QuestionWas on BCPs from March to April, ever since my menstrual cycles have been 38 days. Hormone test came back fine. Now my fiance and I are trying for a baby. Even before we never used any sort of protection and I never got pregnant. I purchased a BBT, and seemingly ovulated and got fertility pills as well. Still waiting for a period, but am very discouraged because of a negative pregnancy test already which 1) may have been too early 2) is a Rite Aid brand 3) was left overnight in a car in the freezing cold. But I have all the signs of an impending period such as breaking out, bloating, crying for no reason, having the appetite of a horse. Im so frustrated I want to cry, why wont I just get pregnant? Im young, shouldnt it be easy?
AnswerDear Ashlee,
Many women have this frustration. Even though it seems as though it SHOULD be easy when you are young - for some women it just isn't.
The tracking of your basal body temps should help you determine when you are ovulating. Are you familiar with how to track those accurately? If not, let me know and I can give you some guidelines.
Also, watch the changes in your cervical mucus. Mucus varies from dry, to sticky, to creamy, and changing to an "egg-whites" consistency right before ovulation in most women.
In regard to testing for pregnancy - I always recommend waiting until the week after a missed period before testing for pregnancy to make sure the hCG level is high enough to read positive if a pregnancy exists. Always make sure to use 1st morning urine to get a concentrated sample for the most accurate results. A generic brand may not be not as reliable as a brand name, however it's difficult to know since accuracy studies are rarely done on generic or store brand products. I would suspect the test should definitely be left at room temperature for at least 24 hours prior to use.
I hope this information has helped you and answered your question. I hope very much that you have some better results in your efforts. I will have a good thought for you.
Brenda
