QuestionHi, my husband and I have recently started trying to concieve and start our family. I was on the birth control pill for about a year or so and have been off it now for around a month and a few weeks. Ever since then, we have been actively TTC.
My problem is that because I went off of the birth control pill I cannot tell if the symptoms I have been having for about two weeks now are hormonal imbalance or are indeed pregnancy.
I did not get a period for october except for some very light bleeding the 2nd day I was off the pill at the very beginning of the month. I still have not seen my period and feel no signs of it coming.
I have had on and off mild lower back pain as well as mild pain/cramping in my abdomen every now and then as well as feeling little twinges too. I am very thin so I've also noticed a change in my stomach in that it feels almost hard and very bloated. My breasts started to hurt about a week and a half ago. They feel very sensitive(overly so) and it feels like every little movement can be felt to an extreme, even if my arm brushes up against it while sleeping. The nipple area is also very sore.
I've become more emotional than usual and I'm not sure if this is due to the stress of wondering and hoping for a baby or if it is due to pregnancy. Lately, it just seems like every little thing can set me on edge or make me cry.
I've also noticed an increase in my appetite, I am a lot hungrier than I normally am and more often than I normally am and am eating more as well.
Another thing I have been noticing is that I have been waking up earlier than normal or that I'd like to for about a week now. It's usually an hour or two earlier than I am supposed to get up. Not sure if this has anything to do with pregnancy or not but I thought I might as well add it in there!
I have taken three pregnancy tests(two of which I probably took way too early)but the 3rd one was taken about a week after I was supposed to get my period if I had still been on the pill and I still got a negative result. Do you think it may still be too early to tell or do you think these things may not be pregnancy related at all?
Thanks for any help you can give!
AnswerDear Trisha,
Well... all the symptoms that you have mentioned could definitely be attributed to early pregnancy. I would not say all could be attributed to going off the pill. Now the whole waking up thing - that may just be the daylight savings time switch (depending on where you live)!
If I am calculating right without actual dates, the 3rd test would have been taken a couple of weeks ago? That is assuming you ended your pill use at the end of a full cycle, which is actually what you should do. It just makes it easier because it is so common for women to bleed within a few days after going off the pill. So if you finish a cycle, you know it's an actual, full, regular period.
If you did take the test a couple of weeks ago, my advice is to wait another two weeks. By then, you will definitely know whether you are incredibly late or not. And if you are pregnant, your levels should be plenty high enough for a HPT to be accurate. Make sure you use 1st morning urine for the most concentrated sample and most accurate results.
If that test is negative, I'd say your body is just having trouble getting regular again. Sometimes it takes a little while for your body to regulate itself again after the pills have been doing it. By the time it does, you may well be pregnant. :-) (Try keeping those hips elevated with a pillow for about 30 minutes right after sex.)
I wish you fantastic luck in your efforts!
Brenda
