Brown Spotting After Possible Conception: What Could It Mean?

Question
OKAY! So, I had my last 'real' period June 23 (I have a fairly regular 28 day cylce, but I usually only bleed for like 5 or 6 days). And I had unprotected sex a few different times from after my period until about July 8th (pull out, I know I'm stupid.) So my next period should have been July 21, but on the night of the 20th I started spotting brown. That continued, verry light (only sometimes pink) for only 3 days. On the 25th I took a HPT and it was negative. On August 3 I started spotting brown again, but this time it was sometimes red. I took another HPT on the 5th, again negative. I've still been brown spotting, but now it's only when I wipe. I'm always tired, my boobs are definately fuller, I'm breaking out where I usually don't (jawline & back) and I've been feeling VERRRYY bloated. Could I still be pregnant even though I had 2 negatives? Please and thank you so mcuh for any kind of feedback! :)

Answer
Dear Shannon,

With a LMP date of 6/23 and a history of regular 28 day cycles, you would have been expected to ovulate on approximately 7/7. So you would have been most fertile between about 7/4 and 7/8. If you had unprotected sex during that time (especially), you cannot dismiss the possibility of pregnancy.

The symptoms you describe are hormonal in nature and can also be related to hormone fluctuations within your cycle. That is why it so difficult to "diagnose" a pregnancy based on symptoms alone. The spotting may simply indicate a bit of a hormonal imbalance this cycle.

Although some tests claim accuracy on the first day of a missed period, I usually suggest that women wait until the week after a missed or spotty period before testing for pregnancy. This tends to minimize the incidence of false negative results and also avoids wasting money on a test for a simple delay of a period by a few days. Make sure when you test that you use 1st morning urine to get a concentrated sample for the most accurate results. I would suggest waiting another five days and testing again. If those results are negative, you can either wait for the next cycle to see if your periods resume or have your doctor's office do a quantitative blood pregnancy test (serum beta hCG). That test will give an actual amount of hCG in your bloodstream rather than just a positive/negative result. Any amount of 25 mIU/ml or more would be considered positive for pregnancy.

I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.

Brenda