Can You Take The Pill Straight Through And Not Get Your Period??

I'm not sure who your friend is, but that's definitely something I would say!

Traditional contraceptive pill packs have 28 pills, and either four or seven of them are going to be sugar pills. Sometimes we refer to them as placebo pills. These pills are designed to keep you in the habit of taking your pill, but they have no active ingredients. Keeping you in the habit is really important since one of the big reasons why women get pregnant while on the pill is because they forget to take it at the same time every day.

You can choose to not get your period while you're on the pill. You would just skip the sugar pills and start your next pill pack as soon as you finish all the active pills in the last pack. This is called continuous use.

There are a few things you need to keep in mind if you choose to do this. The first is that you're not going to stop getting your period the very first time you skip the placebo pills. It takes a few months for your body to adjust to the change.

If you want to do this, you need to talk to your healthcare provider who writes you the prescription for the pill. And you need to do this for a few reasons.

The first is so that they can write you an updated prescription. If you're going to use the pill continuously, you're going to need extra pill packs for a 28-day time frame. If you usually get a three-month supply at a time, they'll give you a prescription for four pill packs instead of three.

You also want to keep your healthcare provider updated on how you're using your medication so they can give you good medical advice.

As to why your doctor didn't tell you that about this, that I can't answer. I have found that some doctors are not well versed in changes to how we use contraceptives, though really continuous use is not all that new. Some doctors still subscribe to the belief that women “need” to get their period once a cycle, and we know that that isn't true from a medical perspective. Some women like to get their period for a variety of reasons. If that’s you, then continuous use is probably not something you want to do.

There are some benefits to continuous use. One is the obvious – no period. This can be life changing for people whose periods are incapacitating.

If you have endometriosis, continuous use might be helpful for you.

Same is true if you get hormonal migraines, sometime called menstrual migraines.

Something to keep in mind is that some insurance companies may not cover the extra pill packs. This can cause a financial strain for some people.

If this is something you might be interested in, I suggest you talk to your healthcare provider. If they don't support this option, ask them to explain why. They may have a valid reason why given your medial history.

But if you don't feel like they’re listening to you and your concerns, it may be time to consider a new healthcare provider.

Until next time, be safe, and have fun!

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