Period talk: Questions and advice

Spotting vs. ovulation bleeding

That’s definitely just spotting, especially since you're right in the middle of your cycle.
Don't stress, and you probably don't even need to rush to the doctor if everything else feels fine.
I actually panicked when it first happened to me a few months back and ran straight to my OBGYN. They told me immediately—it was just spotting.
Check out my old thread on it, "bloody discharge," if you want to read more.
It’s honestly not that uncommon...

maybe you just caught a nasty little bug

I’m looking to push back my period because of a minor surgery coming up. I really don't want to be dealing with that during the procedure this fall..
Does anyone know which pills they're talking about? Can I just grab them over the counter at a CVS, or am I gonna need a prescription from my OB-GYN?
I don't take any birth control or anything, so I'm pretty much clueless on how this all works..
If anyone has the scoop, thanks a ton..

Rachel Walker45 said:Because of a minor surgical procedure, I’m looking to delay my period. I don't want to be guessing about when that surgery might happen this fall...
Does anyone know which pills they're talking about? Can you just grab them over the counter at a CVS, or do I need to see an OB-GYN for a prescription?
I don't take any birth control pills, so I have absolutely no clue how any of this works...
If anyone has some insight, thanks in advance...

Look, you really ought to go see a gynecologist so they can run some hormone tests and figure out which specific pill is actually right for your body. The way you delay a period is by finishing one pack—which usually includes a week-long break where your period happens—and then immediately starting the next pack without taking that break. You just keep going until you're ready to have your cycle again. You should get to a doctor sooner rather than later, though, because during those first two months on the pill, women often deal with breakthrough bleeding. It’s basically just light spotting throughout the whole cycle while your hormones and your body try to adjust to the new regimen.

I was actually thinking about starting this exact thread. I've heard there are pills available to delay your period, so I'm wondering if I can just pick them up over the counter at a pharmacy, or if a primary care doctor would need to write a prescription first?

Ugh, I’m heading to the coast in two weeks—and since I have a gynecologist appointment this Friday, I’m really hoping we can actually sort something out. If not, I'll be dealing with my period through the entire trip, which would pretty much ruin any chance of me negotiating the travel plans 😢

Same here. It’s timed out perfectly—it should be ready just as I head out to the coast. I'm traveling with my partner, too, so... yeah. Honestly, we women really do have a knack for bad timing, don't we?

Hey ladies... so, after I had my baby, I was breastfeeding for about a month before my period finally showed up. It came around the 25th of May, so by my math, I should’ve been due again around the 25th of June. But nothing yet... Is it totally normal for things to be this irregular right now? And honestly, what are the odds that I might actually be pregnant again...

Anything is on the table here. It takes some time for your cycle to find its rhythm again after giving birth, so a delay could easily be attributed to that hormonal shift. However, if you’ve had unprotected sex, pregnancy is definitely a possibility—I know firsthand how quickly things can change.
Your best bet is to head down to a local CVS or Walgreens and pick up a test; then you'll actually have an answer instead of guessing.

I’ve got a full gynecological checkup scheduled for tomorrow, so I'll finally see if there's anything that actually needs fixing... I'm heading to a slightly higher-end clinic—or so they claim—so I'm hoping they might actually be able to figure something out for once.

Alright, just let us know if there's anything we can do to help fix this!

No biggie 😉

rowdyraven11 said:Anything can happen, honestly. It takes a minute for your body to get back to normal after giving birth, so your cycle being off could just be that. But hey, if you weren't using protection, pregnancy is definitely on the table—trust me, I've been there.
Just head down to CVS or Walgreens and grab a test. Then you'll actually know what's going on.

Pretty high chance you're pregnant☕

So, I finally got my hands on the Dabroston tablets. I’m planning to start taking them a few days before my period hits—around July 14th (since I'm heading out on a trip on the 19th)... my last dose should be July 29th, which lines up perfectly with the end of my cycle🙂.
And my period is due in just two days...
At least, that’s what some guy told me
.

"Period delay pills" act as a form of hormonal contraception that can be used to extend a specific phase of your cycle, effectively pushing back your period.

Aside from the fact that suddenly starting a pill regimen only to stop it immediately sounds pretty jarring (which seems to be the plan here), messing with your cycle by flooding your system with unnecessary hormones isn't exactly the healthiest move. You can reschedule surgeries, or just use a tampon for a trip to the beach... I don't know, personally, I’m not a fan of bombarding my body with extra hormones just to skip a period. I could maybe justify it for a surgery, or if it were just for a quick trip to Florida... but is a few days of swimming—which you can handle with a tampon anyway—really worth the hormonal rollercoaster?

I actually started a thread about this exact thing last year. Here’s the link if you want to see the mess I made of it:
But, predictably, it was a total disaster... I tried to push it back so I could enjoy my vacation, sticking strictly to the pill schedule, but the timing ended up being the worst possible moment. I felt absolutely miserable—worse than anything I've ever experienced.

The real kicker is that history is repeating itself. This is the fourth year in a row my vacation coincides perfectly with my cycle. Combine that with the seasonal weather shifts hitting me hard, and when it happens, I’m basically bedridden for the entire trip.

Look, I’m fully aware that messing with your hormones to delay things isn't exactly a health win. But my period lasts a full week, and because the flow is so heavy, tampons aren't even an option. I feel terrible... and let's just say my husband isn't exactly thrilled about the situation either! We only get one big vacation a year... I'm at a complete loss here.

Perhaps it might be worth considering starting on birth control about a month before you plan to take your vacation, just so you can effectively push back your cycle.

Maybe you could just look at scheduling your vacation for a different week during that same month, especially if you already know you won't be able to get in the ocean during that time.

As for me, I’ve had two surgeries so far. They weren't exactly major procedures—they didn't even last more than half an hour—but they were both under general anesthesia. At one hospital in Washington, D.C., they were incredibly strict about everything. They actually checked in with me two days before the surgery, and then again on the day of, just to make sure I hadn't eaten anything. I heard about this one girl whose scheduled surgery had to be pushed back entirely just because of that. In other places, they don't seem to check at all. And I guess since you're wearing hospital scrubs during the procedure, you might feel like you can say whatever you want, but personally, I would never lie about something like that.

A few months after my first procedure, I went to a different hospital in Washington, D.C. for a quick surgery, and the nurses there didn't ask me a single thing regarding my fasting. I actually know of a girl who was on her period and still went through with a general anesthesia surgery, even though her procedure lasted at least an hour and wasn't really that simple.

Kimberly Booth said:It is entirely plausible that you could be pregnant.☕

There is absolutely no way you'll find me agreeing to that. 😁