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Another "Pregnant? or just Stress-induced missed period?" question

By March 30, 2009 - 8:05pm
 
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The start of my most recent period was on Feb 26 - projected ovulation date being March 14, projected next period March 28 (via MyMonthlyCycles, where I have been keeping track of my period for 1 year). Average cycle - 30 days.

We had protected intercourse on March 3 and 24. The condom didn't break; slipped down maybe an inch but we pushed it right back up.

Now my period is 3 or 4 days late (depending if you count the 28th), with no usual signs of cramping etc that I normally get. Took two HPT's and both came out negative. Discharge looks normal, no tenderness of breasts or anything. I have had a little bit of an upset stomach but I think I may just be getting sick - I am under quite a bit of stress.

I know it's unlikely that I am pregnant, but I am paranoid since I can't afford to have a child right now. I have heard that stress really can throw off a regular period (I have been regular for 8 years now), but I have a hard time believing it since I am so paranoid... help? I don't know what's wrong with me!

Have a GYNO appt coming up in a month, but I'm the type of person who likes to know without going to the doc! It sure would be nice if my period would come!

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EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

Hello,

My name is Amy and I am about 10 days late for my period. My last one was on August 10th and I had sex on the on August 20th and again on september 4th. I usually have normal periods but the last one was 3 days late and I just started having sex with my boyfriend of 4 years. We have only done it a hand full of times so i was wondering if that could be the reason why it is late? Also we used protection every single time. there was never any problem with any of the condoms and although the "pull out method" isnt acutally a method we still do that as well. he has never even come close to ejaculating inside of me we usually finish with my hand. I recently have had all of my friends move to different states do to college and I have moved to another country. I am living with a family that i have never met before and my grandfather died about two weeks ago. I dont know if this is stress or if i should really be worried. I have taken 3 of the most expensive german pregnancy tests you can buy around $30 each. they were taken after 4 days and 8 days. I am scared because living in another country with my boyfriend not here is not an ideal predicament. does anyone have advise?

September 17, 2009 - 7:49am
(reply to Anonymous)

Hi Amy,
I am sorry you are stressed and worried! Hopefully some more information will help.

You have been using two forms of birth control each time you had sex: condoms and the "pull out method" (yes! this is an actual method, called the Withdrawal Method and you can read more about it at the orange hyperlink).

Condoms are up to 98% effective when used consistently and correctly with each act of intercourse, combined with the pull-out method (which is only about 84% effective by itself)...equals very effective birth control, and makes me think that your grandfather's passing, as well as being in a new environment, most likely has "caused" a late period. Home pregnancy tests are about 99% effective at detecting the "pregnancy hormones" after a missed period, yet another sign that you are most likely stressed and not pregnant. How long do you plan to be out of the country? Do you have a doctor that you can see in Germany, in case your period does not start soon? Reasons for a late period can be many, including pregnancy, stress, recent illness, new medication or a medical condition. Many women's cycles fluctuate for seemingly no reason, and as you said your previous period was "late", you may be experiencing another "late" period.

The normal range for a cycle is 21-35 days, if that helps put your cycles in perspective. Am I correct that you are on day 39 of your cycle? If your period does not start in the next few days, you may want to call your gynecologist "back home" or see a new doctor in Germany (where I assume you are now?), just to rule out any medical conditions...but again, cycle fluctuations are normal and some women may even miss a period one month from stress and environmental changes (and, this can be normal).

I hope this helps!

September 17, 2009 - 2:49pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I'm 26 and was on birth control pills for a few years to help control heavy bleeding on my periods. I recently stopped my birth control pills, and realized with age and weight stabilization (moving from underweight BMI to normal) that my periods were normal and regular for 2 months. I had my last day of my last period on August 21. I made the horrible mistake of having unprotected sex with my boyfriend (Aug 3), but he did not ejaculate inside. I've missed my period by a few days, but am feeling quite pre-menstrual. I had a throbbing pain over my right ovary during half of the day on Sept 8. Today I had a couple of spasms on the left side. I typically have been having 30 days cycles for my last two cycles. Also, around the time when my boyfriend and I had sex, I did not believe I was on my peak ovulating time because the discharge was thicker than normal. I'm hoping I'm just having a stress-induced late period! I have a huge stretch of exams coming up next week..Please let me know what my chances are of being pregnant. (I will be taking a pregnancy test first thing tomorrow morning)

September 16, 2009 - 2:33pm
(reply to Anonymous)

What are your pregnancy test results?

We can't know an exact figure on what your chances of being pregnant are, but anytime you have unprotected sex, you have a chance of pregnancy. It sounds like you and your boyfriend used the "pull out" method (or Withdrawal Method), which has about a 84% effectiveness rate for pregnancy prevention (you can click on the links below for the website to learn more about this birth control method). It is not as reliable as condoms (up to 98%) or hormonal contraception (99%), but it does offer some protection (although, some experts believe there may be sperm in the pre-ejaculate, even before your partner ejaculates).

You do not need to be actively ovulating to become pregnant, as sperm can live inside a woman's body for up to 5 days when she is fertile....so estimating the time of ovulation after-the-fact (without using a ovulation tracking method) would just be a guessing game and not provide us with much information.

Just for future reference, the important dates to know regarding your cycle is the FIRST day of your last menstrual period (you said Aug 21st was the last day of your last menstrual period). To know how long your cycles are, you count the first day of bleeding as "day 1", then count each consecutive day until the next time you begin bleeding, which would start over with "day 1". The number of days in between is your cycle length.

September 17, 2009 - 2:59pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I had unprotected sex about a month ago, and just last week took a pregnancy test twice (one at night and one the next morning.. it was First Response)... they both came out negative. I already had some type of bleeding 2 weeks ago, and my next period is due in about 2 weeks. But I've been extremely constipated ever since and it leads to bloating and although I do eat, I never really feel the need to. I'm not tired, no breasts tenderness, no nausea, just the heavy feeling in my stomach after eating. I had to take laxatives to get a good bowel movement and it worked great, but right after I got all constipated again. Should I take another pregnancy test? Or do you think this is all from me still thinking that I'm pregnant?

September 11, 2009 - 11:22am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

Okay so i've been reading these posts and im thinking you may be able to give me some insight.. I am a few days late i do believe for my period. Im thinking almost a week. About two weeks ago my boyfriend and i got a little frisky, we didnt have sex, we never have but we did give oral to one another and there was a little anal involved. We are usually very very careful but i fear that maybe some sperm was on his hands or maybe the sperm slid from when he was performing anal to the vaginal area? i dont have any symptoms of pregnancy, my stomach cramped a little the past 2 days as if i would start my period but my discharge is normal and im just very nervous. Its my first week of college so im a little stressed and im just not sure what to think or do. Im planning on testing if i dont get my period in a week. Any advice?

August 31, 2009 - 10:22pm
(reply to Anonymous)

Hi, Anon, and welcome. So glad you found us.

From what you write, my best guess would be that your period is late due to stress and change. Since it's your first week of college, things have been hectic and new for you, and that's enough to make our cycles several days late. Anytime we're hit with a big load of new stress, our hormones can freak out a little and our cycle can change.

From what you describe, I would say that yes, it's possible that you could have gotten pregnant, but there's only a very small chance. If he had ejaculate on his hands or if some slid down into the vaginal area, it's possible that sperm could have entered your vagina. But it's not likely.

Concentrate on school, wait another few days, try not to stress as much, and I think it's very possible that you'll start your period soon. If you don't, I think that testing in a week is a very reasonable thing to do.

September 4, 2009 - 9:21am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

Hi,

I am not sure whether or not I am pregnant or if the stress in my mind about it is freaking me out. I usually have a 28 day cycle period and my last period was July 27th and it lasted until the 30th. On the 16th I was at party and "fooled around." I don't remember much but I know I was fingered and he was inside of me for only a few seconds, but I'm not 100% if he ejaculated. I know we didn't have complete sex though because he wasn't able to. I had a UTI after that that went away on it's on around the 23rd (I didn't go to the doctors.) My expected period was the 25th and it came it right on time, at first it was brown (like the first time I ever had my period) and then the next day it was the usual red color with the clots. My period is usually heavy on the first couple days, and this was not. I wore a tampon and pad and on the 26th the pad did fill up, and I did even leak so I know the period wasn't spotting. But on the 27th I had a tampon and pad and the pad did not fill up at all. On the 28th, I wore a pad that was slightly filled with brownish/reddish discharge that I normally get when my period is ending. I also had some of that on the 29th. I'm not sure if that was period though because it was not as heavy and did not feel the same. My breasts are not sore or anything, but I did have cramping in my stomach and back/mood swings a couple days prior to the 25th when I got my first day of blood, so it could have been PMS but I'm not sure. I've also been extremely constipated, but I was able to go to the bathroom today finally, and I read that was also a sign of pregnancy. I just started college so I don't know if the stress of being away/thinking I'm pregnant is causing all of this, or if I could actually be pregnant. If anyone can help/give me advice that'd be really great.

-Scared

August 31, 2009 - 9:05am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

Hi everyone. I'm 19 years old and unsure whether or not I'm pregnant.

Here's the background. I was tracking my period for a few months. I got it on Feb 11th, March 14th, and April 13th. In May, my boyfriend of 2 years had to leave to another country for the summer which was extremely stressful. Anyway, a lot of drama happened and he cheated on me and broke up with me over the internet while over there. That was in June. July I was depressed. So that is the reason I probably stopped keeping track of my period...because of all that drama. I don't know the dates of when I got my period or if I even got my period in these past three months (May-July).

Anyway, in early August this month, I unfortunately had a rebound. We had unprotected intercourse the 3rd or 4th of August, but it was short and he did not ejaculate inside me. That doesn't worry me. Then we had unprotected intercourse every day from the 10th to the 13th or 14th. One day he was wearing a condom for a bit but we kept going for awhile so he took it off. He did not ejaculate inside or ejaculate at all during either session. He never ejaculated either time we had sex, but I'm just scared because it was unprotected and we had so much sex and one of the times we had sex for 3 hours which was pretty vigorous too.

The last day, 13th or 14th, is when I was expecting my period to come based on the pattern from Feb-April (but I can't be exactly sure when I should have been expecting it since I did not keep track of it for the past three months). While we were having sex, there was brown discharge that appeared on him. I had to wear a panty liner for three days after. The discharge did not smell and was enough to reach the panty liner. No pink blood either, just brown old blood. My regular period did not come though.

The thing is, the 13th or 14th my parents found out I was sneaking out to see this guy so I had a huge fight with them. Oh and the 18th-20th I did go camping which was hella stressful what with all the hiking and whatnot. And the other day (26th) I had another huge fight with my mother. The biggest fight ever.

I am a worry wart by nature and I get so stressed out that I have heart palpitations and chest pain sometimes. So the more I wait for my period to come, the more stressed I get that it hasn't come yet which I think delays it even more. And I've also been trying to figure out what to do about the rebound guy as well. Not to mention trying to still forget about my ex…and all the other episodes that happened this month…

I took an HPT a few days ago and it was negative but it was expired about a year so I know I can't trust that. It's been two weeks past the guessed expectation of my period. I don’t have any symptoms of pregnancy like the sore breasts or nausea or cravings. The closest I’ve gotten to symptoms was bloatedness or gas but I always get that during my period so it’s unreliable. From everything I've said, what are the chances I could be pregnant?

August 28, 2009 - 11:41am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Anonymous)

Hey, I'm the same poster as the one above. Just took a new pregnancy test that wasn't expired and it turned out negative.

August 28, 2009 - 12:10pm
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