Jessie Blake was just 17 years old when she first searched up ‘period delaying pills’ online ahead of her long-awaited summer holiday.
What she didn’t know, was that the cheap pills designed to relieve the inconvenience of a poorly timed period would ultimately have catastrophic consequences.
Just months later, the once healthy teenager had suffered up to 20 seizures, with some so severe that she even found herself in A&E resus.
Ms Blake, 18, from Corringham, Essex, initially took the pill, norethisterone, in August 2023 after hearing about it from friends and family.
Recounting how easily she was able to get her hands on the drug, she told MailOnline: ‘I went to the doctors because they are the people that you trust and the doctor recommended that I take the pills.
‘They did not want to prescribe it to me so I went to the pharmacy and the pharmacist told me that I could order it online from drug stores.
‘After completing a simple online form, the pill arrived in the post a few days later. It was that easy.’
Jessie Blake, 18, of Corringham, Essex (pictured), initially took the pill, called norethisterone, in August 2023 because she had a holiday booked and did not want the inconvenience of a heavy period
Ms Blake (pictured) suffered a decidual cast, where the lining of the uterus is shed in one large piece all at once rather than in small pieces as is typical on your period, after taking norethisterone. She said she wouldn’t wish the pain ‘on my worst enemy’
Norethisterone, often dubbed ‘period delaying pills’, is available online from popular drug stores
Norethisterone is a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone that delays your period.
It works by keeping your progesterone levels high which then delays the shedding of your womb.
It must be taken at least three days before your period is due and can be taken for up to four weeks. After you stop taking norethisterone, menstruation typically begins within two to three days.
While they can be obtained from a GP, the ‘period delaying pills’, are also available online, selling for just £17.99 a box from popular drug stores.
The pills can also be bought online from a number of other popular retailers such as Boots, Asda and Lloyds Pharmacy.
Initially, while taking her daily dosage of norethisterone, Ms Blake said she was in virtually zero discomfort.
But, it was only once she stopped taking the pills that her awful symptoms really began. In November 2023, she woke up in the middle of the night ‘screaming in pain’.
Ms Blake said: ‘I was struggling to breathe, had hot sweats and eventually went to A&E where I fainted because of the amount of pain I was in. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
‘Once I got to the hospital I was put on a drip and felt this weird thing come out of my stomach. I asked the doctor what it was, and he just looked at me and said that he didn’t know.
‘I was just shocked that he had never seen anything like that before.’
The teenager was later told by the doctors that she had suffered a decidual cast. This is where the lining of the uterus is shed in one large piece all at once rather than in small pieces as is typical on your period.
It was only once Ms Blake (pictured) stopped taking norethisterone that her awful symptoms really began. In November 2023, she woke up in the middle of the night ‘screaming in pain’
Rebecca Deicu, 35, of Gloucestershire (pictured), took norethisterone in April 2022 to delay her period and said that ‘the period I had afterwards was by far the heaviest and most painful period I’ve ever had in my life’ and believed that the pill was ‘never, ever worth it’
After test results showed it was non-cancerous, Ms Blake said she was discharged from hospital and offered no further support or guidance.
Decidual casts are not an uncommon side effect of taking norethisterone. In a recent video posted to the social media platform TikTok, one 23-year-old shared her experience of experiencing a decidual cast after taking norethisterone. The video had over 3,000 likes and 160 comments from other women sharing similar experiences.
One commenter said: ‘I ended up in a Greek hospital with awful leg pain and a suspected blood clot whilst taking them. I had numerous tests and blood thinning injections and passed a decidual cast when I got home. Never again!’
Another said: ‘I took it last year for my holiday, started bleeding the day after I stopped having it and passed out three times with the most horrific pains.
‘Never, ever worth it.’
Rebecca Deicu, 35, of Gloucestershire, took norethisterone in April 2022 to delay her period whilst going on holiday and sympathised with the intense bouts of pain experienced by Ms Blake.
She said: ‘The period I had afterwards was by far the heaviest and most painful period I’ve ever had in my life. The cramps were just the worst.
‘I’d like to be made more aware of the side effects of these pills on the back on the box the same way you would if you were taking any other over-the-counter pill.’
After Ms Blake stopped taking norethisterone her periods got progressively worse and she was advised by her gynaecologist to take the medroxyprogesterone injection to help manage.
Medroxyprogesterone is a long-standing synthetic hormone often used as contraception and to help control periods.
Since first taking the injection in January 2024, she has suffered 20 seizures which she describes as ‘utterly terrifying’.
While no doctor has been able to directly correlate Ms Blake’s seizures with either norethisterone or the medroxyprogesterone injection, Ms Blake believes there ‘has to be’ a connection, given that she suffered from no prior medical conditions.
She said: ‘I’ve gone to A&E every time I’ve had these seizures and my most recent one led to me ending up in recuse.
‘It’s so frustrating and I feel lost. It’s like a burden on my shoulder – I can’t go out without worrying I’m going to have another seizure.’
Dr Anne Henderson, a consultant gynaecologist who worked for the NHS for 17 years, has raised concerns about how easily accessible norethisterone is readily available online given the chance of adverse side effects.
She said: ‘Norethisterone is utterly toxic, and I would avoid it like the plague. It is one of a group of extremely strong androgenic progesterone’s that are generally all-round bad news for women.
Dr Anne Henderson (pictured) described norethisterone as ‘utterly toxic’ and said she would ‘avoid it like the plague’
‘If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. It really worries me that women who are in dire situations and who can’t see a GP can easily access this pill online.’
What’s more, Dr Henderson corroberated Ms Blake’s beliefs that her seizures occurred as a result of the period delaying pills and subsequent injection, adding: ‘Seizures are very rare but norethisterone and medroxyprogesterone are steroid hormones so they can have impacts on every part of the body, including the brain and the central nervous system.
‘Being advised to take medroxyprogesterone is absolutely shocking, verging on medical negligence. These hormones were never designed to control period problems anything short of long-term.
‘The data that presents the awful side effects of these hormones is not new, so why are doctors continuing to prescribe these without looking at the cold, hard facts? Women need to be self-educated and question: Why am I taking this? Is this the right thing for me?’
Now, nearly two years since Ms Blake first discovered the pills, she has been referred to a Neurology Hospital in London for further tests and treatment.
There, doctors believe that the decidual cast she passed ultimately caused trauma to the brain, under the Functional Neurological disorder, that may eventually be treatable by therapy.
This means that while there may not be an overt issue present in Ms Blake’s nervous system, her seizures are occurring due to an ongoing problem with the brain’s function.
When asked if she would recommend period delaying pills or the medroxyprogesterone injection Ms Blake’s response was clear: ‘Absolutely not.’
She added: ‘The experience has been horrendous, and nothing is changing. There really needs to be more support and research into both the pill and injection.’
MailOnline has approached the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for comment.
