Can Antibiotics Affect Your Period?
It’s well known that antibiotics can change how your body works, but can antibiotics make your period later? When your period comes late and you don’t know why, it can be stressful. Read the article below to find out more about how antibiotics can change your period.
Does Taking Antibiotics Affect Your Period?
Changes in our habits or in the medicines we take can affect our menstrual cycles. Even though a lot of people think that taking antibiotics will make your period come later, there is no research to show that this is true. Researchers have looked into the question, “Can antibiotics delay your period?” and found that they usually don’t have any effect on when your period starts.
Some women think that antibiotics and when they get their period have something to do with each other because infections can make you feel more stressed, change the way you sleep, and throw off your schedule. Stress does play a role in late periods, which is why it might seem like the antibiotics you’re taking are the reason why your period is late when it’s really the stress you’re going through.
Rifampin and Period Irregularities
Most antibiotics do not affect when a woman’s period starts, but one antibiotic may have an effect on the menstrual cycle. Doctors have found that the antibiotic Rifampicin, which is used to treat the symptoms of tuberculosis, can cause abnormal bleeding, more pain and cramping, a longer time between periods, and for a short time, no periods at all.
If your doctor gave you rifampicin, you should talk to a doctor who is part of the Brithika about how it might affect your period symptoms. Now, can antibiotics make your period late if you are also taking another prescription, or can antibiotics delay your period? If they are not rifampicin, the most likely answer is no.
Can Antibiotics Change Your Period Symptoms?
You might notice that your period is different when you are sick and, as a result, probably stressed and taking over-the-counter pain relievers. Because ibuprofen and aspirin can change how your period’s blood flows. Stress can also cause your period to come early, last less than usual, be late, or be lighter or heavier than usual. If you want personalised medical care and answers to questions like “Can antibiotics make your period late?” or “Can antibiotics delay your period?”, you should talk to your doctor or OB-GYN.
Taking antibiotics can also lessen the effectiveness of birth control. Studies have shown that the antibiotic Rifampicin, which was already mentioned, can change your hormones. This means that it can also change how well birth control works. But if you are worried about taking antibiotics and how they might affect how well your birth control works, you should talk to your doctor.
Other Medications That Can Impact Your Period
Now that you know antibiotics can cause your period to be late, it might be a good idea to find out about other medicines that could affect your period. Some medications that have been shown to affect menstruation and the menstrual cycle are:
- Hormonal methods of birth control can make your periods lighter and shorter. Women who have heavy, painful, or long periods are sometimes given birth control as a treatment.
- Coumadin is a drug that keeps blood from clotting in the body. Some women take it for a short time after surgery or for a long time if their doctor tells them to. This is because it keeps blood from clotting. But this medicine can make you bleed more or for longer than before.
- Estrogen and progesterone are sometimes given to women to help ease the symptoms of perimenopause. Even though these can make women feel better, they can also change your cycle by making it more regular, heavier than usual, or less predictable.
- If you take thyroid medicine for hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, it could change your period or even cause you to have periods that don’t happen every month. Because it makes some of the hormones that tell your body what to do, the thyroid is an important part of the menstruation process.
- Aspirin and ibuprofen are painkillers that can also help keep blood from clotting. If a doctor tells a woman to take aspirin regularly, her periods may be longer and heavier.
- Epilepsy medication is important for preventing and treating seizures, but it can also cause changes in the length of a woman’s menstrual cycle, missed periods, or periods that come at odd times.
- Many women with mental health problems need to take antidepressants. However, after taking this new medication for a few months, many women notice changes, such as delayed periods, heavier bleeding, missed periods, and cramping.
- Chemotherapy is an important part of treating cancer, but it can also change how your hormones work and how often you get your period. When some women get treatment for cancer, their periods stop or become very irregular. After treatment is done, most women go back to having their periods every month.
If you start a new medicine and your period changes at the same time, you should talk to your doctor. In some cases, like with antidepressants, your doctor may switch you to a different drug if the side effects of the first one hurt your quality of life. It’s best to never start or stop taking your medicine without first talking to your doctor
Why Is My Period Late?
If you aren’t taking a new drug or antibiotic and your period is late, it could be because of something else. Some of the most common reasons why women of all ages and stages have their periods delayed temporarily are:
- Pregnancy
- Weight loss or weight gain
- Birth control
- Stress
- Excessive exercise
- Perimenopause or menopause
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- Hormone imbalances
When to Consult Your Doctor About Changes to Your Period
Some changes in your period can be hard to deal with and may require a trip to the doctor. When do you make an appointment with your doctor or OB-GYN?
- You haven’t had a period in 60 days or it has stopped completely and you are under 45.
- You’ve missed three periods in a row.
- You’re having a period in between.
- You notice sudden unexplained changes in your menstrual cycle
- You think you might be expecting a baby.
- During your period, you have a lot of pain or discomfort, which lowers your quality of life.
Noticing Irregularities with Your Period? Brithika Affiliated Providers Can Help
It can be scary when your health changes quickly, especially if it has to do with your period or your menstrual cycle. You should be able to talk about your worries, and doctors who are part of the Brithika are here to help.
There are caring and skilled health care professionals in the who can help you if your period is different than usual.
Do you need an OB-GYN who will listen to your worries and help you? Through excellent women’s health care, we want to help you feel your best at every stage of your life.
The Brithika is a group of independent doctors and medical practise groups that work together to provide better health care. The members of the Brithika have nothing to do with each other legally or financially. There are no formal business, financial, or legal ties between the Brithika brand and any of the affiliated physicians or practise groups.
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