After sexual contact without barrier protection, many women resort to emergency contraception drugs. One of these is Postinor. However, guaranteed protection does not provide any of the funds presented on the modern pharmacological market. What to do if there are no periods after Postinor? How long can the delay last? You will find answers to these and other similar questions in today's article.
Brief description of the drug
"Postinor" refers to emergency contraception. The manufacturer is the Hungarian company Gedeon Richter. She developed the drug specifically to prevent pregnancy in the first 72 hours after sexual contact without barrier contraception.
The active substance is the synthetic hormone levonorgestrel. It does not allow the full development of an already fertilized egg, inhibits the process of conception in the early stages. The drug is produced in the form of white tablets with a protective shell. In one box are 2 such pills.
Mechanism of action
Before using the drug, you need to familiarize yourself with the principle of its action. In the female body, 2 hormones are most active: progesterone and estrogen. In the absence of reproductive health problems, they harmoniously interact throughout the menstrual cycle.
The principle of action of levonorgestrel is largely similar to the work of progesterone. However, the activity of the former is about 150 times stronger. Therefore, it is impossible to exclude the delay of menstruation after the adoption of Postinor. The effect of emergency contraception is carried out in several stages:
- Blocking ovulation, as a result of which the egg does not exit the ovary and does not enter the fallopian tube.
- Hormonal surge and rejection of the endometrium against its background.
- Spermatozoa that have managed to penetrate the female body are deprived of full activity and fertility.
Some believe that the use of a medication can be a trigger for a miscarriage. In fact, such an opinion is erroneous. If the fertilized egg has already managed to gain a foothold in the uterus, the development process has begun, pregnancy is inevitable. "Postinor" in this case does not have the desired effect. It allows you only to prevent conception, but not to terminate the pregnancy.
Application features
Is there a delay in menstruation after taking Postinor? The answer to this question depends not only on the characteristics of the body, but also on the proper use of the drug. According to the instructions attached to it, the main indications for use are the following:
- sexual contact without barrier contraception;
- skipping a pill of a contraceptive taken;
- failure of another method of contraception, for example, rupture of a condom.
The package contains 2 tablets. The first pill must be taken as soon as possible after intimacy. The maximum allowable period is 72 hours. The second pill should be taken 12 hours after the first. The effectiveness of contraception directly depends on following these rules. For example, a woman drank a pill in the first day after sex. In this case, its effectiveness is 95%. A prolongation of up to 50 hours reduces the likelihood of preventing an unwanted pregnancy by up to 58%.
Acceptance of funds is prohibited in the following situations:
- irregular female cycle;
- lactose intolerance;
- pregnancy period;
- teenage years;
- chronic ailments of the liver and / or kidneys.
With the correct use of the medication in a healthy woman, menstruation occurs on time. However, there are very few such lucky ones. How long the menstruation delay after Postinor will last depends on the individual reaction of the body to its components.
Effect on menstruation
The use of "Postinor" blocks the onset of pregnancy, and also affects the state of the reproductive system. One of the tangible consequences is a shift in time of critical days, a change in discharge.
According to statistics, after taking the second pill, menstruation comes on 2-5 days. At the same time, the volume of secretions and their qualitative characteristics rarely correspond to the usual ones. They can be abundant or, conversely, smearing. Dense dark clots in secret are a normal physiological response to levonorgestrel.
The main reasons for the absence of menstruation
Could there be a delay in menstruation after Postinor? As part of the drug, the shock dose of the hormone is concentrated. Therefore, its use can affect the state of the whole organism. One of the common consequences is considered to be a delay in menstruation. Among the causes of this violation, doctors consider the following:
- Hormonal disbalance. This is the most commonly identified cause of a lack of menstruation. The hormone levonorgestrel not only prevents the onset of ovulation, but also affects the endocrine glands. In this case, a full menstruation does not occur within 3 months. Such a violation requires therapy through hormones.
- Increased blood coagulation. Most of the endometrium or the inner layer of the uterus falls on the vessels. As a result of its rejection, blood can coagulate even in its cavity. Therefore, the first menstruation after emergency contraception is scarce and has a brownish tint. Such a reaction is considered physiological, should not be accompanied by anxiety.
- Incompatibility of drugs. Some drugs negatively affect levonorgestrel as a hormone to block ovulation. These include medicines for the treatment of the following pathologies: stomach ulcer, tuberculosis, epilepsy, HIV.
- Overweight. Delayed menstruation after Postinor is often found in obese women. Therefore, before using the drug, they need to consult a gynecologist to clarify the required dosage.
- Age. For girls under 16 years of age, this tool is strictly prohibited. In the process of formation of the hormonal background, any external influence can lead to irreversible consequences. In addition, women over 40 should take Postinor with caution. Hormonal disorders often provoke the approach of menopause.
- Ignoring possible contraindications. Women suffering from kidney or liver failure who have had hepatitis risk artificially provoking a delay in menstruation. In this case, the selection of an emergency contraceptive requires the consultation of a gynecologist.
- Alcohol abuse. Alcohol neutralizes the effect of levonorgestrel. The combined use of emergency contraception and alcohol negatively affects the expected result in most cases. Also, some women begin to experience problems with the menstrual cycle.
- Inflammatory processes in the uterus. "Postinor" can enhance the course of diseases of the reproductive system, such as colpitis, vaginitis, endometritis.
- Pregnancy. The delay in menstruation after the "Postinor" with a negative pregnancy test may indicate the fact of a successful conception. A home test often shows a false negative result. To confirm the presence of pregnancy, a blood test should be taken to determine the hCG indicators. If the result is positive, there is no need to interrupt it. The substances included in the preparation do not harm the development of the embryo.
Periods for delaying menstruation
How much delay can there be after menstruation after Postinor? A tolerance of 10-14 days is considered a tolerance. It is quite normal if the next 2-3 months menstruation goes irregularly. This is due to a large dose of the synthetic hormone that has entered the body and brought about a malfunction in the endocrine glands. It usually takes up to 4 months to restore the background.
The critical delay in menstruation after Postinor is called when there is no spotting for 30 days or more. In this case, a woman must visit a gynecologist without fail to identify the cause of the deviation. A lady with regular disruptions in the menstrual cycle needs to be consulted by a specialist and medically eliminate the hormonal disorder.
Lean menses
After the “Postinor”, women are faced with the problem of poor menses quite rarely. This condition is oligomenorrhea, and it is due to increased hormonal effects. Over time, the disorder should disappear on its own.
On the other hand, when poor periods are observed after unprotected intercourse and emergency contraception, it is important to exclude the fact of pregnancy. Most often, drawing pains in the lower abdomen and a small amount of discharge are a side effect of taking the drug. If such symptoms do not disappear over several cycles, you should consult a gynecologist.
Complete absence of menstruation
After Postinor, there are no periods (delay) - this is not the only consequence of taking the drug. Sometimes a medication causes a significant hormonal imbalance. This violation leads to a complete absence of menstruation. In this case, you should immediately contact a gynecologist. In this case, the following health problems are usually diagnosed:
- disruption of the ovaries, which requires a long recovery period;
- complete ovarian dysfunction (sometimes leading to infertility);
- failure of hormone secretion.
These are far from the only reasons why there are no periods after Postinor. It all depends on the characteristics of the woman’s body and the presence of concomitant health problems. In any case, in the absence of menstruation, qualified medical assistance is required.
It is worth noting that Postinor is a completely safe drug. However, a reservation is important - there are no contraindications to taking the medication. It is not suitable for all women.
Negative Test and Delay
After Postinor, many women are confronted with the various consequences of this method of contraception. One of these is an ectopic pregnancy.
Delayed menstruation always suggests the successful fertilization of the egg, but the test shows a negative result, and the level of hCG is growing. The described changes are characteristic of an ectopic pregnancy. In this case, the egg is not attached to the uterine cavity, but in the ovaries, fallopian tubes or peritoneum. Soon, the first signs of pregnancy may appear: pulling pains, discomfort in the mammary glands. Most women attribute these symptoms to premenstrual syndrome, because the test has already refuted the alleged conception.
However, it is impossible to ignore an ectopic pregnancy, since it can threaten a woman's life. Such an example once again proves the need to seek medical help to establish the reasons for the delay in menstruation after Postinor. When the menstruation begins, in this case it is very dangerous to wait.
Doctors Recommendations
What to do with a delay in menstruation after Postinor? Reviews of doctors indicate the need for qualified medical care.
After studying the history of a woman, a gynecologist usually gives a referral to a complete examination of her body. It includes standard blood and urine tests, as well as a study of the reproductive system through ultrasound diagnostics. This diagnosis allows you to understand the reason for the delay in menstruation after taking the drug "Postinor".
If the results of the examination reveal malfunctions in the endocrine system, additional consultation with the endocrinologist may be required.
In general, treatment for menstrual irregularities involves the use of hormonal drugs. Their dosage, as well as the choice of a specific remedy, remains with the doctor. In addition, it is the specialist who determines the duration of the course of therapy.
In some cases, and only as a complement to the treatment, traditional medicine recipes are used. To restore the cycle, decoctions of the following herbs have proved themselves well: milk thistle, parsley, tansy, wormwood.
Pregnancy after Postinor
If a pregnancy test shows a positive result after using emergency contraception, there is no reason to panic. To establish the accuracy of the result, you can take a test for the level of hCG. This analysis is the most informative and shows a reliable result already 10 days after the date of the proposed ovulation. After the final confirmation of pregnancy, you should not be afraid of the effect of Postinor. The drug does not harm the embryo inside the womb. Probably, such a pregnancy in the future will require more attention and observation by medical personnel.
Conclusion
The menstrual cycle is a fairly complex system, which is a kind of reflection of women's health. Any malfunctions and irregular periods indicate a problem. They are extremely important in a timely manner to identify and eliminate through a therapeutic course. You should not wait for many weeks when the menstruation begins with a delay after Postinor. Doctors' reviews warn of the unpleasant consequences of such ignoring symptoms. In some cases, they end in problems with conception and childbirth.