Someone asked us: Is there a way to make your period come? I’m two weeks late.
If you’re on Tik Tok, you may have seen videos about how to make your period come if it’s late. Or, you may have heard a friend or relative talking about a home remedy to bring back periods. The practice of taking something to make your period come, also known as menstrual regulation, has been in use for a long time, in many places around the world. But there are some things about it you should know.
In general, if your period is late or it doesn’t come a few weeks after having unprotected sex, our recommendation is to take a pregnancy test to see if you’re pregnant or not, and then go from there and talk about your pregnancy options.
However, there are reasons why someone may not want to — or may not be able to — take a pregnancy test. For example, the fear, anxiety, and other emotions that can come with finding out they’re pregnant; the cost of taking a test; the shame that may come with talking to a doctor or nurse about a late or missed period; or even differences in cultural beliefs about fertility and the role of periods in our lives and our health. Whatever the reason, there are people who turn to menstrual regulation when faced with a missed period.
It’s important, though, to know that using herbs, seeds, teas, or other home remedies to bring back periods or try to make your period come faster can be risky or dangerous, since these could cause poisoning, an allergic reaction, or some other type of interaction that may cause you harm.
Instead, some people use pills to make a period come if it’s late. The medicine that is usually used is misoprostol, but sometimes mifepristone is also used. Like people who choose to self-manage an abortion with abortion pills, people may take these pills to make a period come safely up to 10 weeks from the first day of their last period. Periodpills.org has more information about the use of pills to make your period come.
If you live in the U.S., it’s important to know that, depending on the state you live in, there may be legal risks with using pills to make your period come if it’s late. The Repro Legal Helpline has more information about this.
Have any more questions about periods or pregnancy tests? Our Chat/Text educators can help!
Tags: pregnancy, missed period, late period, misoprostol