I want to start this text by saying that under no circumstances do we encourage the use of medication or remedies to bring on your period without medical guidance. This article serves only to give guidance for when the period has been absent for a long time, offering options for women who are concerned about missed periods.

Menstruation is a nuisance for many women. It’s awful to deal with “Miss Red” visiting every month, whether due to heavy flow or a special outing that falls right on those days. However, when your period doesn’t come, that’s also a cause for worry and lots of questions. Is it pregnancy? Some disease? Could it be something serious? Among participants in our survey, 25% said they had already used some kind of medicine to bring on their period, so this isn’t an uncommon problem. There are some medicines that can help induce menstruation, like those based on progesterone. And as also found in our study, 36% of participants would take medication to help with menstruation, especially women who have difficulty menstruating — 51% of them.

Menstruation can be late for several reasons1, such as thyroid disorders, changes in prolactin, or other hormonal imbalances that can make the cycle irregular. For menstruation to happen regularly, your body also needs to be balanced, producing and releasing the necessary hormones. Many factors can disrupt these hormones, including stress2, routine changes, use of medication, and some health problems.

Late Period: What Should I Do?

The first thing to do when your period is late by more than 5 days is to take a pregnancy test if you are sexually active. If you want, you can buy high-sensitivity pregnancy tests from the Famivita brand. After doing the pregnancy test and ruling out this possibility, the next step is to assess whether the late period is due to any medication that may be affecting your hormones. Medications like these are always hormone-based, such as oral contraceptives, injectables, implants, morning-after pills, and many others. These types of medications directly affect menstrual flow and can bring on, delay, cause spotting, or even cause absence of your period.

How Medicines to Induce Menstruation Work

Now, having ruled out the first hypotheses, it’s time to see if it’s really necessary to use medications to bring on menstruation. If the delay has already reached more than 10 days, it’s possible to introduce hormonal medication to help regulate your cycle and normalize your period.

Methods to Induce Menstruation

The main medication to help bring on menstruation is one based on progesterone3. Artificially increasing progesterone levels in the body acts like a mask, tricking the body into thinking it has ovulated and stimulating the activity of the corpus luteum. Since there is no pregnancy, when the woman stops taking the medication, hormone levels will drop drastically, finally causing menstruation to occur due to withdrawal of hormones. The most well-known brands of progesterone-based medicines for these purposes are: Utrogestan, Provera, Duphaston, Crinone, and others.

Ways to Control the Menstrual Cycle

The gentlest way to induce menstruation with medication and with fewer symptoms is through vaginal suppositories. Because they are milder in composition, they are not taken orally, but are less effective.

Vaginal application is beneficial because it acts directly at the source, without circulating through the body, so there’s no need for high doses. Utrogestan, for example, is recommended for adult women who need to regulate their periods. Pregnant women can also use it with no major problems, since it’s a progesterone-based medication (a hormone very common in pregnancy). There is also the natural option of yam, which contains a substance similar to the hormone estrogen and may help hormonal balance. That’s why women who want to naturally regulate their cycles, or even get pregnant, are advised to use yam capsules from the first day of menstruation until the first day of their fertile period.

Side Effects

Strictly oral medications are stronger, but just as effective as vaginal applications. Although they are absorbed differently, they still achieve the same goal. It’s worth noting that these oral medications may bring some symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, breast tenderness, among others.

Any woman can take these medications, as long as she is not allergic to synthetic progesterone. But the ideal dosage should be decided by the doctor, as well as the number of days of medication use.

Hormonal Cream

There is also the cream option! Yes, a cream is a medication in cream form that should be applied on the skin, more specifically on the leg. However, the problem with the cream is its rather unfriendly price. Thus, hormonal creams are most often recommended after procedures such as fertilization and artificial insemination, both due to their cost and their formulation with more natural rather than synthetic progesterone.

For controlling your cycles, there are several possibilities, both contraceptives and hormone-based options that do not interfere with fertility, with hormonal regulators being one example. However, since every body is different, studying your type of cycle and whether the use of medications is truly necessary is something that should be decided by a specialist.

Remember: your doctor is the right person to suggest which of these medications is best for you! Talk to your doctor and get rid of amenorrhea!

Questions from Readers

My period is often late. Should I be worried?

Very irregular periods or frequent delays do not necessarily mean a serious problem. However, they are a clear sign that your hormones are not quite right. It’s a good idea to seek medical advice, as it can be a sign of diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome.

How often can I use these medications?

These medications should only be used in specific situations and under medical supervision, not as an ongoing treatment. If your cycles are irregular or you simply do not have periods, it’s best to consult a doctor to understand the cause of these problems and really find a solution. If you are diagnosed with polycystic ovaries don’t despair, there is treatment!

Also see: Irregular Period – How to Help Your Cycle Get Back to Normal