Possible Pregnancy Symptoms: Understanding Implantation & Early Signs

Question
Ok I am not sure of the last date of my last period but it was    in the last week or so of July I took an ovulation test and I ovulated the 10th and 11th. It was the 25 and I started bleeding it was light sat. heavy Sunday and gone Monday no it is dark brown. Not at all like my normal period. I think it might be implantation bleeding. I feel nauseas all the time I don't feel very hungry and my belly sticks out more than usual. I have taken like 15 test and they have all said negative. What do you think and what should I do?

Answer
Dear Brooke,

I can't even imagine how much money you have spent if you have taken 15 tests already!!  :-)

Here's the deal - the bleeding may very well be implantation bleeding or it may have been an unusual period due to hormonal fluctuations. The symptoms you describe are hormonal in nature and can be related to an early pregnancy or to those hormones. That is why it is so difficult to "diagnose" a pregnancy based on symptoms alone.

If you have done that many tests already, they were likely done a bit early. I usually recommend that women wait until after the full week of a missed or spotty period before testing. I would suggest that you wait another 5-7 days and re-test if you still believe that you may have conceived. Make sure when testing that you are using 1st morning urine to get a concentrated sample for the most accurate results.

Please note that hCG will not increase enough to change a test's result in 24 hours - or even in 48 hours sometimes this early on. It really is generally a waste of money to test more than every five days.

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

Brenda