Combined hrt - how to delay period

[Leah2005]

Hi. I'm taking combined cyclical hrt and have been for about three months. I should have a period at the beginning of every 28 day cycle of tablets. The first 16 red tablets contain estradiol (synthetic oestrogen )and the next 12 white tablets contain estrodiol and norethisterone (synthetic progesterone). I am going on hols at the beginning of my next packet and don't want to have a period. Question is: what would happen if instead of starting my new packet with the red tablets, I skip them and continue with the white ones for a week? Will I? a. Delay my period. b. Have a period that lasts two months c. Die a horrible death and wish I hadn't tried to play God in the first place........

Estradiol is a body-identical estrogen , not synthetic, by the way.

The answer is C.

But you might want to try not taking the Norethisterone which will delay the bleed.

So that means you don't take any with two hormones in- miss the white ones.

I think you are a bit mixed up with the tablets.

You need to take estrogen every day of the month.
Once you stop taking the ones that also have Norethisterone in, you will have a 'period' 2-4 days after the last tablet.

So you are in fact having a bleed at the END of the pack, not the start of the pack. It's like the end of a normal 28-day fertile cycle where the period is on day 28.

You should not take any white tablets but carry on with a new pack straight after your 16 days of red, and only take the red ones. Once they are used up in that pack, start the white ones and you will bleed after the last one.

ps Norethisterone as you know is a progestogen. Once the level falls, after the last tablet, that is when the womb lining breaks down and you have a withdrawal bleed. (It's not connected to the red tablets in any way.)

Hi, I am on Novofem HRT and want to delay/stop my next period. I have just finished the orange pill on the 28 day cycle. I usually always have a bleed at the end of the cycle after the white pills. I am going (hopefully) to a festival and don’t want to be having a period! Many thanks for any advice.

@Dyls

Hi, I am on Novofem HRT and want to delay/stop my next period. I have just finished the orange pill on the 28 day cycle. I usually always have a bleed at the end of the cycle after the white pills. I am going (hopefully) to a festival and don’t want to be having a period! Many thanks for any advice.

Hi @Leah2005 I don't understand orange and white ( no one will unless they are using the same type) and which is estrogen and which is progestin!

To avoid a bleed, you need to skip the progestin in the pack (those are whichever you take from the middle of each month) and go straight onto the estrogen tablets in a new pack.

Thank you so much @leah2005. That’s v helpful x