Is it possible I may be pregnant?

Resolved question:

I had unprotected sex March 26-28. In that time frame I was ejaculated in about 4 times. On March 28 I took the Plan B pill. I got my period on April 5th but it was abnormally light and only had one day of heavy bleeding. It lasted approximately 8 days but 6 of which was light pink to light brown discharges, not heavy like usual. My average days for a period are between the 16th and 20th for when it starts. I know the Pill alters your cycle but I have had to take it before and had severe bleeding, not light bleeding. I've been feeling very nauseous lately and now my lower abdomen, on the left side has a sharp pain. There are two questions, 1. Is it possible I may be pregnant? And 2. Should I take a pregnancy test, and when?

Submitted: 4 Days
Category: Community

Expert:  Dr. John Monheit replied 4 Days.

Hello, The nausea that you are experiencing is probably due to various causes. It could be due to motion sickness, food poisoning, first trimester of pregnancy, ulcer, stress, severe pain, gallstones, medications, brain tumors. However in your case, the nausea may be due to the birth control pills. Birth control pills usually cause nausea in 50 % of women. The other reason could be in case of pregnancy. There are two types of tests to determine pregnancy:

a) Urine tests: here since HCG is also seen in urine, a convenient method is known as Home pregnancy test can be done where the urine sample can detect the levels of HCG and confirm the pregnancy. However sometimes there is a small percentage of false negative where it is seen in three conditions:

a)You have tested 6-7 days after ovulation using a home kit. In such a case, the test appears negative, as there is not enough HCG in the urine.

b)Urine is diluted as the patient as had a lot of water, so the test appears negative.

c)Sensitivity of the test is low as seen in home kits.

The other available test is the blood test where HCG levels are measured in the blood and is more accurate than the urine test and can detect much earlier than the urine test. I would suggest you to stop the pill for a few days and get a blood test to rule out any pregnancy. You can also consult your obg-gyn doctor. Hope this helps. Thank you.

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