Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Am I Pregnant

Question:
Last month i took a test when i was a couple of days late and it was negative. then when i was really late (more than ten days) and i was getting the typical pre period pains, i was really suspicious so i took a test and it was positive. Am I pregnant?

Answer:
I felt like I was going to get my period, same achy cramps, etc...as usual. But I was pregnant. It happened both times. I never took a home pregnancy test though. Ours are free so I went to the Dr. But I always waited till about 6 weeks. It goes A LOT faster if you find out later, even if you *think* you're already pregnant. I hope that you are pregnant since you are working on becoming pregnant, but there are a number of reasons why you could be only five days late and spending the money on a home pregnancy test at this stage may be unnecessary. Reasons to be late include wanting really bad to be pregnant [aka stress], ovarian cysts, certain medications, low body weight, sudden large weight loss and other medical problems. I suggest waiting until you are about ten days late, then, if you haven't had your period, get the test or schedule one with your doc. By the way, if you are on an HMO in the US they may require that you have a positive pregnancy test with your doctor/lab before allowing referral to an OB-GYN, even if you have a positive home test. That usually led me to wait until getting the test with the doc, rather than, essentially, buy the test twice, once at the pharmacy and once at the lab. But, yes, I know how hard it is to wait to know!!! I just want to say, if your period is always 2 or 3 days late, then your cycle is obviously 2 or 3 days longer than you think it is. Not every woman has a 28 days cycle. The reason I mention this is because if you are pregnant (which I hope you are) it will affect your due date. 2 or 3 days can make a difference if you go overdue and are faced with an induction. I KNEW when I was pregnant, there's no doubt about that.. but I did find out when I was already a month pregnant. (I always have my periods on time... around the 23rd of every month... but when I don't, I don't worry, so I really don't schedule them.) anyway... I knew that my period was late.. but I started to get cramping and everything else that comes with a period... but I did start getting extreme breast tenderness.. and I've been pregnant before (unfortunately, I had just turned 17 and it ended in an abortion.) so I knew what it felt like. With all four (well, five including my lost one) pregnancies, I had period-like symptoms on or about when my period was due, and lo and behold, my period never arrived. Take a test if you're unsure... you might be pleasantly surprised!