Essential Guide to Birth Control Methods That Eliminate Your Period

Many people choose birth control pills and other hormonal methods to reduce or completely stop their menstrual periods. Whether you want to avoid periods due to severe cramps, PMDD, endometriosis, or simply for convenience during travel, there are effective options available. Below, we explore trusted brands and methods that can help you manage your cycle on your terms.

It's important to note that some individuals may experience spotting or light bleeding, especially during the initial months of continuous use. This often decreases as your body adjusts.

Research, including a 2008 study where participants took hormonal birth control continuously for 91 days, shows no harmful changes in the uterine lining when hormone levels are maintained. However, long-term safety data is still evolving, so consulting your healthcare provider is key, especially if you have health conditions that increase risks with hormonal birth control.

Here’s a breakdown of how birth control can stop your period and the best options available today.

Understanding Periods vs. Withdrawal Bleeding

When using hormonal birth control, the bleeding you experience during the placebo or pill-free week is called withdrawal bleeding, not a true menstrual period. A natural period occurs when the uterine lining sheds after ovulation if fertilization does not occur. Hormonal birth control typically prevents ovulation, so withdrawal bleeding results from hormone level changes rather than the natural cycle.

What Are No-Period Birth Control Pills?

No-period birth control pills are designed to minimize or eliminate withdrawal bleeding by altering the hormone schedule. Options include:

• Continuously taking combination birth control pills without the placebo break, under medical guidance.
• Specialized pills formulated without placebo pills, designed to maintain hormone levels continuously, though they may have higher breakthrough bleeding rates.

Other forms like patches, IUDs, and injections can also reduce or stop periods but might have variable results.

How Do No-Period Birth Control Pills Work?

Traditional combination pill packs include 21 active hormone pills and 7 placebo pills. Skipping the placebo pills maintains constant hormone levels, preventing the drop that triggers bleeding. Some no-period pills reduce or eliminate placebo pills altogether, offering continuous hormone delivery and fewer or no periods.

Top No-Period Birth Control Options

Pandia Health’s Amethyst

• Type: Combination pill
• Insurance: Accepted
• Consultation fee: $30
• Medication cost: $32 without insurance

Amethyst is a continuous-use birth control pill similar to the now discontinued FDA-approved Lybrel. Although using it to stop periods is off-label, many doctors prescribe it for this purpose. It eliminates placebo pills, meaning no withdrawal bleeding. You can get a prescription online through Pandia Health after a brief consultation.

Pros & Cons

• Easy to use and effective
• No need to track placebo vs. active pills
• Potential side effects vary by individual

Nurx’s Seasonale

• Type: Combination pill
• Insurance: Accepted
• Consultation fee: $20
• Subscription fee: $3/month
• Medication cost: $45 without insurance

Seasonale reduces periods to four times a year by providing 12 weeks of active pills followed by 7 days of placebo. Generic alternatives include Jolessa and Setlakin. Nurx offers online prescription services with a quick evaluation.

Pros & Cons

• Reduces periods to four per year
• Simple and effective
• Side effects possible depending on user

Nurx’s Seasonique

• Type: Combination pill
• Insurance: Accepted
• Consultation fee: $20
• Subscription fee: $3/month
• Medication cost: Around $200 without insurance

Seasonique also limits periods to four annually but replaces the placebo week with low-dose estrogen pills to reduce hormone withdrawal symptoms like bleeding and bloating. It’s pricier but beneficial for those sensitive to hormone-free intervals. Generic Camrese is a more affordable alternative.

Pros & Cons

• Only four periods yearly
• Better for hormone withdrawal sensitivity
• Higher cost without insurance

Nurx’s Nuvaring

• Type: Vaginal ring
• Insurance: Accepted
• Consultation fee: $30
• Subscription fee: $3/month
• Medication cost: $225 every 3 months without insurance

Nuvaring is a flexible vaginal ring releasing hormones to prevent pregnancy. Normally, it’s worn for 3 weeks with a 1-week break causing withdrawal bleeding. Leaving it in for 4 weeks continuously maintains hormone levels and stops periods.

Pros & Cons

• No daily pill to remember
• Easy and effective
• Ring may shift or become dislodged
• Effectiveness depends on timely ring changes

Nurx’s Aygestin

• Type: Mini pill (progestin-only)
• Insurance: Accepted
• Consultation fee: $30
• Subscription fee: $3/month
• Medication cost: $30 without insurance

Aygestin (norethindrone acetate) is a progestin-only pill ideal for those who cannot take estrogen, such as nursing mothers. It can delay periods temporarily or reduce bleeding with continuous use.

Pros & Cons

• Suitable for estrogen-sensitive individuals and nursing mothers
• May cause nausea or breast tenderness in some

Other Considerations

Yaz, once popular for managing acne and PMDD, was removed from many recommendations due to increased blood clot risk linked to its drospirenone component. Long-acting methods like Depo-Provera injections or Mirena IUDs can stop periods but usually take longer and may have more side effects.

FAQs

Is it natural to stop menstruation?

Periods indicate reproductive health but are not biologically essential if you’re not trying to conceive. Continuous birth control to stop periods is generally safe, though more studies are needed.

Is stopping periods with birth control safe?

Studies show it’s safe to use extended or continuous birth control to halt periods, but long-term effects require more research. Risks like blood clots exist with some pills, and pregnancy detection can be harder without bleeding.

What birth control is best for long or heavy periods?

Oral birth control pills, both combination and mini-pills, are effective for shortening and lightening long or heavy periods by thinning the uterine lining.

Can birth control pills permanently stop periods?

Periods typically resume within three months after stopping pills. If not, pregnancy testing and medical consultation are advised. The permanent effects on fertility remain unclear, so discuss concerns with your doctor.

Conclusion

Stopping periods with birth control is a safe and viable option for many, with withdrawal bleeding being a hormonal response rather than a natural period. Always consult healthcare professionals to choose the best and safest method tailored to your health and lifestyle.

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