No-Period Pills: Are They Safe? Beacon NY

Most women have about 450 periods in their lifetime. Most wish they had fewer. Now, women can reduce the number of periods they have and even eliminate them by taking birth control pills in a new way.   Nicknamed the, "no period pill," women can have a period only every three to four months and, in some cases, once a year.  But is it safe?

Standard birth control pills come in packs of 28 pills.  Of those, 21 have hormones that prevent ovulation.  The other seven are placebos containing no hormones at all.  When you finish taking the 21 hormone pills and start taking the placebos, your hormone levels drop and you have a period.  With "no period" (also called continuous-use or extended-use) pills, you eliminate the placebos and keep taking hormones.  That means no periods.  While many doctors have advised women to use their standard pills for continuous use for years, pharmaceutical companies have developed birth control pills intended specifically for continuous use.

These newer pills (including Lybrel, Seasonale and Seasonique) have low-dose hormonal combinations that eliminate periods for the length of time  determined appropriate by women and their health care providers. They're a good choice for women who experience heavy bleeding or cramping, severe premenstrual syndrome or those that want to control their cycles to match their schedule (say, for example, to guarantee "no period" on her wedding day or vacation). ..

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