Is it possible to skip the placebo birth control pills in order to avoid getting a period?

Possible, and extremely easy. Yes, that’s exactly what everyone who takes seasonale does 3 out of every 4 months. There’s no real evidence that there’s any “medical” need to have a period at all, and the period that women have on birth control is completely different from a “real” one anyway. I’m sure other users such as magsrags can expand on this.

I should also add that sometimes some women will have a period anyway. It’s most likely that you’ll skip it, but you might have it regardless. That also happens to a lot of seasonale users.

My gyno told me to do this because I had horrible periods. I never had my period after that. Well I might have for the first month

@La_chica_gomela Thats what I have heard. There isn’t a medical need for a period and the one I’m currently getting while on the pill isn’t “real” anyway.
I’m just trying to find a cheaper way to avoid my period. Seasonal is much more expensive than my current pill and I have no insurance.

yes you probably will skip over your menstruations, but the effectiveness of the birth control part of the pill will be diminished so you’re gona need to be extra careful if you have sex(wear a condom if you don’t already). i did try this and it worked but then my periods got screwed up for the next 2 months.

@mclaugh Why does it decrease it’s effectiveness?

@mclaugh: Can you cite a source? The insert in my prescription said it’s just as effective, and so did my doctor.

@ItalianPrincess1217: It comes in generic. It’s called “Quasense” (what a stupid name).

I think you’re supposed to ask your doctor before trying this, because they will know if there will be any side effects.

the hormones in those pills are made to be take on a 21-day basis, not an “all the time” basis. it screws with your hormones and that’s never a good thing. i talked to my gyno and that’s pretty much what she told me back then, sorry i don’t have any concrete internet sources.

@La_chica_gomela Oh! I’ll have to ask my doc about the generic brand. Thanks!

i checked for some but they’re all health forums. are your pills different colors every week or are they all they same?

@mclaugh Hmm interesting. I’ll have to do more research on the whole hormone theory. I don’t want to screw up my body too terribly. I’m going to try skipping them this month and see how it goes. Otherwise I’ll have my period for Christmas and my birthday :(

@mclaugh They are all the same color.

okay, then you should be able to do it. just don’t do it for like 3 months in a row.. lol. my gyno told me it was okay to do it a couple of times a year but to be safe, as i said. i’ve done it to avoid my period on chritmas before. lol

Yes, I do beleive you can do that.

I think it’s okay every once in a while, but don’t get in the habit. For me it didn’t work, I just bled anyway. I think higher dosage pills are more likely to work.

Does anyone know why the other birth control pills (Seasonal) only do 3 months without a period? Why not just not have a period at all? Why every 3 months?

@ItalianPrincess1217: My doctor said she thinks they do that because people have the idea that a woman “should” have a period sometimes, and so they didn’t want to be too radical, but who knows.

I skipped the placebos to time everything right for my honeymoon.

@La_chica_gomela is correct. It’s not harmful to skip periods by extending your active pill use and you can do it with any monophasic pill brand where all the active piils are xactly the same as opposed to the kind where the hormone amounts change over the 3 weeks.

The makers of Seasonale originally took Nordette, a pill that had been around for a long time, and packaged it with the 12 weeks of active pills and then did the studies to prove to the FDA that it was safe and effective. Docors and nurse practitioners had been using extended active pills “off label” for years before that and we knew it worked OK.

There’s even a one year extended packaging now called Lybrel.

@mclaugh extended active pills actually tend to be more effective because they suppress ovulation more successfully by not going without active pills for 7 days every month. That’s why we use extended active formulation for women with ovarian cysts, endometriosis and cyclical migraines.

@MagsRags Thanks for the helpful info!

If you get the injection, the implant or the IUD with hormones many women will not have their period at all as long as they are on them. One of the dangers of skipping your period for a long period of time (and as these products warn) is that it may take up to 12 or 18 months to become fertile again. Of course, if you don’t plan on children in the next 5–10 years, this might not be a problem. This could be especially helpful for women who make spontaneous decisions.

Depo provera the shot is a long acting progesterone and can take 12–18 months to get back to normal cycles after stopping although by no means assured and should not be considered reliable long term birth control after stopping regular injections.

The implant and Mirena the progesterone releasing IUD are different. The only reason they work long term is because they are continuously releasing small amounts of the progesterone, 5 years for the Mirena and 3 for Implanon. If the device is removed, hormones along with cycling and fertility go back to normal rather quickly.

I don’t think I would ever consider getting the shot. I’m not a big fan of shots to begin with and I’ve heard the side effects aren’t great. My best friend was on the shot and gained 30 lbs. Her appetite increased a lot. She also got frequent headaches.

Mirena isn’t possible for me either (or at least that’s what I was told). I thought you had to
already have at least one child…Maybe I’m wrong. But either way, 5 years is a bit too long. I’m planning on having a baby within the next 4 years.

The thinking on IUDs for women who have never had a baby has been evolving over the last 4–5 years, and at this point is considered to be OK by care providers who stay current with the research. The insertion process is a bit more painful, so it takes careful consideration. Break even point as far as upfront IUD cost vs monthly cost for pills is reached at about 2 years. If a woman with an IUD wants to get pregnant, she has the IUD removed by her care provider – it’s hurts a lot less coming out than going in.

Some women do gain weight or have other side effects on the shot, but others do very well. It’s good that we have lots of options these days.

I just use Nuvaring. Don’t have to worry about taking a pill every day because I suck at that. The only ones I remember to take are pain pills and only then when I really, really need them. :P You can do those back to back too.

The deal with needing a period every 3 months is the distinct possibillity of endometrial cancer. Woman that can’t have their period because of PCOS have an increased risk of endometerial cancer.

Some gynecologists were experimenting on themselves – never having periods, until the endometrial tissue got too thick by their own in office ultrasound. You can’t sue yourself if it doesn’t work. It worked for them. Seasonale just backed it up with research. I suppose if you have your own ultrasound machine. (I do, but I’m a guy). Insurance and lawyers would never approve this for the general public.

Question How many lawyers does it take to get america to follow 10 commandments.
Answer: All of them are not enough. Doing a pretty shitty job if you ask me.

Always talk it over with your gyne!

@SrMC Endometrial cancer would be an issue with unopposed estrogen, but the progesterone in COCs prevents thickening of the endometrial stripe, and typically the lining becomes quite thin and atrophic eventually. There’s a good website called managingcontraception dot com run by Dr Richard Hatcher, one of the principal authors of Contraceptive Technology, the most reliable source for practical and evidence based contraception and STD management. Here is a link from his website reviewing the data on continuous COC use.

COCs are a very good option for many women with PCOS and suppression of the cysts tends to be more successful without the 7 day placebo interval. Continuous COCs also work better than cycling to control LH and testosterone levels.

Sorry if this was excessively technical for the OP who just wanted to skip a period! ;-)

useful tidibit mags

Excellent answers as always @MagsRags!