Questioni've been on the pill for about 3.5 months now and my boyfriend and i never use a condom because we assume the chances of getting pregnant on it are slim on the pill. anyway, i got my last period about a month ago like normal. in addition to feeling incredibly tired lately, a few weeks later my breasts felt incredibly tender. ive never experienced this before as a side effect of the pill or anything for that matter. as a result, i was a little concerned i was pregnant and took a test. came back negative. continued to take my pill daily. since then, in the last week and a half-2 weeks breast tenderness has been off and on...lessed for a few days, then came back, now its not there as much any more. took another test again and came back negative. at this point i'm assuming i'm not pregnant but havent gotten to my next period yet so dont know if i'll miss it or not. i have two more pills in the pack before i start the placebos.
1: if i was in fact pregnant and i was continuing to take the pills could it have terminated the pregnancy, thus why the symptom i was having has lessened the last few days?
2: should i not take the last two pills in the pack just in case i am pregnant or should i continue to take them?
3: since i haven't even been through a full cycle yet to have a missed period are the tests accurate yet? do i have to wait until after a missed period to get an accurate result?
4: if i'm not pregnant what could be causing the on and off breast tenderness?
5: given this information, how likely do you think it is that i'm pregnant?
AnswerDear Kelly,
Well - I think I'll kind of go backwards with your questions...
Given all of this information, my first inclination is that you are not pregnant. You have been having your periods as you expect to up to now and have had two negative tests. Although an unplanned pregnancy occurs with approximately 1-3% of BCP users, it is unclear how many of those were compliant with their pill-taking regimen. So, as long as you have not missed any pills or gotten off schedule in any significant way during the last cycle, I would not suspect a pregnancy has occurred.
The breast tenderness and fatigue are symptoms often created by hormonal fluctuations within your cycle. They may or may not be related to your BCP use, even if you had not previously experienced these symptoms before. Symptoms can sometimes develop over a few months time. The "on and off" nature of the tenderness suggests that it has to do with the fluctuations in your hormones.
Most often I do suggest waiting until after a missed period to test for pregnancy. This is typically when women can rely most on the result. The nature of the BCP, however, is to fool your body into thinking it is already pregnant and suppress ovulation. If there is no egg to fertilize - conception cannot take place. If you are having your period as expected thus far, that tells me that your body is recognizing the drop in hormones, realizing it is not pregnant, and shedding the uterine lining as it is supposed to do, when it is supposed to do it.
Yes, I would take the last two pills in the pack if you want to protect yourself from pregnancy and keep the hormonal balance that has been established with the BCPs thus far. Many women have continued to take the BCP without realizing they have gotten pregnant and have gone on to deliver healthy full-term babies. It would take a very large one-time dose of the hormones (safely prescribed by a doctor) in CERTAIN BCPS to prevent a pregnancy from occurring. As long as you have tested negative and have not missed a period, I do not think you have to worry about continuing your BCP use.
I hope this information has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.
Brenda
