Could I be pregnant? Help! So confused...

[Katertot]

I’m 28 years old, and not on any sort of birth control. I’m not TTC, but if it happened, I’d be happy. I got my last period on 11/4. My boyfriend and I had unprotected sex the night of the 18th, which was supposedly the day I ovulated, according to my chart. I was supposed to get my period this last Wednesday. On Tuesday I started spotting light pinkish in the morning, so I assumed it was AF, stuck in a tampon and went about my day. I had cramps, it felt like a normal period. I only bled enough for less than 2 tampons full between Tuesday and Wednesday though, and then it just STOPPED. It was gone for the second half of Wednesday and all day Thursday... then last night I saw my boyfriend and we had sex cause my period was "over"... at like 4 a.m. when I went pee and wiped there was bright red blood color on the TP... but not even enough for a tampon then. I thought my period had come back... but then this morning it was just brownish discharge. I usually have a 28 day cycle, like clockwork, and my period lasts about 4 to 5 days. So this has not been a "normal" period, if that's what it is. I’ve read about implantation bleeding… I don’t think that’s what this is. I’ve also studied up on Decidual bleeding, which sounds far more like what I’m experiencing. But I just can’t tell. Yesterday I finally broke down and took a HPT, which of course came out negative. I was pregnant briefly when I was about 23, and tests came back negative until I was a week late, so I wasn’t surprised by the result, but I'm starting to go a little nuts. I'm hoping for it... but I keep getting my hopes up and then being disappointed... so I'm trying to just be calm and realistic right now. Any thoughts? I appreciate your time. :)

[Katertot]

Really? I didn't know that actually... good to know. I initially used tampons on the first two days because I thought it was AF... but as soon as things lightened up, I didn't need them anymore. I don't even own anything else, lol. I've only used tampons since I was a teenager. But not to worry... I stopped using them on Wednesday. Only used a couple. I was just comparing the amount of blood/spotting I had on toilet tissues to how many tampons I think it would have needed. Hopefully I didn't do any damage... :( Now I'm concerned about that too!

[worriedbabe]

Do NOT use tampons whilst there's a chance you could be pregnant. It can cause infection. Use towels.

[Katertot]

Thank you for the responses, both of you. I really appreciate any sort of feedback right now... I feel like the more I read, the more I stress. I should really stop, but the internet is such a vast resource, I just can't help myself!! :) So here's my update: AF, if that's what it was, is long gone and I don't think she's coming back again. The sum total of my flow added up to about 4 tampons (TMI I know, but if you're reading this, you're probably ok with it, right? lol) with the majority of it being on Tuesday, which would have been the day before AF was due. That was the only day I had the severe cramps and any sort of flow that would require a feminine product. By Wednesday afternoon it was completely gone and didn't return until late Thursday night when I had that bloody show... Friday morning, brownish discharge, fairly light, that just got lighter and lighter and was completely gone by Saturday morning. I would assume this is just spotting, as I didn't even need a pantyliner. So that was my entire "cycle". Completely abnormal for me. Normally I start light, have two heavy days, and then it trickles off for 2 or 3 more days, sometimes even 4 or 5 with just brown discharge at the end... so this cycle was not my norm. Everything I've read on Decidual bleeding sounds exactly like what I had happen. Of course, it seems to vary slightly with each woman's individual story... but I've ready many that are nearly identical to mine and the women wound up being several months along before they found out...

So now that AF (or whatever it was) is over, now what?? How long should I wait? I took the first HPT the day after I was due, which was way too soon. What a waste. I knew I shouldn't have opened it. But after the two week wait, I was dying to know. I figure I should wait until I would have been at least a week "late" for AF, so that would be the 7th... I will test again then. But what I've read on Decidual says that many times you will get a false negative if you've had any bleeding because your hormones are all out of whack. So how long before I can expect a result that might be accurate? I don't have insurance right now (I'm a waitress...) so I can't go see my GP, as I don't have one. I looked into the Planned Parenthood option, and they do pregnancy testing there... so if I test again and get another negative result, I think that may be my next step. I certainly can't wait until next month to see.... I'd lose my mind by then.

As to "symptoms"? I just don't know. Like I said before, I was prego briefly when I was younger, so I remember what it felt like, and can imagine that I'm making up symptoms in my head for something I'm just hoping for. I'm sure you all can relate. But this is what's going on, symptom wise for me: I've had a runny nose for days. Nothing serious, just annoying. Also mild headaches and sore back, both of which I attributed to AF. Today I feel like my boobs are getting sore and feeling heavier than normal... but that could just be becuse I keep poking them to see if they're sore, lol. I cried for an hour last night for no reason, couldn't stop... that was fairly telling in itself. This morning I swear I can smell everything and smells are making me sick to my stomach a bit, and my ginger ale tastes really odd. I still have mild cramps, but they don't feel like period cramps. They aren't painful... more like it feels like a good stretch. I haven't thrown up or anything, and everything I think I'm feeling could be entirely imagined... but I'm starting to think maybe it isn't. I hate this wait. I thought once I made it to the time AF was due, my two weeks would be over... I just feel like I'm losing my mind. Does anyone have any personal experience with Decidual bleeding that they can share with me??? The one thing I'm noticing on all these message boards as I read about it, is there never seems to be any follow up! Just tons of confused women like myself, asking for answers to the questions they're having about their bodies... but none of them come back on afterwards and let people know what the result was!!! It's so frustrating. I want to hear how the story ends! So, if anyone... ANYONE has anything they can share with me about this topic, I would be sincerely grateful. Thank you sooooo much for reading my novel! :D

[MsKitty84]

Hate to say it, but you are pretty much going to have to tough it up and wait. I can tell you I suspected pregnancy after getting a light, weird period. Two of them, actually. And got mixed results on the home tests. It's a possibility.

The sensitivity of your test may be a factor, and an estimated six percent of newly pregnant women may show up on blood tests even though they have negative urine samples. At this point, you can either wait a week and take another pee test, call your doctor for bloodwork, or check into getting an ultrasound. I'd advise waiting till at least 6 weeks before trying to get a scan because checking too early can cause the doctor to not see things that should be there and end up freaking you out.

[coffeebuzzedliz]

If you have a really regular period like clockwork then you have good odds that you hit your fertile time and yes you could be pregnant. But like you said, you have to wait until you are going to get an accurate reading on a HPT. It is a tough thing to do, sitting and waiting, but we all go through it. If does not sound like you had a regular period. It could be implantation, but it is also not uncommon for women to have some bleeding when there period is due but have it be really light and short and not an actual period just some light bleeding when your period is due. At this point try not to stress and just wait it out, time will pass and you will get your answers!