Several hormonal medications can stop or delay your period, depending on whether you need a short-term fix for an upcoming event or a longer-term solution. The most common options are continuous birth control pills, a progesterone-only pill called norethindrone, hormonal IUDs, and injectable contraceptives. All of these require a prescription in the United States.
Norethindrone for a Short-Term Delay
If you have a vacation, wedding, or athletic event coming up and simply want to push your period back by a week or two, norethindrone (also called norethisterone) is the go-to option. It’s a progesterone-only pill that a doctor can prescribe specifically for period delay, even if you’re not using it as regular birth control.
The typical protocol is one 5 mg tablet taken three times a day, starting three days before your period is expected. Your period will stay away for as long as you keep taking the pills. Once you stop, bleeding usually begins within two to three days. This approach works best for short delays of up to two or three weeks rather than ongoing suppression.
Norethindrone is particularly useful for people who can’t take estrogen due to conditions like migraines with aura, high blood pressure, or a history of blood clots. Because it contains only progesterone, it sidesteps many of the risks associated with estrogen-containing pills.
Skipping the Placebo Week on Birth Control
If you already take a combined birth control pill (one that contains both estrogen and progesterone), the simplest way to skip a period is to skip the placebo week. Instead of taking the inactive pills or having a pill-free week, you start a new pack immediately. This keeps your hormone levels steady and prevents the withdrawal bleeding that mimics a period.
You can do this occasionally for a single cycle or continuously for months at a time. Some pill brands are specifically packaged for 84 days of active pills followed by 7 days off, giving you only four periods a year. Others are designed for fully continuous use with no breaks at all.
The main trade-off is breakthrough bleeding. About 20% of people using low-dose estrogen contraceptives experience spotting, especially during the first one to three months. The good news is that 75% of users establish a regular, predictable pattern by the end of the first pack, and most have stable cycles by the third pack. The longer you use continuous pills, the less likely you are to have unexpected spotting.
Longer-Term Options That Reduce or Stop Periods
If your goal is to stop your period for months or years, not just push it back for a trip, two options have particularly high success rates.
Hormonal IUDs
A hormonal IUD that releases 52 mg of levonorgestrel (the higher-dose type) gradually thins the uterine lining over time. After one year, about 20% of users report having no periods at all. By the two-year mark, that number climbs to 30% to 50%. Even users who don’t lose their period entirely tend to have much lighter, shorter bleeding. The effect builds slowly, so expect some irregular spotting in the first few months.
The Injectable Contraceptive
The hormonal injection (given every three months) is one of the most effective options for stopping periods. After one year of use, 50% to 75% of users report having no periods. Like the IUD, it works by keeping progesterone levels high enough to suppress the uterine lining from building up in the first place.
Who Should Avoid Estrogen-Based Options
Not every period-stopping method is safe for every person. Options containing estrogen, like combined birth control pills, carry a small increased risk of blood clots. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists flags several conditions that make estrogen-containing methods a poor fit: cardiovascular disease, migraines with aura, high blood pressure, and any condition that increases your tendency to form blood clots.
If any of these apply to you, progesterone-only methods like norethindrone, a hormonal IUD, or the injectable contraceptive are safer alternatives. They suppress periods through a different hormonal pathway without the clotting risks that come with estrogen.
What Stopping Your Period Does (and Doesn’t) Do
A common concern is whether suppressing your period will hurt your fertility down the line. The short answer: it won’t. Hormonal suppression pauses ovulation and prevents the uterine lining from thickening each month, but it doesn’t damage the uterus or ovaries. Once you stop the medication, your natural cycle returns. For most methods, periods come back within one to three months, though the injectable contraceptive can take longer, sometimes six months or more.
The blood you shed during a normal period is simply the uterine lining that built up in preparation for a pregnancy that didn’t happen. When hormones prevent that lining from building in the first place, there’s nothing that needs to be shed. You’re not “holding in” blood that needs to come out.
Do You Need a Prescription?
In the United States, all effective period-stopping medications require a prescription. There is no over-the-counter pill available in the U.S. that will reliably delay or stop a period. In the UK, norethisterone is available from pharmacists without a prescription in some cases, but this doesn’t apply to American pharmacies.
Getting a prescription is usually straightforward. Many telehealth services now prescribe birth control and period-delay medications after a brief online consultation, so you don’t necessarily need an in-person visit. If you need to delay your period for a specific event, plan ahead by at least a week or two. Norethindrone needs to be started three days before your expected period, and continuous birth control works best when you’ve already been on the pill for at least one full cycle.