How to Delay Your Period

Reviewed by Usama Ali, MPharm (GPhC: 2224726). Last reviewed: October 2026.

How can you delay your period?

There are two ways to delay your period: period delay tablets, or, if you already take a combined pill, skipping the break between packs. Period delay tablets contain norethisterone 5 mg, a prescription-only medicine, so a clinician checks they suit you first. The mini pill on its own cannot reliably delay a period (SPS, 2025).

How do you order period delay tablets through Medy?

You order period delay tablets through our partner Medy, a UK online pharmacy, because they are not part of the free NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service that Contraception Direct provides. Medy's service is for people aged 18 to 50 and is private, so there is a fee, which Medy shows before you pay.

1. Continue to Medy. Use the Medy button at the end of this guide.
2. Answer health questions. A short online consultation about your health and your dates.
3. Clinician check. A Medy clinician checks the tablets are suitable before anything is supplied.
4. Tracked delivery. Royal Mail 48-hour tracked delivery in plain packaging.

Order at least a week before your period is due, so there is time for the check and delivery before you start the tablets. A GP can also prescribe them, but some practices do not for holidays or other non-medical reasons.

How do period delay tablets work?

Period delay tablets contain norethisterone 5 mg, a progestogen similar to the natural hormone progesterone. Taking it keeps progestogen levels high, which stops the womb lining from shedding until you stop the tablets. This is how to take them, as set out in the patient leaflet:

1. Start early. Take the first tablet 3 days before your period is due.
2. Take 1 tablet 3 times a day. That is 15 mg a day in total.
3. Carry on while you need to. Keep taking them for as long as you want to delay your period, within what your prescriber advises. The NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service says this can be up to 3 to 4 weeks if needed.
4. Stop when you are ready. Your period usually starts within 3 days of stopping.

Are period delay tablets safe?

Period delay tablets are safe for most people once a clinician has checked they are suitable. At this dose, norethisterone carries a small increased risk of blood clots, so the patient leaflet says not to take it if you or a family member have ever had a blood clot, if you have had a heart attack or angina, if you are pregnant or if you have liver problems. Smoking and a BMI over 30 also need checking (SPS, 2025).

• Tell the clinician if you have migraines, epilepsy, asthma, or heart or kidney problems.
• Side effects listed in the leaflet include feeling sick, constipation, diarrhoea and a dry mouth.
• If you get signs of a blood clot, such as sudden chest pain, breathlessness, or a painful, swollen leg, stop the tablets and get urgent medical help.
• They are not a contraceptive. Use condoms or keep taking your usual contraception, and remember they do not protect against sexually transmitted infections.

If you find you want to delay your period often, ask a pharmacist about your contraception. Taking a combined pill continuously is a longer-term way to control when you bleed, and it is free on the NHS if it suits you.

Can you delay your period on the pill?

You can usually delay your period on a combined pill by finishing your pack and starting the next one straight away, skipping the 7 day break or the inactive pills. This is free and keeps you protected if you take your pills correctly. The mini pill cannot reliably delay a period, so period delay tablets are the usual option if you take it.

• It is simplest with monophasic pills, where every active pill is the same dose. If your pill has phases, ask a pharmacist first.
• You may get some spotting or breakthrough bleeding.
• Current FSRH guidance supports running packs back to back. Doing it regularly is outside the pill's licence, as is a one-off delay for some brands (SPS, 2025).
• Not on a combined pill yet? The NHS advises starting it a few weeks before the date. A pharmacist checks it suits you, including a blood pressure reading from the last 12 months, in a free NHS consultation.

"If you are already on the combined pill, you often do not need anything extra to delay your period," says Usama Ali, MPharm (GPhC: 2224726), pharmacist at Contraception Direct. "Running your packs back to back is free and keeps you protected. Period delay tablets are useful if you are not on the combined pill, but they are not contraception, so keep using condoms or your usual method while you take them."

On the mini pill, bleeding can be irregular and there is no break to skip. After about a year on desogestrel, around 2 to 3 in 10 people have no bleeding at all, but you cannot plan around it (FSRH, 2022). If you take the mini pill, tell the Medy clinician, so they can check period delay tablets suit you. Our guide to whether the pill stops your period explains bleeding on each pill in more detail.

This information is for general guidance only and does not replace advice from a clinician, pharmacist, or doctor. A clinician will review your consultation before any medication is supplied.