.

SaucyJack · 29/05/2015 11:52

It's not young people that use them- it's young women.

We are disadvantaged enough by periods. If the resources are there for women to be able to delay or skip a period so they can enjoy the same life experiences as men do every single day without a second thought, then I'm all for it.

brainwashed · 29/05/2015 11:52

I have taken norethisterone..not to delay a period but to try to get some control of horrendous bleeding...which worked. It wasn't however worth the hell that followed.

Feminine · 29/05/2015 11:56

I'd be nervous of messing with my cycle that much.
Sure we are supposed to bleed?
But, l wouldn't judge as l am very lucky with mine. No pain and very light.
I suppose it balances out?

youngestisapyscho · 29/05/2015 11:57

I take my pills all the time and only have a break about 3 times a year to have a period...

Sidge · 29/05/2015 11:59

Norethisterone is cheap as chips so not likely to bankrupt the NHS...

We prescribe it from time to time - I can count on two hands the number of times I prescribe it yearly for women wishing to regulate their cycles. As a HCP I think it's entirely reasonable to discuss self management of one's menses.

Many women on the oral contraceptive pill also manage their periods by back-to-backing pill packets. The bleed you have in your pill free week isn't a real period anyway but a withdrawal bleed so it means nothing to skip it.

DorothyL you need to chat with your GP regarding your daughter; they may be reluctant to give her norethisterone due to her young age and may prefer to offer tranexamic acid which can reduce flow and make the period more manageable without hormonal influence.

sharonthewaspandthewineywall · 29/05/2015 12:06

Exactly feminine you don't have a clue of the suffering flooding immense pain and awful flare up of IBS people like me suffer so judgemental comments like 'surely we're supposed to bleed' say it all really.
Sorry also OP if me not wanting all that hell to spoil my holiday/wedding/any other occasion of my choosing upsets you? (Although I have a reprieve for the next six months due to pregnancy)

Feminine · 29/05/2015 12:10

sharon
I am allowed to ask?
To me, l would have thought a bleed was there for a reason.
I clarified that l am in no position to judge didn't l?
I'm sorry you suffer as you do.

WinterOfOurDiscountTents15 · 29/05/2015 12:18

We're not designed for anything, and there is no reason not to change what out bodies do naturally if it doesn;t suit us, same as we do in many different ways.
But if you want to think about it from a "whats normal/natural/etc" point of view then think about it this way. Long before the Pill, or drugs like those mentioned, women would have, on the whole, started their periods later, had many more pregnancies, and much longer periods of exclusive breastfeeding and an earlier menopause. So over a life span, a lot less periods than the majority of women have now.

scaevola · 29/05/2015 12:25

"who wants to have cramps and heavy bleeding on their wedding day"

That's how the tradition of the woman choosing the day originated.

Patapouf · 29/05/2015 12:27

Your DD is probably not telling you the real reason she is taking the pill. It's a form of contraception first and foremost. A doctor won't prescribe it for delaying a period!!
Only a few have this side effect and FWIW it never actually worked for me!

SoupDragon · 29/05/2015 12:27

To me, l would have thought a bleed was there for a reason.

Yes it is.

However, there is no reason you need to bleed on holiday or other inconvenient time when you can simply delay it by a couple of weeks.

formerbabe · 29/05/2015 12:27

Op...are you a woman?

SoupDragon · 29/05/2015 12:29

Your DD is probably not telling you the real reason she is taking the pill. It's a form of contraception first and foremost. A doctor won't prescribe it for delaying a period!!

No, but they will prescribe Norethisterone which isn't a contraceptive.

youngestisapyscho · 29/05/2015 12:29

Yes a doctor would prescribe it for delaying a period. They did for me when I was a young teenager, my mum took me to get it.

TeenAndTween · 29/05/2015 12:29

DD is on the pill to manage heavy and irregular periods. A brilliant side effect of this is she can also control their timing. Very useful for holidays and exams.

Patapouf · 29/05/2015 12:30

Oops, assumed the Op meant something like microgynon!

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