QuestionHello,
I'm concerned about several symptoms I've been experiencing as well as the possibility of pregnancy. While I haven't been medically diagnosed with amenhorrea, I have not had a period for 6 months. Since beginning menstruation my cycle has always been regular, lasting between 26-29 days. My last period was August 07--about the same time I became ill with colitis (pregnancy was ruled out by a urine test @ the doctor's office.)
A month ago (Mar 2) I had unprotected sex with my fiance but he did not climax. The end of that week (Mar 7) we had unprotected sex again and he did climax, so the next morning (Mar 8 ) I took plan b. I am currently not on any form of birth control but my fiance and I always (except this time) do use condoms. Given the length of my normal cycle, I'm guessing I had sex on days 5 and 10--that is if my normal cycle length still applies given my stopped menses.
The weeks after taking plan b I noticed an abundance of thick, creamy yellow discharge with no odor. I took a pregnancy test two weeks after our Mar 2 lovemaking and it was negative. However, the past couple weeks I've been experiencing bloating (my stomach is visibly swollen), fatigue, cramping, lower back pain, hot & cold flashes, a hint of nausea, and frequent urination with a feeling of never quite emptying. With these symptoms I've become concerned about the possibility of pregnancy again! I took a pregnancy test april 2nd (4 1/2 weeks since our first unprotected sex and 3 1/2 since our second) and the result was still negative. What could be happening? Could plan b still be affecting my hormone levels a month after taking it OR could I be pregnant??? I have been relatively stressed as well.
PS--I have taken plan b once before, last March. I didn't notice any affect on my cycle...only my stopped menses 5 months later. I do remember having similar bloating. I also had the hot & cold flashes but they began more near the time I developed colitis. They had quieted down but seem to be back with a vengeance now. I welcome your thoughts!
AnswerDear Giselle,
Are you having any increase in your UC symptoms? We do know that stress can cause flare-ups of the UC and also that UC can go into essentially a remission for many months or years and then flare up again. It may be that your concern about this and/or the other stress in your life, as well as the additional hormones from the EC may have caused a small flare-up in the same types of symptoms you had before your UC was diagnosed.
Gynecologic disorders occur commonly in women with UC, although they have received relatively little study. Disruption of normal menstruation could be related to impaired ovarian function due to the stress of chronic disease, multiple surgeries, or poor nutrition. Initial reports suggested that women with ulcerative colitis were subfertile, although more recently it has been stated that fertility is not affected by ulcerative colitis. Since you have not had a period for six months, I would suspect that you are experiencing impaired ovarian function, causing a lack of ovulation.
A missed period has many underlying causes that actually determine whether or not ovulation has occurred. A period or menstruation is the bleeding that occurs about 12-16 days after ovulation (the release of an egg from the ovary) takes place in a woman. After ovulation has occurred, what occurs with the egg decides whether or not a woman will have her menstrual period. If she gets pregnant and the egg is fertilized, there will be no bleeding although ovulation did occur. If no fertilization occurs, the uterus will shed its lining (a period).
If ovulation does not occur in a woman, no egg is released from the ovary, and hence technically there should be no bleeding or periods in the woman at all in that month. So if a woman is not pregnant and does not get her periods, it is typical that no ovulation has taken place. This is known as anovulation or anovulatory cycle. Most often, women who do not ovulate also do not menstruate, a disorder known as amenorrhea, or do not menstruate regularly (oligomenorrhea). Because of this tendency, scant, erratic, short and/or painless menstrual cycles can sometimes alert a woman or her doctor that there might be an anovulation problem.
Also, the symptoms that you describe may very well be related to the hormones in the EC (emergency contraception). If you have tested for pregnancy almost 4 weeks after the unprotected encounter and it was negative, I would suspect you are not pregnant. I would suggest that if the symptoms do not dissipate in the next few weeks, you should test for pregnancy again to make sure. Make sure when testing that you use 1st morning urine to get a concentrated sample for the most accurate results.
I hope this has helped you and answered your questions. I wish you well.
Brenda
