Fear of being pregnant

[RN86]

Ive been having anxiety about being pregnant..it gets to the point where i make myself sick..its all i think about. I start to feel pregnant with most of the symptoms.. i took at least 10 pregnancy tests and all negative and even got my period and i still think im pregnant. I fear the pregnancy process, and not wanting to be pregnant at this time...i try to live my life with no stress..but this has become an issue for me

I was diagnosed with OCD a couple of years ago

I have a few things that i have to do and if i dont do it i go crazy
How can i help myself calm down without medication...I feel so sick...its getting bad :( :(
Can a doctor prescribe me something for my paranoia and anxiety :(

[Bub69]

I have OCD and am on one of my obsessive searches. I just want everyone to know the only thing that will help is talking to someone. Please, please, please talk to someone outside of the internet. Yes, it can be a band-aid but OCD is a gaping wound. You need to have someone help you learn how to stitch yourself up. There's always going to be these low points where we sink into our obsessions but remember there are so many great moments right up ahead, right after a terrible drawback. It's all about learning to make those bad moments smaller and further apart.

And remember. Have fun. Have Sex. Be safe. Love lots and love hard. We so often get lost in our own heads and forget that life is short. We have this incredible knack for making things a lot more difficult than they need to be. As hard as it is at times, remember to have fun while you're young and healthy. And continue to have fun when you're old and boring.

Lastly, the right people will love you regardless of who you are, how you feel and whatever illness you have.

I hope this helps someone who's also having a not-so great night. You're never alone.

Now get off the internet.

[marggie07]

Is this OCD? Am I pregnant?

So I was dating this guy for about three months and one night in April we were by ourselves in his living room as his roommates were asleep and I had my first kiss and makeout (just kissing) session. I did drink, and I was feeling pretty dizzy, sleepy, but able to make conversations and remember small details like the sound of the glasses to literally everything he said and what I said and some of my own thoughts at the time too. I defintiley was on high alert cause I didn't want anything scary or regretful to happen like being raped.

Anyways, I was only with him for about an hour (also only having alcohol for over an hour) and ended up coming back to my place, changed and took a shower and woke up in my own bed by myself the next morning, I still had my pad on (I was on my period) from the night before. I was able to recall everything  the next morning (at least I think), but started googling things like people blacking out/browning out and not remembering that they had sex and what not.

I started to make a timely list of all the things I did that night and was able to including how long things felt, like our conversations and what not on the list. To add, I also was fully clothed during the whole night, when I came back my roommates said I looked fine but was just a bit tipsy. I then went to sleep after showering and having a long conversation with my roommate.

I think I remember everything, but I'm scared I didn't.

I def will never ever drink alone with a guy ever again, trust me I learned my lesson.

I'm freaked out because my periods have been irregular for a while now and I'm scared something may have happened that night like having sex and that I may be pregnant. I've had four periods since then and I've taken two tests that both have come out negative but I'm still so worried. I know taking a pregnancy test isn’t at all accurate, even if I was two months and took the test and it still came out negative. I also went to the doctor’s twice but never mentioned that I’m sexually active because I’m not and I don’t think that happened that night.

It's June now and I still am freaked out by this. I do have OCD as well so maybe it could be that? Any insight? I’m never doing this again and I hate myself for it.

That was the last time I saw the guy too, I ended things with him the next day cause I realized some of the stuff he said that night wasn’t at all nice things he said and thought I deserved better.

[Anxiety]

Sometimes, your mind power is really strong which causes you to feel the symptoms of pregnancy. With morning sickness, feeling bloated or no periods. I've had this too and I'm still a virgin. What you need to do is just think positive all the time that you're defenitely not pregnant, and to keep your mind off things. Just keep your self busy do anything you love and dont let it conquer you.

[MomOfHope]

I see this I see this post was a few years ago. My daughter suffers from this and has recently been diagnosed with OCD . Would someone care to comment or message me if you found help/treatment plan that worked. This is taking over her life. Terribly sad situation .

[Russell9993]

I am literally going through the same thing. I've taken numerous tests and all are negative and I've had my period every month but it's been a little lighter than normal. I feel super bloated and feel like my stomach is getting bigger but my fiancé and friend tell me I don't look any bigger at all. I do have anxiety, depression, and phobia based panic attacks so I'm thinking that I've probably developed ocd as well. I'm going to the doctor next week and I'm going to ask for a blood test I'm just scared that even if that comes back negative as well I'm still going to think I'm pregnant .

[Milliemoefoe]

I am so so glad I have found other people who are going through the same thing, i am 17 and a virgin and i am terrified. I used medicated (doesn't say what with on the jar just 100% extra virgin) olive oil as a vaginal moisturiser sometime ago and I am convinced that the oilve oil got me pregnant. I am so scared of being pregnant. I have taken one test, but i fear that i might have taken it too soon. I don't want this to ruin my Chrsotmas but I am so scared. My sister got pregnant at my age and i am worried that i will be the same. My stomach makes me look pregnant and i am bloated and gassy and my skin is oily, I have had 4 periods since then bht they have been irregular by a day or two since and it would seem that they have been slightly lighter. I cannot socialize and cannot explain the fear within me right now. I don't want this.

[Vacated]

i have everything you said and I feel exactly the same I'm so scared I had the pregnancy risk on May 30 and there was no penetration nor ejaculation but there was direct contact between his penis and my vagina  now it's September i had my period on 27th of June and it lasted till July 3 and it was a week late. Then I got it on August and it was a week late too, and now I have my period I took a blood pregnancy test 2 weeks ago it was negative and the doctor told me I'm not pregnant but I just can't help freaking out thy maybe it wasn't accurate maybe it's someone else's blood they've mistaken in the lap (im not crazy i don't know why I think like that) i keep googling symptoms and also I feel so bloated I'm always checking my stomach and looking at it its so scary I feel it getting bigger but the weird thing is that I lost 3 lbs and you're supposed to gain weight when your pregnant. Anyway that doesn't stop me from freaking out I'm crying all the time and thinking what I'm going to do if one day I wake up and my belly is the size of a watermelon  and what my family would do to me. please tell me what happened to you now I know my comment is late but I wanna know how you got over if you did in

[newyorklover001]

Hi there! I am not too sure if I'm replying too late. As all the comments above have shown, I am going through the exact problem. I keep on having a fear that I am pregnant. I did not have sex - but after having 'close contact' with a guy I keep on thinking - what if I had sex but didn't even realize? (I'm a virgin) or if sperm somehow got inside me and I got pregnant.

I took the morning after pill, took three pregnancy tests each week for seven weeks (all were negative) and have had three periods - 6 weeks after the incident I even went and got a trans abdominal ultrasound (which didn't show sign of anything). Besides doing all this, however, I still believe that I am pregnant. I have a stash of money saved in case I need to go for an abortion - and I am so scared that I am too late to get an abortion.

I have no idea what to do. I have thought about being pregnant every single day for the last three months, 24 hours a day. I don't know what to do. This anxiety is killing me, I am too scared to socialize again because of it. All I want to do is go back to my normal life before any of this happened because I just can't go through this every day anymore.

How did you, or anyone out here, deal with their fear of pregnancy? I need advice so badly
Thank you very much x

[Roxydog7]

Please don't get an abortion

[anxietee]

I am dealing with this exact problem and I am a virgin too. I've been thinking that somehow I got sperm injected in me and it's all just a mess. I have this fear/thought every few months for whatever reason and it eventually goes away. I'm diagnosed with depression,anxiety, panic disorder, and paranoia. Usually writing about this fear helps or trying to distract myself does. I hope you're doing better.

[Sr388]

I can't believe other people are experiencing this, too.
I had a pregnancy scare last month. My ex and I hooked up, we used a condom and withdrew. I knew there was no way I could be pregnant, but my body was like clockwork and my period always came on time, so when it was late, I started freaking out (which of course, delayed it more). It came eventually, right before I took a pregnancy test, actually. So I'm okay now. However, I still notice a sort of worry in the back of my mind that I might be pregnant. I have my period right now, and I'm still just stuck on the thought that I'm pregnant and don't know it. I'm worried the thoughts will get worse and in the future, prevent me from getting intimate with people I love.

[wgbirdy]

Oh my gosh. There are people going through the same thing that I am going through. Suddenly I don't feel as alone - although I am sorry for your suffering and wish that this awful anxiety and terrible panic didn't happen to you guys as well!

My boyfriend, whom I haven't seen in about 1.5 months and haven't had sex with for about 7 weeks, had sex frequently, but I was always on oral contraceptives and he used the pull-out method religiously and also condoms (although not as intensely). Yet I can't shake the thought that I'm pregnant. I've taken two at-home tests (both negative) and even had a period, but the fact that the period was a little lighter and different from what it had been like before is driving me crazy. But I do get the feeling that if even everything showed that I'm not pregnant, I would still be afraid... it's really terrifying!

[Aras687]

Can you tell me what helped you get over these thoughts because I'm going through this right now

[lanne33]

All of these posts are old but reading them makes me feel a little less crazy knowing there are people who feel the exact same way I do. Pregnancy is biggest fear. Ive been diagnosed with OCD and anxiety and take medication for it. I know if i wasn't on the meds the pregnancy anxiety would be much worse but it is still present. I find myself always buying tests whenever I go grocery shopping, even if i haven't had sex recently. If I run out of tests I have to go get more, for the constant fear that I will be pregnant and not know it. I had sex about 3 weeks ago and have taken a test every day since that night, all of them negative. We didn't use protection but he did not ejaculate in me, and I'm on birth control. But I find myself worrying about precum, and what if my birth control is not working for some reason. I have the arm implant birth control so I get my period once every three months, which honestly makes my anxiety worse. Ive spent so much money on tests and time worrying, I just hope one day I will get through this.

[crazycrazycrazy]

I feel exactly the same... as you. I had all kind of checks, over 10 pregnancy tests at home, 2 at the doctors' place - all negative; i have my period every month and I even had a routine check at the gynecologist and she made a trans vaginal ultrasound to check for some ovary problem...which is probably the biggest prove and still i am so worried i might be pregnant! it's getting so bad.. now i'm sure im just making up all my symptoms and i know it can't be possible especially since the gyn examination but still i'm still so scared. i don't know what to do. i think i'm just crazy, i keep worrying about it all the time and feeling bad. i'm afraid to tell to people, cause it's just ridiculous and crazy....! and yeah it's getting bad because of checking for what seem to be incredible stories of people giving birth without knowing..
How did you overcome this, it's been already more than 4 months now with my obsession since i had my fist sexual experience.. i don't know what to do about it!

[Michaellaaa955]

Ohmygosh . ive been taking a lot of pregnancy tests and theyre always negative.i have my period normally. But I still freak out! I try to decide between suicide and obsessively googling ways to hide it or detect it or get rid of it and this is taking over my life.. the worst part is that he never even came in me. he pulled out wayyy before on both of the ties we had it unprotected. im on the pill. and the 3 other times we used condoms and they never broke or got holes or anything.. ohmygosh I just wanna know for sure and feel okay again!!

[anonanon123]

is there an email i can reach you on so that i dont put details out publicly?

[anonanon123]

i am having the exact same fear.

[emmy_ocd]

thankyou so much for the advice, i have been on an antidepressant too, escitalopram. but i discontinued the drug because of the side effects and drowsiness that lasts all day long. i am trying not to check myself or the internet but sometimes i get so scared that i start doing it. i know it worsens the anxiety. i am trying.

[nursegirl6572]

You need to stick with the therapy and meds.  What kinds of meds are you on?  You mentioned a benzo, are you also on an antidepressant?  If so, they take time to work, and sometimes you may need a higher dose (which means more time). If not, I would ask your doc about it.  Are you seeing a psychiatrist for the meds?  If not, I recommend that, versus your family doctor.

Therapy is cruicial.  OCD isn't curable, it's a condition you have to manage.  It can be managed, but it's important that you keep working on it until your anxiety is tolerable and you're not still plagued with these thoughts all the time.  I would suggest finding a therapist who is well versed in CBT if possible, and picking up some books to read about OCD.  The one JGF mentioned is a perfect one to start with.  Those series of workbooks are great, they are actually a lot like textbooks, with exercises and all sorts of tools to use.

You must try very hard not to give into the "checking" urges, no internet searches about people not knowing they're pregnant, or getting pregnant from a toilet seat, etc.  Also, any checking you're doing on your body needs to stop too, feeling your tummy, examining yourself, taking pregnancy tests, any of that.  It's hard at first because the compulsions are what an OCD sufferer turns to to help decrease the anxiety, but unfortunately those compulsions make the anxiety worse in the long run.  You MUST try not to give into those urges.

Good luck to you!

[emmy_ocd]

what added to my misery was a news report that a woman found out that she was pregnant only when she went into labor. she was a marathon runner and a mother of two already. how is it possible that she never came to know of her pregnancy? i have normal periods, every month i have them, i took a pregnancy test in feb, after it happened, negative. what should i do now?

[emmy_ocd]

right. i am such a mess right now. i dont know what it is but i feel some movements in my tummy, sudden movements. and that forces me into thinking that maybe i m pregnant GOD FORBID. it has been seven months now, seven! and i m still not over it.

[JGF25]

HELL YES!!!!  Stress is NOT an OCD person's friend.  That is why it is so crucial to have some tools that you can use to help yourself.  Self-coaching, controlled breathing, journaling, etc.  

[emmy_ocd]

do you think OCD strikes back with stress? i have noticed that it bothers me more when i m depressed over something else or if i am generally not feeling very good about everything.

[JGF25]

Then consider seeking out a therapist this time who does teach cognitive behavioral therapy.  I think it will help you immensely.  You are probably under more stress than normal right now and that is why it is back.  

[emmy_ocd]

My therapist did not tell me any such thing. and i havent seen her in a long time now. i have been better though, trying on my own. but it has come back i guess. i m feeling terrible again

[JGF25]

Distraction is a good technique. Are you learning other CBT techniques such as controlled breathing? Or visual imagery such as imagining a red handle and pulling it toward you and saying STOP in your head? There are many techniques and IMO they go hand in hand with medication.

[emmy_ocd]

hey, i know i m responding very late, i have been away, just saw your post. i am undergoing medicinal therapy now, atleast i can sleep well with the benzodiazepines they are giving me. the rest isnt going very well. i have had my 5th period since the sexual encounter and i still freak out at times, thinking about a pregnancy. its terrible. but the frequency of these thoughts had decreased. my therapist says whenever a thought strikes, i should engage myself in some other activity like watching a movie, talking to a friend, studying or cooking. it helps, but to be honest i still keep checking my tummy and look for symptoms. the anxiety is debilitating at times.

[mandm769]

OMG I myself have been feeling exactly like you.  I can't stop searching internet.  It also happened in January and it is now May.  Wow....I haven't gained a single lb.  I've have had four negative pregnancy tests.  I got my period in Feb, March and April.  Now I am freaking out that I am not going to start in May.  I am even feeling like my stomach is feeling bigger and really seems like I feel something moving.  I am freaking out!!!! What has helped you thru this?