How to Delay Your Period
Do you have a vacation or a special occasion where you wish you didn’t have to deal with your period? Believe or not, there are some things that you can do to help delay your period for at least a few days.
Hormones
If you’ve been using birth control pills to help regulate your cycles, you can use them to manipulate your cycles as well. This is called preponing, or inducing your menstruation to come earlier. This method is only recommended for those who have been birth control pills for a while (at least four to six months) and have had their bodies adjust to the pills’ hormone regulation.
In a regular menstrual cycle, menstrual bleeding will begin when your progesterone levels begin to drop. To keep you from bleeding, this means that you have to keep your progesterone levels high.
Talk to your doctor on how to go about preponing your menstruation. Your doctor will likely prescribe supplements to induce progesterone levels to drop sooner. Normally the levels will drop seven days before your period begins, so careful monitoring of your cycle is paramount. Make sure that you are well-informed on any possible side effects of preponing your menstrual bleeding.
It’s also probably wise to schedule your preponing at least two weeks before the important date. This means that you have enough time for the bleed to run its course.
As another alternative, you may want to consider switching to Seasonale. Seasonale is a type of birth control pill that restricts your menstrual periods to four times a year. Just make sure that you give your body enough time to adapt to this new pill. For more information regarding birth control, read The Guide to Birth Control.
Induce Menstruation
You can actually induce menstruation using natural means. Brew parsley tea by steeping parsley in a pot of hot water for 30 minutes. Drink three to four cups of strong parsley tea a day until your menstruation is induced.
Lose Weight
Women who have a diet low in fat and women who lose weight rapidly over a short period of time can have delayed menstrual periods. Rapidly losing weight can actually induce women to have irregular menstrual periods. (Tips on how to get rid of water weight)
On the flipside, obese women with poor diets can also have late periods as a result. Realistically, though, it would be better to try out losing weight than gaining weight.
Get Stressed
Stress is a major factor in a woman missing her period. This is because stress can lower estrogen levels, which can lead to you missing your period. This method isn’t quite feasible if the special day you want to skip your period for is your wedding day or an event that requires you to look your best.
Exercise
Athletes usually miss their period because of the high-impact exercises they make their bodies go through. The lower body weight also contributes to the irregularity of their menstrual periods. However, an average person who does not undergo the same type of stress like athletes may actually induce menstrual periods with regular exercise.
Pregnancy
If you can afford to become pregnant before your special day rolls along, it can ensure you that you won’t have a menstrual period at all. This step isn’t for everyone, though.