QuestionI have a question about a strange period that I just had. I am always very regular and I always bleed pretty heavily especially within the first few days.My periods also usually last between 5-7 days. I usually use super or super plus during this time. I got my period or at least I think it was my period on Sunday night and it was a strange kind of clearish pink color. I was at my parents house and I hadn't brought any tampons so I borrowed a tampon from my sister. She is on Birth control so she uses the really skinny light kind of tampons. I thought it was going to not be nearly enough protection for me and I even commented to her how I couldn't believe that she could use them. Well I went to sleep and in the morning I hadn't even begun to fill the "light" tampon up. it continued like this and never really got any more. It was a little red for about a few hours but now by Wednesday night it has completely gone and was barely enough the whole time to fill one regular tampon. about two weeks ago I had unprotected sex and we used the withdrawal method. I took a pregnancy test today and it was negative. Could it be possible that I still am pregnant even though the test came out negative? Is it too early to tell? Is this even possible? Could this have been implantation bleeding? I am not taking any birth control. I am just kind of freaking out here and I am at a loss as of what to do.
Thank you so much,
Lyra
P.S. Sorry for the long drawn out question. I just wanted to give as much info as I could so I can get the best answer.
AnswerDear Lyra,
Sorry about the delay in answering - I am actually supposed to be on vacation from 12/21 through 1/6, but the system apparently did not set correctly. I happened to check in to make sure and saw there were 3-4 days worth of questions, so I will attempt some very brief answers while I have a house full of company pulling me in a thousand different directions!! :-)
If you had unprotected sex during the last cycle, then you cannot dismiss the possibility of pregnancy. The withdrawal method would not be considered "protected" sex. Historically, it is fairly ineffective because pre-ejaculate (the little bit of semen that seeps out before actual ejaculation) can have a high concentration of sperm cells contained within it. Plus, if you have regular 28 day cycles, 14 days prior to your period beginning would have been right about the time we would expect you to ovulate and be the MOST fertile.
Now, 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 (which it sounds like you almost did). 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. Anytime you do test, make sure to use 1st morning urine to get a concentrated sample for the most accurate results.
This time of year, with the increased stress, traveling, change in diet, etc,..., women can experience hormonal imbalances like crazy. This leads to all manner of menstrual irregularities. However, with the unprotected encounter, you'll have to be sure.
I would suggest waiting another 5-7 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 and a Happy New Year.
Brenda
