Possible Pregnancy Symptoms Without Pregnancy: Causes & What to Do

Question
I have been having symptoms of pregnancy for about a week: tired, using the bathroom alot,extremely nauseouss in the morning without vomiting and besides the fact I haven't had a period since 5-10-07 but I took a pregnancy test a it was negative and I was checked for a UTI and multiple STD's and STI's all negative do you have any suggestions

Answer
Dear Yolanda,

If you have had unprotected sex since the last regular period, pregnancy cannot be ruled out as a possibility. The test may have been done a little bit early or perhaps the urine was not concentrated enough to get a high enough level of hCG since it is this early.

If you continue to have symptoms of early pregnancy, I would recommend testing again every week for the next few weeks. Otherwise, if tests continue to come back negative, the symptoms you describe are hormonal in nature and there are many various causes for amenorrhea (absence of periods) - pregnancy being just one. Others can be:
-Hormonal abnormalities, which cause fluctuating levels of the hormones needed to support menstruation
-Emotional or physical stress / Depression
-Rapid weight loss or gain
-Change in diet
-Low body weight
-Obesity
-Frequent or strenuous exercise
-Cysts or tumors in the ovaries
-Thyroid or Pituitary dysfunction
-Certain medications or drug use
-Menopause OR Premature ovarian failure (menopause before age 40)
-Occasionally stopping birth control pills

The general recommendation is that if you miss three consecutive periods and pregnancy is not the reason, you should see your doctor so that a cause can be determined. More than likely your doctor will do a quantitative blood pregnancy test (serum beta hCG) to make sure that pregnancy is ruled out as an option.

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

Brenda