Periods and Pregnancy

Factual Questions
1

TMI WARNING

My girlfriend and I are having a problem. We had unprotected sex about two months ago (Pulled out though). I’m not here for a lecture about how bad that was. I know, it was irresponsible, immature, etc. That was the first and last time that will happen. I promise.

Anyway, she started to worry about being pregnant. She got her period two weeks later (on time), and she said it was wierd (see here). She went to the doctor and asked, and he said it was fine, poked at her belly and stuff, but did no internal examinations. She was still worrying about being pregnant, but was being stubborn about taking a test. She didn’t want to, because her parents might find it and flip out (they don’t know we have sex, and think she’s on the pill for cramps, which she kinda is).

And so she worries. Then she gets strep thoat, which I get too (see here), and has to take meds for that. The meds mess with her pills and give her really bad cramps, and when she talked to her doctor, the doctor said to stop taking the pill, so she stops taking them (no sex during this time). She finishes her Strep meds, and has a period, while not taking the pills. She said that her period this time was wierd too. Like it was lighter blood, and it didn’t have the usual chunkies towards to end. It only lasted 5 days instead of the usual 6.

I told her it was probably the meds, but then I started to get worried about pregnancy, as I was looking up some stuff on the net, and she had a couple of the early symptoms (nausa mainly). I’m still working on getting her to take a test, and I think that I’ll have her talked into it by the end of the week, but until then, can someone appease my worries? Could it be that it was the Meds that she was taking? Or maybe that she was worrying and stressing a lot about it? Or maybe it’s normal, and she’s just making a big deal out of nothing?

I need help… I’m flipping out here. I know I could handle it if she was pregnant, but I’d rather she wasn’t. Again, I’m not looking for lectures, I just need some reassurance that I am probably not going to be a daddy any time soon.

Hoping for support… Thanks Dopers

2

Don’t freak out yet, but she should take a pregnancy test. A former co-worker of mine was on antibiotics for strep, and got pregnant that way, because antibiotics can interfere with the Pill. It’s even on the list of contraidications for the Pill and/or on the label for the antibiotics, if her pharmacist is any good. Not all antibiotics do it to the same degree, though.

Other things to keep in mind:

  1. She could just be out of sync, period-wise, from a) stressing about pregnancy, or b) being sick with strep, or c) going off the Pill suddenly.
  2. It’s entirely possible to have periods several months into a pregnancy. A current co-worker of mine didn’t discover she was pregnant until she was 5-1/2 months along for that reason!
  3. It could also be normal for her to fluctuate somewhat, but not knowing her general pattern, it’s hard to say.

Definitely go for a test. Better yet, both of you together go for a test, or go buy one at the drugstore and do it together.

3

The only way your fear will be assuaged (is that a word?), will be or her to take a pregnancy test.

It’s a rite of sexual adulthood, that ol’ pregnancy scare. She’s gotta pee on the stick for you both to know for sure.

Yes, women occasionally have some sort of period when they’re pregnant, but truly that is a good sign she is not pregnant, even if it’s a “weird” period.

4

Have her buy a pregnancy test and then take it in the bathroom of a department store or something. She can throw the test away there and her parents will never find out. I am assuming that you and she are not familiar with how pregnancy tests work, having never taken one before. All you do is pee on the stick and then wait a couple of minutes for the line to show up or not. No special equipment required. If she’s worried about her parents, just have her do it somewhere else.

I agree with the others who have posted already; it is extremely unlikely that she is pregnant, but you should have her test anyway, just for peace of mind. (By the way, women who think they might be pregnant are capable of experiencing every single possible symptom of pregnancy. Trust me here. During a particularly bad pregnancy scare, I had nausea and vomiting, tender breasts, the whole deal. But I was not pregnant.)

5

I’ll echo the others in saying that, while there are some women who do get periods during pregnancy, odds are more than likely in your favor, that she is not. That is even more so, the case, if she was on the pill two months ago(that wasn’t clear in the OP).

Definitely get the pregnancy test. It’s fast, easy, and will let you get a definite answer, either way, so that you can move on. There has got to be somewhere, where she can do the test, where there will be no worries of her parents finding out(never thought of a public restroom before, definitely worth consideration if there isn’t a friend’s house, or a clear time of day at her own house, that will work).

Good luck!

~V