Being mid-period on Valentine’s Day is far from ideal, especially as many women say they neither feel sexy nor enjoy period sex.
it can really dampen the mood if your romantic night in is plagued by cramps and mood swings.
But women are looking to delay their periods ahead of the big day.
As a result, there has been a surge in searches for norethisterone tablets – a drug that can postpone your period.
But is it safe to temporarily halt your period, and can it affect your health?
How does the period delay pill work?
GP Neel Patel, who works for Lloyds Pharmacy Online Doctor, said: ‘Norethisterone is a medication that an individual can start taking three days before their period is due.
‘Three tablets a day are then taken for the time you wish to delay your period.’
Norethisterone contains progesterone, which stops the lining of the womb from shedding, in turn delaying your period.
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The drug can be taken for a maximum of 20 days at a time, which would stop the period for 17 days. Once you stop taking the tablets, your period should arrive two to three days after.
Norethisterone is a prescription medicine in the UK, as it can interact with other medications and can cause adverse side effects, so you can’t buy it over the counter, and should consult your GP if you’d like to take it.
What are the risks of taking a period delay pill?
Most women will be able to take this pill, however Dr Patel warns you shouldn’t use it if you have a liver problem, have or have had angina or a heart attack, or have a personal or a significant family history of blood clots.
Some other possible side effects include: sore breasts, feeling sick, and headaches.
Anne Henderson, a consultant gynaecologist and British Menopause Society advanced specialist, adds that the ‘high dose’ of progesterone could leave you feeling low or anxious.
Finally, this is not a contraceptive pill, and should not be used to prevent pregnancy.
Taking back-to-back contraceptive pill packets
According to Dr Patel, it’s ‘common practice’ to take two packets back-to-back to avoid getting your period. However, it’s always worth consulting your doctor – or you can call 111 – if you plan to change the way you take it.
‘If you take the mini pill, otherwise known as the progestogen-only pill, you will be taking a pill every day anyway,’ Dr Patel says.
‘Some types of combined contraceptive pills, such as Synphase and Logynon, also contain a different mix of hormones in each pill, these are known as phasic pills.
‘If you are taking a phasic pill brand you should consult with your doctor before attempting to delay your period.’
Dr Henderson adds that taking three combined pill packets back to back is actually the most common method of delaying your period, known as tricycling, a practice says she often reccomends.
‘It’s not harmful at all,’ she explains. ‘These pills have been used for period delay for decades without any issues. The pill simply shuts the ovaries down meaning you don’t ovulate, so there’s no harmful effects when you don’t bleed.
‘As soon as you stop the pill you’ll start to ovulate and for most women your cycle will return as normal. There’s no evidence that it will cause early menopause, low egg reserve or fertility problems.
‘The benefit the pill has brought to women’s lives far outweigh the downsides, I’ve seen that for the 35 years I’ve been a doctor.’
Period sex
Of course, you don’t need to delay your period to have sex on Valentine’s Day. Y
And while 86% of us may put it off because of the mess and the post-sex clean up, according to a study by The Flex Company, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some benefits.
For many of us women, we can tend to be hornier on our periods.
Laura*, 25, told Metro: ‘When I’m due on, my vagina actually aches like it’s hungry for d*ck. Once I’m on, it gets super swollen and if anything goes near it I pretty much have an orgasm.’
Nikki, 27, feels the same. ‘I’m always horny when I’m on my period. Maybe when there’s less chance of me getting pregnant my body trusts me more?’
And do they let the time of the month stop them?
‘No, I’m so over women being made to hate yet another perfectly natural thing. I think guys should embrace it – everyone I’ve ever been with has’, says Nikki.
‘Yeah’, agrees Laura, ‘if anything, some guys have got excited about it…which is disturbing’.
Why do we feel like this? It’s because of our hormones, according to Dr Narendra Pisal of London Gynecology.
‘Particularly for women who suffer from PMS, it’s almost a sense of relief when their periods come, so I think there’s an element of that,’ she told Metro.
‘Women who are on the pill can find that their libido has been affected – so when they have their free weeks and they bleed, they’re more likely to have a higher sex drive due to the change in their estrogen levels.’
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