Norethisterone 5mg Tablets for Period Delay – 30 or 60 Tablets

Norethisterone is a prescription-only progestogen — a man-made form of the hormone progesterone — used to delay a period for a short time, for example for a holiday, an exam, a wedding or a religious occasion. It keeps progestogen levels up so the womb lining is not shed until you stop the tablets. At Ways Pharmacy it is supplied only after a pharmacist has checked your cycle, health and medicines and confirmed it is suitable for you. Norethisterone is not a contraceptive.

How to access this medicine

1. Start your free online assessment. Complete a short questionnaire and confirm your identity by uploading photo ID or showing it on a video call. The questionnaire asks when your next period is due.
2. Pharmacist reviews and speaks with you. A GPhC-registered pharmacist contacts you by phone or video to confirm whether this medicine is suitable for you. The pharmacist checks the timing and explains exactly when to start and stop. If you are 16 or 17, a parent or guardian must join the video call.
3. If suitable, we send you a payment link. Once the pharmacist confirms the medicine is suitable, we send you a secure payment link for the confirmed pack by email or message. You can also call 020 8106 7084. If it is not suitable — including when the pharmacist recommends advice only — you pay nothing and the pharmacist explains your other options.
4. We post your medicine or you collect it. Orders paid by 3pm on a weekday are posted the same day (see our shipping policy), or you can collect from our Holborn pharmacy.

There is no separate consultation fee. If the medicine you chose is not suitable, the pharmacist may suggest another option.

Please order in good time: the tablets need to be started at least 3 days before your period is due.

About this medicine

Dosage

• One 5mg tablet three times a day, at evenly spaced times
• Start at least 3 days before your period is due — the tablets cannot stop a period that has already started
• Keep taking them for as long as you want to delay your period. Your period usually starts within 3 days of the last tablet.
• The maximum is 30 days of treatment, including the 3 days before your period is due (up to 90 tablets) — a delay of up to about 27 days — once in any 6-month period. If you want to delay periods more often, please see your GP.

The pharmacist will confirm your start date and the pack that covers your plans. If you could become pregnant, use condoms or your usual contraception while taking norethisterone. If you take a combined contraceptive pill, ask the pharmacist about other ways to delay a period. See our period delay service for more information.

Warnings and who should not take this medicine

• Anyone under 16, or who is or might be pregnant, or is breastfeeding
• Irregular periods, or unexplained bleeding between periods or after sex
• A previous blood clot (DVT or pulmonary embolism), a strong family history of blood clots, or a recent or current heart attack, angina or stroke
• High blood pressure, migraine with aura, or diabetes affecting the blood vessels
• Liver problems or liver tumours, or jaundice or severe itching during a previous pregnancy
• Breast cancer or another hormone-sensitive cancer, now or in the past
• Severe depression, an anxiety disorder, psychosis or another serious mental health condition
• Long periods of being immobile, or major surgery planned in the next few weeks
• A rare inherited problem with galactose or lactose
• Medicines that can interact with norethisterone, including some epilepsy medicines (carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital), rifampicin, some HIV medicines and St John's wort — tell the pharmacist everything you take

Possible side effects

The most common are changes to your bleeding pattern, such as spotting. Breast tenderness, headache, bloating, mood changes and changes in appetite or weight can also occur. Blood clots are rare: stop taking it and get urgent medical help if you have a painful swollen leg, sudden chest pain or breathlessness, or a sudden severe headache or changes to your sight or hearing. If your period does not come within a few days of stopping, take a pregnancy test.

Regulatory information

• Legal status: Prescription-only medicine (POM), supplied under a Patient Group Direction after pharmacist assessment
• Pharmacy: Ways Pharmacy, 77 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4ET · GPhC-registered premises 9012227
• Patient information leaflet: electronic Medicines Compendium (emc)
• Report suspected side effects through the MHRA Yellow Card Scheme

This page gives factual information about a prescription-only medicine and is not an advertisement to the public. It is supplied only after a pharmacist has assessed that it is suitable for you.