Shifting the menstruation | Menstruation

Shifting the menstruation

It often happens that a menstrual period does not fit into the individual schedule. There are several ways to postpone the period: Women who take a single-phase preparation (all tablets have the same color) can simply continue taking their pill after the usual 21 days without a break. The period can be postponed for up to 3 weeks, after which the bleeding usually starts.

Instead of taking the second pack in its entirety, the break can be postponed by taking the pill only as many days as you want to postpone your period. It is also possible to bring the bleeding forward: to do this, the pill should be taken up to 5 days earlier than usual. However, the subsequent break should not exceed 7 days, as usual.

If the pill intake is shortened by more than 5 days, the next intake must be started on the first day of the period, not after a 7-day break. Otherwise safe contraception is no longer guaranteed. Women who take a multiphase preparation (tablets have different colors) should proceed differently: The last color taken in the first pack should be followed by the same color in the second pack.

For example, first take the red tablets of the 1st pack followed by the red of the 2nd pack, then the yellow of the 1st pack followed by the yellow of the 2nd pack and so on. Here too, the period can be postponed by up to 3 weeks. Although you can postpone your period with the help of these hormonal preparations, everyone should be aware that this massively interferes with the hormonal balance of the female body. Therefore, one should refrain from using this method more than once.

Prevention of menstruation

Once menstruation has already started, it cannot be stopped. However, there are ways to prevent the onset of menstruation. It is also possible to stop the menstrual period permanently so that it will not occur again in the future.

With the contraceptive pill it is possible to postpone or even suppress the monthly menstrual period as mentioned above. Normally the pill is taken over a period of 21 days, after which it is paused for seven days. In this way the normal female cycle is simulated while taking the pill.

Within the seven hormone-free days, a withdrawal bleeding starts, which does not correspond to normal menstruation, but is only caused by the sudden hormone deficiency. The bleeding stops again at the latest when the next tablet blister is taken after the one-week break. In principle it is possible to continue taking the pill without a break.

Since the body receives hormones continuously in this case, the typical withdrawal bleeding does not occur. However, some women may experience lighter spotting in the meantime, as the body has to get used to the continuous doses of hormones.Otherwise the menstruation will stop completely. If you wish to take the pill without a break, you should first discuss this with your gynaecologist to clarify the individual risks of this therapy.

The so-called endometrial ablation is used to treat irregular or excessive menstrual bleeding if it cannot be treated hormonally. In this procedure, the lining of the uterus is ablated down to the muscles, so that it can no longer build up during the cycle. The procedure can be performed using various methods, such as laser or microwave ablation.

After the procedure, menstrual bleeding is either greatly reduced or no longer occurs (about 40% of patients). Accordingly, this leads to infertility, so the procedure can only be performed in women who do not wish to have children. A malignant disease of the uterus must also be ruled out in advance. Endometrial ablation is not suitable as a contraceptive method because the mucosa can never be removed 100%. If permanent and complete freedom from bleeding is desired, it is recommended to remove the entire uterus (hysterectomy).