Question regarding BFP or BFN

[Sammerson0814]

Hello All! I am new to this and I have a very concerning questions. I have been reading a lot of posts about women having negative tests when they are really pregnant. I am 23 and very healthy. I was on the pill I had a normal period in March but the PMS Symotoms never went away and I continued to be more and more bloated to where I cannot button the pants I used to wear to work. They continued getting worse and I spotted light pink 8dpo and 11dpo. This was concerning to me becuas ei never spot beofe my period. I just started "my period" yesterday and I usually do not have cramps and they are the worst I have ever had. I know it can be in my head because I do want a baby so badly, but what are the chances I am actually pregnant. I have taken a few tests and they were all BFN, but all before my period started. The doctor told me I would still have "my period or withdrawal bleeding" this time since I was coming off the pill. This whole cycle has been different for me and I cannot get it out of my head that I could be pregnant. Does anyone have any advice for me???? Please answer with any response!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!

[MaerynPearl]

Coming off the pill can really mess with you... but I would trust the BFNs for now. It will make everything about your cycle weird for a while.

May I ask how you know that the spotting happened on 8 and 11dpo specifically, are you charting?

And how long ago did you stop taking the pills?

[Sammerson0814]

Thank you for your response. I have an application on my phone that gives me an estimated day of when I ovulate. Since my period ended March 20th I was ovulating around the 27th. I just finished my last pack of pills becasue I didnt want to mess my cycle up more if I wasnt pregnant. I am not going to start another pack until I figure out what is going on.

[MaerynPearl]

oh, then I would definitely not say you were 8 or 11 dpo... you probably didnt O at all due to the pills.

[Sammerson0814]

But this does not solve my bloating and sore boobs problem since the end of my last period, while still on the pill. My period ended in march 20th, and I started my new pack of pills and continued to have "PMS" symptoms that were horrible. Why would this be. I runa dn was dropping weight wuite rapidly until that period, not i have gained 6 lbs in the last month, it is all in my abdomen. It is very concerning. I have a doctors appointment friday, but I still cant help but think of every possibility. Do you have any thoughts on this.

[Sammerson0814]

And I have another question, if you do not ovulate on the pill, then how does one become pregnant while on the pill?

[MaerynPearl]

Antibiotics can cause the pill to no longer be effective.

Some womens bodies just do not work with the pill.

And sometimes, hormornal shifts can have you Oing when you shouldnt be (the week off the pill) that was how I got pregnant on it myself.

[saimeiyu]

How long have you been taking this particular brand of pill? Is it new?

What hormones are in this pill? Is it a tri-cycle one, or is it a mix of estrogen and progesterone or is it progesterone-only?

Because if it's progesterone-only or mostly progesterone, that's why your PMS symptoms never stopped, and why you think you might be pregnant, since progesterone is generally the hormone responsible for those symptoms.

[Sammerson0814]

I have been on this pill since January. It is Ortho-tri Cyclen Lo, or the generic version of it. I ahvent been on any other medication while taking it, and i have had issues with ither birth controls in the past and never had this type of bad spell before. This last month and a half on the pill was the only time I had teh PMS symptoms not go away.

[Sammerson0814]

I also just looked up the generic version of Orhto Tri Cyclen Lo, Tri Sprintec Lo, it is a progesterone and estrogen mix. This whole last month my hormones have been so crazy I dont know what to think. My period I am on now is ending after only 4 days, when usually it lasts 8. I have a doctors appointment Friday, butI dont know what kind of answers she will be able to give me. My period is ending and I am still bloated and have sore bb's. I am moody and snappy and depressed at times. Im in a permanent limbo. Any suggestions?

[MaerynPearl]

you are having a totally normal reaction to birth control/stopping birth control.

Explain all of your symptoms to your doctor but she will tell you the same.

[Kathryn]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl

Antibiotics can cause the pill to no longer be effective.

This actually isn't true (though it is a super common myth and even some Dr's will tell patients it's true).

That's the only contribution I have to this thread though.

[Sammerson0814]

I know I am beating a dead horse here with this topic, but I do not see how I am haveing a normal reaction to birth control if I have never had this reaction before and I have been on several different types of birth control for the last 7 years. My body doesnt even know yet I will not be starting a new pack of pills and not conttinuiong the pill. I did not stop the last pack abruptly or skip any pills.

[Kathryn]

You could still easily be having a reaction, even if you've never had one before. That is pretty typical as well. If you are really worried about it though, you can ask for a blood test to measure HGC to see if you're pregnant. That will tell you for sure.

[Sammerson0814]

Ok, well assuming it is a reaction to the birth control. How long shoud it last. Already these symptoms have been going on for 5 weeks, since the end of the period I had in March. What gives??

[MaerynPearl]

Could last up to 6 months, hopefully much faster. Depends on how long it takes for your body to clear up. No one can say for sure. Some ladies only take a few weeks, some take a few months.

And yes, antibiotics CAN render birth control useless. It being a myth is a myth that has been proven incorrect by tons of babies. Rifampin is PROVEN to render birth control useless in all women and many women are effected by the other antibiotics (some aren't though)

[myk]

let me see if i have this correct.

you were on another pill before. you switched to trycyclen-lo for 2-3 cycles, and now feel like you might be pg.

first off, the app on your phone isn't going to tell you when you ovulate. the pill is designed specifically to NOT let you ovulate. that's its main action. the app is not at all applicable to anyone who is using hormonal birth control, so toss it. consider it useless.

second, what your'e experiencing is a fairly common reaction to the pill. it's a new pill to you, and maybe that's just how your body is reacting to it. when i was on tricyclen i had sore boobs, bloating, weepy, angry, sensitive, acne, you name it. it did not mean i was pregnant, it meant the pill didn't agree with my body. that's likely what's happening to you. the first couple of months you took it, you may not have experienced the same reaction because your body may have been feeling residual effects of your previous pills (similarly, when some women get off the pill they ovulate right away, some take 6 months for the hormonal effects to clear their system).

cycles are considered to start on the FIRST day of your period, not your last. so you say it ended march 20th, and i'll take a guess that your period started march 14. it's been long enough since that if you did ovulate, and get pregnant, it would probably show up on a home pregnancy test. if you got some BFNs by now, they're probably right.

a doctor can order a quantitative hCG test for you. it'll measure how much pregnancy hormone you have in your blood. that's pretty much the final word on whether you'd be pregnant or not.

if you intend to keep using the pill as a means of birth control, i would not stop taking it and interrupt the cycle unless a doctor tells you to (either because you're pregnant, or because you're switching to a more suitable option). doing so may make you fertile when you don't want to be. your doctor's appointment is in a couple of days. just stay with the pill schedule until then.

as for why women sometimes get pregnant on the pill, every woman's body reacts differently to each pill. most will work for most people. some won't, particularly if it's a low-dose pill. illness that keeps the pill from being properly absorbed can interrupt the hormones long enough to ovulate (that happened to me, after i vomited a couple days). medications can render it less effective (that happened to my sister). according to my Davis's Drug Guide for Nurses (a professional reference) penicillins, sulfonamides, barbiturates, chronic alcohol use, tetracyclines, and a whole bunch of individual drugs can all render the pill ineffective (so no, it's NOT a myth, it has been backed by clinical research).

[Sammerson0814]

First of all Thank you everyone for your opinions. My posts may sound angry or frustrated, but they are not intended that way, but that is how I feel. I was on the generic version of Ortho Tr Cyclen Lo before january, in Feb, I didnt have a new Rx in time, so the doctor gave me a trial pack of the name brand Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo, and then in March I got my Rx for the generic again. So i have been on the same pill for more than 2 cycles. I completely understand that this can be just side effects form the pill. I am deciding not to continue to take birth control, and finished my last pack as I was supposed to and only had a period that lasted 4 days, not 8 like usual. I didnt skip any pills or anything. My problem in how severe the symtoms are. Before my period in March I was running and losing weight, after my period I was running, but I was bloated. Now my pants do not fit me. If this is "bloating" as a side effect of a pill I have been on for months, then that is riddiculous. My other concers are the change in this past period that started sunday and ended yesterday. It was much different than any other I have had, there was no flow to it, but I had terrible cramps that I never, ever have. At this point an answer from the doctor of "its just the pill" is not good enough. If that is the case I should see all these sypmtoms go away in a matter of a few weeks b/c I am not taking the pill anymore. I am very confused and frustrated b/c at this point I look pregnant, all the time. I dont know what to think anymore.