Post-Nuvaring Pregnancy Symptoms & Period Irregularities - Expert Advice

Question
Hi Brenda. I wrote to you last month regarding some pregnancy like symptoms after I discontinued my nuvaring and was having unprotected sex. You advised me to wait until the 17th of October to test for pregnancy. I am a week late getting my period and have abdominal cramping, food cravings, mood swings, and sore/large breasts. I have heard that coming off BC can have an effect on when you will get your next period. Is this true? Should I wait an additional week or so to test? Also, what is the likelihood that I will conceive even though I haven't had a period? Please let me know asap! Thanks so much again!

Answer
Dear "me!",

Hello again! Discontinuing hormonal birth control can affect subsequent periods/menstrual cycles. The body tends to get used to the influence of the hormones in the BCPs, or in your case the Nuvaring, and it can take a few cycles for the body to get busy and start regulating things on its own again.

The likelihood that you ovulated/conceived after discontinuing Nuvaring use and having unprotected sex is fairly high. Often once the body does not get that hormonal influence which essentially fools it into thinking it is already pregnant (which is what hormonal birth control does), it does go ahead and ovulate. In that situation, you would have had no period before ovulation and/or conception took place.

If I advised you to wait until 10/17 to test, that tells me that you would have expected a period to start approximately 10/10. That also means that ovulation more than likely would have taken place approximately 9/26. If you did conceive, you would be 3 weeks, 1 day today and it is right on the edge of when I personally consider HPTs to be accurate. If you want to wait to give yourself more time to be sure, go ahead. There is definitely no harm in waiting at all. If you did conceive, you will only be 6 days more pregnant. If you did not, you saved yourself some money because you would have wanted to re-test next week anyway.  :-)

I hope that helps. Be well and I will have a good thought for you.

Brenda