It is possible to delay menstruation for a couple of days or even prevent it from occurring altogether for several months. Usually, women who delay menstruation can do so without experiencing negative side effects, however, some women do have side effects such as spotting. Typically, the menstrual cycle is delayed or prevented with the use of medications such as birth control that alter the hormone levels in the body.
Many women who already take birth control pills on a daily basis have experimented with one of the most common ways to delay menstruation. The typical birth control pill schedule regulates the period on a 28-day cycle using three weeks of pills that contain hormones and one week of pills that contain only trace amounts of the hormones or none at all. By skipping the fourth week of pills that do not contain hormones and beginning a brand new pack of pills right away, most women will achieve the desired effect of a skipped period for that month. Although most women do not experience anything worse than spotting while doing this, it is important to get approval from a doctor or gynecologist first, because there may be some medical conditions that can be aggravated by using this technique.
A similar but more permanent solution may include taking some types of birth control pills that are intended to trigger menstruation only a few times a year. Additionally, birth control injections can affect the hormones and prevent menstruation in the long term as well. With methods like these, however, it can be difficult to tell if an accidental pregnancy has occurred because of the lack of normal menstruation patterns.
For those women without a birth control pill prescription or who do not feel comfortable enough to alter the pill schedule and delay menstruation without the supervision of a doctor, other options may exist. Some doctors will prescribe different kinds of medication that also affect the hormones, although these usually have the effect of delaying menstruation for only a few days instead of for the whole month. This can be used to avoid menstruating through a wedding or other important event. Some of the medications that can be prescribed for this use are not intended to be used primarily as a way to delay menstruation, and can have other effects on the body. Make sure the doctor is aware of your desire to use the off-label effects of the medication and can safely supervise its use.