Late Period & Negative Pregnancy Test: What Could It Mean?

Question
Hello, I'm 26 years old, and about a year ago, I stopped taking the pill.  My periods are usually right on time, this month, I'm late. I was kind of worried, kind of excited, so at  four days late, I took a HPT.  It came back negative.  I took it at night, because the instructions said that I didn't have to use the first morning urine. I'm afraid to try again, because I was so disappointed to see only one line, but now I'm six days late, and still no period.  What should I do?

Answer
Dear Becky,

If you have been having unprotected sex, you cannot dismiss the possibility of pregnancy. I usually recommend that women wait until the week after a missed or spotty period before they test for pregnancy. This tends to minimize the incidence of false negative results. Under these circumstances, I would recommend that you re-test in another few days.

Regardless of what the instructions said, concentrated urine will have a higher amount of hCG if pregnant. And when the pregnancy is in the first few weeks, the normal values are so low that you want the urine to be as concentrated as possible. So I would also suggest that you use 1st morning urine.

If the results are negative once again and you continue to suspect pregnancy, you can re-test every week. For some women, the hCG rises slowly and some women have complained that they cannot get a positive reading until they are several weeks into a pregnancy.

Otherwise, there are many various causes for amenorrhea (absence of periods) - pregnancy being just one. Others can be:
-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 (but not at this point for you, where you have had normal periods up to now since you stopped)

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.

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

Brenda