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    Lois McGuire, R.N., M.S.N., W.H.N.P.

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  • Oct. 21, 2009

    No-period pills: Are they safe?

    By Lois McGuire, R.N., M.S.N., W.H.N.P.

11 comments posted

You can go three months — maybe longer — without a period if you take combination birth control pills, which contain the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Many of the women I see wonder how that works and whether it's safe. Here's the story.

Pills marketed for continuous use

Three brands of birth control pills — Seasonique, Seasonale and Lybrel — have FDA approval for continuous use. This means they suppress your period completely because every pill in a pack contains hormones. If you take Seasonique or Seasonale, you'll have no period for three months. If you take Lybrel, you can go without a period for as long as you want.

What about your regular pill?

If you'd like to try the no-period route and you're taking a combination pill other than one of the brands mentioned above, you may not have to switch brands. The pill you're already taking may cost less as well.

Standard birth control pills come in 28-day packs containing 21 active pills and seven inactive ("sugar" or placebo) pills. On day 22 of each month, you switch from active to inactive pills. Shortly after that, you experience vaginal bleeding much like a period. You take your last inactive pill on day 28, then start a new pack.

Stopping your period works best with monophasic pills, which have the same dose of hormones in every active pill. Try this technique:

  • Take the first three weeks of a new pack of pills as usual.
  • On the first day of the fourth week, start a new pack of pills, skipping all the inactive pills in the first pack.
  • When you reach the inactive pills in your second pack, skip them, too, and start a third pack.
  • Again, take the first 21 pills and skip to your fourth pack.
  • Do not skip the inactive pills in your fourth pack. Take every pill in that pack, including the sugar pills, so you'll have a period.

What can go wrong?

Many women complain of breakthrough bleeding or spotting when they are continuously taking active pills.

To solve that problem, try taking your traditional pills until you have spotting. Once you start to spot, switch to inactive pills for four days or seven days, whichever is your normal routine. With time, you may find that you can go longer and longer before you spot.

Will it affect your fertility?

No. Whether you take inactive pills for four or seven days out of 28 days, four or seven days out of 84 days, or continuously with no inactive pills, birth control pills simply put your fertility on hold. They do not reduce your ability to have a baby.

The important issue is to take your pills correctly to avoid pregnancy.

Birth control pills do not protect you from STDs. Unless you're in a stable, long-term relationship with someone you trust absolutely, you still need to use condoms. Before having sex with a new partner, you should both get tested to make sure you're free of STDs.

11 comments posted

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  • November 19, 2009 8:39 p.m.

    I take the pill continuously, with no periods. I've actually decided to have one period a year just to feel "normal". I plan on having endrometrial ablation soon as my periods are 12-14 days. Yeah.. :) Honestly, the only difference between taking birth control as directed & continuously, is obviously - you don't get a period as often. I would consult with your doctor if you are thinking about taking b/c continuously.

    - Val

  • November 13, 2009 7:07 a.m.

    This article reads more like an advertisement for these medications than a serious factual presentation. There are absolutely no side effects? Not true!

    - Kay

  • November 4, 2009 6:56 p.m.

    Dear Kanchi, Many women are concerned about taking the pill continuously. Research has shown that it is very safe to take continuously. Remember, it is just an option. You do not need to do the continuous method. Just like you don't have to take the pill cyclically. Changes in philosophy can be difficult to accept sometimes. What is more important, is the fact that you are using some kind of contraception, if a pregnancy is not in your best interest for now.

    - Lois McGuire

  • October 28, 2009 5:49 p.m.

    Have a happy period????? Obviously an advertising line written by a man. My daughter is now 14 and has not had a period for two and a half years. Her periods started at age 11. She had severe cramps, fainting, heavy flow and was passing clots. The OB/GYN put her on 28 day pack and told to only take the active ones. She's had very little break-through-bleeding and has been a lot happier with life in general. Works for me.

    - Chris

  • October 28, 2009 4:24 p.m.

    When The Pill was invented a withdrawal bleed was only made part of the routine in order to reassure women that they weren't pregnant. In any case modern women have many more periods than their ancestors would have done.They would have been pregnant or breast feeding most of the time.

    - Jane

  • October 28, 2009 10:17 a.m.

    I am amazed. My understanding is that the cyclical production of oestrogen and progesterone is important for the health of the uterine lining. When the natural production of these hormones by the ovaries is suppressed by the use of external and synthetic hormones for a prolonged period, it seems only common sense that at some point ill effects will follow for example increased risk of uterine cancer. When you stop taking the pills that you have been taking for years,it can take months for your ovaries to resume normal ovulation which is required in order to get pregnant and so it can indeed affect your fertility. A normal regular monthly period is indication that our body is working as it was intended to, and we women would be better off working with the natural flow of our bodies.

    - Kanchi

  • October 27, 2009 6:32 p.m.

    Why every three months? What is significant about this timeline versus every month or even once a year? The author doesn't really discuss if there are benefits or problems with not menstruating every month. While it is a way for women to "control" their bodies, we actually tricking our bodies into not doing what is natural by ingesting synthetic hormones. This doesn't seem quite right to me as a long term solution.

    - Sarah

  • October 27, 2009 4:12 p.m.

    I have always had irregular periods, sometimes going months without. After my second miscarriage I went to a fertility specialist and he told me that going for long intervals without bleeding was a set-up for uterine cancer. I was tested and found to have hormonal imbalances and when those were corrected i had healthy twin boys.

    - Regina

  • October 23, 2009 1:05 p.m.

    my daughter has early onset periods she is only 10 and been having this problem sense she was 7 years old. She is also special needs, this is a wonderful thing for her she has had wonderful success with not having her period. She and I are both thankful for this breakthrough of controling your own cycles.

    - laura

  • October 23, 2009 11:23 a.m.

    The question I have is, "What is nature's reason for a period?" I have heard that it's a natural cleansing for your body. Is there an increased risk of infection or problems if you don't have that cleansing every month?

    - Beth

  • October 23, 2009 10:29 a.m.

    THIS IS A WONDERFUL WAY FOR WOMEN TO TAKE CONTROL OF THERRE MONTHLY PROBLEM...

    - NANCY

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