Welcome to our Just Wondering series, in which local pros tackle your most burning health and fitness questions. Got a question of your own? Send it here!
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Illustration of woman tracking her menstrual cycle.
It’s just like clockwork: I line up a beach vacation, my serotonin levels increase as the weeks lead up, and then I get the dreaded notif (shoutout to Clue!) that Aunt Flo, the ever-unwelcome party guest, plans to meet me there. I mean, I can deal—I’ve experienced many a period-cursed vacay in my time—but if I don’t *have* to deal, is there anything OTC that I can take to raincheck her arrival?
"Menstrual manipulation, or delaying a period, can be achieved with a medication like norethindrone, which is a synthetic progesterone. The medication works to stabilize the uterine lining and prevents it from shedding until after you stop taking it. It can offer a solution to avoid having your period for a vacation or a big event. Norethindrone is a very safe medication that has minimal side effects; like most hormonal medications it can cause headaches, nausea, and breast tenderness, but serious risks are rare." Dr. Alexandra Ellingson, OGI Maple Grove
Pro tip: Taking it as close to the exact same time every day is important, adds Dr. Erin Stevens of Clinic Sofia OBGYN. "Delay in taking it reduces its efficacy for bleeding control as well as contraception. Norethindrone *acetate* is used at a higher dose and is slightly different metabolically so has more wiggle room in administration time and tends to do a better job for short-term bleeding suppression. It has not been thoroughly studied as birth control, so it should not be considered as such!"
