Period Suppression
The idea of stopping menstrual periods for three months at a time is nothing new, although there is a lot of debate about this. Women have been doing it for years by taking certain monophasic birth-control pills for eighty-four straight days. This is often prescribed for women who have serious difficulties with their periods. ("Monophasic" means the dose in each pill is the same.) However, Lybrel is a new low-dosage birth-control pill that can stop your periods every month for as long as you take it, for years at time.
With Seasonale, you get 84 monophasic birth-control pills. You take one each day. Then you take seven placebo pills at the end so you can have a period. This makes it a 91-day cycle. With Lybrel, you just keep taking it.
If you have trouble remembering to take pills, do not try to eliminate your periods in this way. If you've forgotten to take a couple of pills early on, you might have to wait nearly three months to find out if you are pregnant.
Also, some women wonder where their normal period blood goes every month if it doesn't drip out the usual way. With period suppression, the breakdown in uterine lining that creates your period blood doesn't happen, so there is no period blood. The pills keep your body from making period blood.
NOTE: If you are using the NuvaRing and want to suppress your periods, you might talk to your healthcare provider about leaving it in all four weeks.
