Warning: This will be pretty long.
I'll begin by saying that I do not chart my cycles with temperature changes or checking cervix...both of which I have read about on many different websites. I used to just write down when I would start, end, and when I had intercourse. The problem with just writing it down is that I would lose the notebook every now and then, and wouldn't have the information I needed when I needed it. A few months ago I found an app for charting on my phone and that is what I am going off of now.
My cycle has never been regular. I may have 28 days for two months straight and then go to a 32 day or even a 37 day. Aside from in my teenage years and while I was on Depo Provera, 37 days was my longest cycle. That is, until this month.
December 2010 my cycle fell between Christmas and New Year. I remember this because I was visiting family that used a septic tank and I could not flush my tampons. The next cycle was almost a week later than normal and began on February 6. This is when I started my app chart. This period lasted 5-6 days. That is pretty normal for me to go about a week on my period.
The next cycle was very out of the ordinary. 13 days after my period ended I started experiencing symptoms much like my pregnancy in 2005-06. My breasts were aching, I had cramping and my mood had gone sour. Within the following weeks my breasts continued to ache and I was extremely tired all the time. My normal sleep cycle is not normal anyway, but instead of not being able to sleep well at night and not being able to get up in the morning, I was asleep by 11 and up by 7 every morning for weeks.
My boyfriend and I had had unprotected intercourse several times throughout this cycle and I started thinking that these were definitely symptoms of pregnancy. Every day I would get up and my breast felt full, though they never really grew. Throughout the day the fullness would disappear, but I would get what felt like growing pains in them. I had headaches, I was put off by certain things I smelled, I never threw up, but I felt like it before breakfast and sometimes late at night. After cycle day 34 I started taking pregnancy tests, all of which came back negative. I gave up on the tests, thinking I was wasting my money and I would wait until I was in the 50th or so day of my cycle to test again.
Finally, on cycle day 48, I started spotting pink and brown. At first I was heartbroken. I really wanted it to be a pregnancy. The spotting went on into a light flow for 3 days. It was all pink or brown and enough for a tampon, but not my normal flow by any means. There was never any bright red or any cramping involved. On the third day it disappeared completely, but I did spot once more the day after, just before bed.
That was March 27, 28, 29 and the last spotting on the 30th. Since then I am still having strange symptoms. My breasts are not full in the morning, but they still have what feels like growing pains. Sometimes my nipples hurt so bad that it feels like someone's pinching and twisting them. I have a constant dull headache. I've been nauseous every day, but not to the point of throwing up. And I've had strange crampy feelings and a tapping sensation in my lower abdomen.
I don't necessarily think I'm pregnant. I would love to be, but I just don't see it as something that's possible now that I've had that bleed. I have heard that some women experience bleeding while pregnant. And to be honest, I haven't taken any other pregnancy tests because, like I said, I really don't think that's it as much as I would love it to be.
I guess what's I'm really asking is if anyone has experienced these kind of things and what it could be. Have you had these symptoms and turned out pregnant? Or have you had these symptoms and it turned out to be something serious?
I'm 30 years old, I have one child and I've been off and on trying to have another for three years. Is it time to visit a fertility specialist? Am I getting so carried away with symptoms that I'm starting to create them myself? Help!