Does Ibuprofen Stop Your Period?

You may have experienced a time when you were younger where you took a high dosage of ibuprofen while on your period to try and kill the pain of your cramps, and found that not only does it get rid of the pain, but it also seems to completely stop your period. No matter how old you are now you might still want to try and stop your period for a short amount of time using ibuprofen, or just to know whether or not it actually works.

How Ibuprofen Works

Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory, over the counter pain medication. It stops pain in your body by inhibiting enzymes that tell your brain about the pain you are feeling. Because your brain does not receive the information those enzymes would be sending it, it cannot tell the source of your pain to swell to try and fix the pain problem; thus ibuprofen is also anti-inflammatory. These two factors can make taking ibuprofen in small doses very helpful when you are on your period, because you will bloat less and you will not feel the pain of your cramps thanks to the active ingredients in the drug. Because it is not a prescribed medication, you can easily get your hands on it.

Why Ibuprofen May or May Not Stop Your Period

There is a hormone in your body called prostaglandin. In essence, this is the hormone that helps your smooth muscles (such as muscles in your stomach or uterus) know when to contract and when to relax. Ibuprofen can inhibit prostaglandin from doing its job, and the result will sometimes mean that if you take ibuprofen while on your period, the flow may be stopped completely. This can sometimes be true of tylenol as well.
In order to stop your period with ibuprofen, you have to take high doses of the drug – about 800 mg doses three times a day. That’s about three little red pills taken three times during a 24 hour period of time, or once every eight hours. Alternately, you can take one or two pills every four hours. Do not do this for a prolonged amount of time! The most you should try to take this much ibuprofen is three days maximum. Ibuprofen is not a prescription for stopping women’s periods – depending on the woman and the period, it may not have any effect on the shedding of the uterus. Always talk to a doctor if you want to stop your period; they get paid to help you fulfill your health goals, and they can give you access to safer methods.

The Dangers of Overdosing on Ibuprofen

Ibuprofen can stop your flow, but it might not, depending on individualities of your body and how heavy your period is. If you try to stop your period by taking large doses of ibuprofen, you need to know the risks that you are going to put your body to. Again, only take high doses of ibuprofen at the instruction of your doctor, and be careful!
Your stomach will be more prone to ulcers, because of the deregulating effect ibuprofen has on prostaglandin. This can lead to internal bleeding in your stomach, nausea, etc. For some people, taking ibuprofen will cause blood problems – some bodies react by clotting blood randomly, others react by inhibiting blood clotting, so if you get a wound, your body can’t stop the bleeding. Both can have deadly consequences. There are other side effects of ibuprofen, such as digestive and breathing problems that are associated with taking high doses of the drug.

In Conclusion

Does ibuprofen stop your period? You will have to experiment to find out for yourself. High doses of ibuprofen (and by the same virtue, tylenol) can stop your period. However, it depends on a lot of factors that are mostly outside of your control. You should be very careful if you decide to try and stop or lessen your flow by taking ibuprofen, because taking too much can do a number on your stomach lining. If you really want to stop your period, talk to your doctor. Doctors can give you safer, personalized prescriptions that will be more likely to have the desired outcome for you with less of the risks.

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8 tips on how to stop your period for one day

Why would you want to stop your period for one day? Maybe it is your birthday tomorrow or you are planning a special night with your boyfriend but you can’t enjoy yourself because you have period bleeding and cramps?

There are eight ways how to stop your period for one day or at least a few hours.

1.  Take Ibuprofen

        Three Ibuprofen every six hours on a full stomach will give you a relaxed day without your period. Stay under the maximum dosage for a day and don’t do it every day. Ask your doctor before you start taking so much Ibuprofen to stop your period. There are other things you should know about taking Ibuprofen to stop your period, read “Does Ibuprofen Stop Your Period?“

     2)   The natural way
        You won’t be able to stop it completely this way, but it will be very light. First drink a lot of water, take a bath and drink a few more glasses of juice. Most important, eat healthy and excercise. Your body needs vitamins so eat a lot of fruit too. A secret tip are greenbeans. All these ingrediens will give you a very light period.
      
3)     The party solution
        Alcohol stops your period for a few hours, but you can’t get drunk every time you want to stop it so this method has a very limited use.
     
4)     Vinegar
        Though vinegar can’t stop your cycle completely it can slow your flow and regulate your period. Add two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in a glassful of water and drink it. During your period, you could do this three times a day.
     
5)      Hide it
        If you are planning on having sexy time with someone, you should consider this method. Use these round spongy make up pads and your flirt won’t notice it. Another solution is to use a tampon cut to a third or half. Keep the string attached to make it easier to pull it out.
      
6)     Gelatinstop your period
        With this method you can stop your period for a few hours. Buy gelatin from the grocery store and mix a package with water. Drink it fast and in about three hours your period should stop.
      
7)     Lemon
        That’s a tip your old aunty would give you, but it works. Suck on a piece of lemon and your period will stop or at least cut short. Read more about how to stop your period with lemon.
     
8)     Ask community
        If you want to know what other women do to stop their period ask a question on community.
        
9)    Bonus Tip
        If you are considering permanent solution, read this article: How to Stop Having Periods.

Every women and therefor every period is different. Not all of the tips will work for every women. Try a few and see what has the best effect on you. If you exeriencing pain or heavy bleeding go and see a doctor.

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