Your period… it’s not anyone’s favourite time of the month even when you’re not heading off on holiday, but when you have some time away booked, the last thing you want to have to deal with is mood swings, cramps, worrying about leakage, and having to nip to the bathroom to ‘freshen up’ every few hours – when you’re relaxing on a beach that’s not always going to be practical anyway.
In order to avoid these distractions, you might try to work out exactly when your period is going to come and book your holiday around those dates. But, as every woman knows, predicting a period is as easy as predicting the weather; it’s all rather hit-and-miss.
This is why many women choose to find out how to delay their period for their vacation, so they don’t have to worry about it when they are meant to be relaxing and enjoying some time away from home and work. Although it’s not always possible, and the methods aren’t one hundred percent guaranteed, here are some useful tips if you want to try to delay your period for your vacation.
Norethisterone
- Gives you control over your periods
- Available in 5 mg dose
- Sent from a registered pharmacy
Norethisterone
As with anything medical, norethisterone shouldn’t be considered a ‘magic pill’ (even though that’s exactly how it might seem if you’re looking for something to answer the question of how to delay your period for your vacation). However, with the right medical advice, this might be just what you need to delay your period enough to give you your much-needed break in every sense.
You should start to take the tablets three days before your period is due. It’s three tablets every day for a maximum of 20 days, so it should cover those first three days, then every day that you want to delay your period for giving you a 17-day delay window. Stop taking the pills, and around three days later your period will start and everything will go back to normal.
Medications do tend to come with some side effects, and norethisterone is no different. Blood clots, strokes, nausea, headaches, and acne are all potentially something that you need to watch out for, plus this is not a contraceptive, so additional measures should be taken to be safe. And, since it can only be taken on prescription, you’ll need to factor in some time to see your GP before you travel if you definitely want to delay your period for your vacation.
Contraceptive Pill
If you don’t have time to see a doctor or you don’t like the idea of trying out a new pill then consider your contraceptive pill as this might work just as well. There are two different forms of contraceptive pill: the combined pill and the progesterone only pill. Both can be used to delay your period for your vacation, but they need to be taken in different ways for this to be effective.
Combined Pill
If you take the combined pill then you will generally take one pill a day for 21 days, and then have a ‘rest’ of seven days before starting up again. If you continue to take the pills during the time you would normally have a break, you can delay your period. Progesterone Only Pill (POP) When you take a POP, you don’t have the seven-day break in between doses; you take one every day throughout the month. That means you can’t take extra as mentioned above when using the combine pill. However, you can switch over to a combine pill and take one every day – remember, however, there may have been a good reason for you to have been prescribed the POP in the first place, and switching might not be good for you. If you’re unsure, it’s always wise to speak to a doctor first.
Enjoy Your Holiday
Your period shouldn’t stop you from enjoying your holiday, and worrying about it won’t help you to relax. If you’re truly concerned, speak to your doctor about the different ways to delay your period for your vacation – it’s best to get seek advice from your doctor or a pharmacy, rather than attempting untrusted and potentially dangerous advice.
If there is nothing to be done to delay your period for your vacation, preparing for it is important. If you normally use tampons, for example, then you’ll already have a good idea of how often you need to change throughout the day. You could look into using an internal menstrual cup while away on holiday - these reusable devices can save you time and money in the long term.
