I Have Cramps But No Period Not Pregnant What Steps To Take
If youve not yet gotten to your next period date and tested for pregnancy, you may get a false negative pregnancy result.
The best time you should test for pregnancy is at least a week after your expected period date. At this time most pregnancy kit will be able to determine if you are pregnant or not
If you are not pregnant, and pain is persistent, it could be due to endometriosis.
Also, an imperforate hymen may cause women who have never had intercourse to have cyclical abdominal cramps with no period coming.
On the other hand, it could be your period is about to start.
If the pain gets too severe and persistent, talk to your doctor immediately.
Pregnancy Tests And Accuracy
A positive pregnancy test is almost always correct. Some negative tests may not be correct if you tested too early.
This is called a ‘false negative’ result. The result will present as negative, but you are actually pregnant.
This happens for a few of reasons, because:
- you did the test too early
- you didn’t wait long enough before checking the result
- your urine is very diluted because you have been drinking a lot of water
- there is a fault with the test
If the result of the test is negative, and you think you might still be pregnant, repeat the test a few days later. If symptoms persist after a few negative tests, make an appointment with your GP.
Negative Pregnancy Test But No Period 10 Common Reasons Why
Your periods late. You dig that pregnancy test out from the bottom of your drawer and pee on the stick, expecting to see a big fat positive show up in the results window.
But it doesnt.
Negative pregnancy test but no period.
If youre trying to get pregnant, this can be a huge emotional blow.
And if youre not trying to get pregnant, it might be a relief.
But either way youll probably wonder why the test is negative when you have missed your period.
Was that pregnancy test accurate?
Is it possible to be pregnant when a home pregnancy test is negative?
Are there any reasons other than pregnancy to explain a missed or late period?
To help you work your way through the confusion and stay calm until youre 100% sure whether or not youre pregnant, here are 10 reasons why you might have missed periods and a negative pregnancy test.
Read Also: Usaa New Car Insurance Grace Period
Irregular Cycles And Amenorrhea
Pregnancy isn’t the only reason you might not get your period for an extended length of time. While most people experience menstruation on a fairly regular schedule, for some, irregular timing is the norm. This can make it hard to know when a period is actually late. You might also miss a period altogether .
What If The Pregnancy Test Just Has A Really Really Faint Second Line
Annoyingly, the internet will tell you that any faint second line means your test is positive, but that’s just not true. Here’s some ways you can tell if that faint second line is actually an early positive:
- You’re using a pink dye test. The dye on these tests is much more reliable than blue dye tests, which often leave a vague second line even when they’re negative.
- You don’t have to hold the test up to the light to see the second line. If you’re doing that, then you’re just backlighting the indent that already exists for the dye of a true positive to pool into. If the only way you can see your second line is by holding it up to the light, consider it negative and try again in a few days.
- The second line appeared within a few minutes of taking the test. Some tests take longer to develop than others but if you’re pulling a test you took yesterday out of the trash and just now noticing a second line then it’s probably an evaporation line and the test isn’t a true positive.
Less than 40% of couples will successfully conceive in the first month of trying.
Read Also: What Does A Missed Period Mean
Youre Not Pregnant And Youre Breastfeeding
If youve already had a child and are still breastfeeding its very common to have irregular periods or no period at all.
While youre breastfeeding your body continues to produce several special hormones, including prolactin hormone which allows your body to produce milk and it also prevents menstruation.
Some women do have periods while theyre breastfeeding, but many women experience very irregular periods often with longer cycles and longer or shorter periods when they do come.
And many women find that they dont have a period at all until they stop breastfeeding completely or until their child is taking milk less frequently.
And when you stop breastfeeding, it can take time before your menstrual cycle returns to normal although it may be almost immediate, it may be between 6 months and 2 years after breastfeeding stops that a mother gets her first period!
Our bodies all adapt and adjust to pregnancy, motherhood, and lactation differently.
So, no period while breastfeeding, or in the months after you stop, doesnt necessarily mean youre pregnant.
But its important to remember that it is possible to get pregnant while you are breastfeeding so dont use it as birth control if you dont want to conceive again.
Our Experts Answer Your Pregnancy Questions
For the most accurate results, take a pregnancy test at least a day after youd normally get your period. If your cycle is unpredictable and your test was negative, you might actually be pregnant but took the test too early. Even if you did miss your period but it hasnt been at least a couple of weeks since you conceived, you could still get a false negative.
Recommended Reading: Life Insurance With No Waiting Period
Symptoms Of A Late Period And Pregnancy
The symptoms of a late period will be obvious to many women who menstruate regularly. If you were expecting your period, and it doesnt begin, youll know its late. Not all periods arrive like clockwork, and its very normal for periods to occur on a slightly different schedule. Pregnancy isnt the only thing that can cause a late or skipped period. But if youre wondering whether your missing period might mean youre pregnant, you can look for other early symptoms of pregnancy. During the first 8 weeks of pregnancy, many women experience:
1. Fatigue
During the first trimester , your body produces large amounts of a hormone called progesterone. This can make you feel sleepy. Even during the first week after conception, you may feel more tired than usual.
2. Spotting
Implantation bleeding is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. It is very light bleeding, often called spotting, that happens as a result of the fertilized egg implanting to the uterine wall. Implantation is usually 6 to 12 days after conception, or the moment the egg is fertilized by a sperm.
Some women also have mild abdominal cramps during implantation. Other women dont notice any symptoms with implantation.
3. Breast Changes
You may see changes in your breasts as early as 1 to 2 weeks after conception. Your breasts may be swollen and tender to the touch. You may have soreness or a feeling of fullness in your breasts.
4. Headaches
5. Missed Period
6. Nausea
What’s The Best Pregnancy Test For Early Detection
That table above will give you an idea of the different types of tests you can take at each stage of the waiting game. However, I’ve always preferred First Response Early Result tests over every other type/brand simply because they’re easy to interpret and in my experience, have given me the earliest results. I feel comfortable testing with these four days before my period is supposed to start and if I get a negative I trust it’s probably going to stay negative. With blue dye tests I’ve had false positives and with some of the cheaper ones it feels like a gamble on reliability.
Also Check: Birth Control Pills To Stop Period
False Negative Pregnancy Test
A false negative pregnancy test is when you are pregnant but the test comes up negative. The most common reason for a false negative is that you took the test too early. Even if your period is late according to your typical cycle, you might have ovulated later in the month. It’s not uncommon to occasionally have an off or irregular cycle. Additionally, your count of when your last period occurred could be a few days off.
No matter how sensitive the test, you won’t get a positive home pregnancy test until enough days have passed since ovulation and conception and your body has had time to build up enough of the hormone the test detects.
If ovulation occurred later in the month, you will need to test later. There are many reasons you might ovulate later than you typically do.
Pregnancy tests look for the pregnancy hormone hCG, which increases as a pregnancy progresses. The normal range for hCG levels in pregnant people can vary widely. It’s possible that your levels arent yet high enough to be detected .
An early pregnancy test might pick up very low amounts of hCG. However, its possible that you dont have enough circulating hCG to get a positive result even on a sensitive test.
This doesnt mean anything is wrong. How much hCG you have isn’t important rather, it’s how quickly your levels double and increase .
Causes Of A False Negative Pregnancy Test
A negative result on a test after missing the first few days of your period does not necessarily indicate pregnancy, especially if you have irregular cycles. So, unless youre experiencing other pregnancy symptoms or instinctively feel that you may be pregnant, the test might just be right.
However, here are five of the most common reasons why you may test negative even after a missed period.
Read Also: How Do You Know If Your Getting Your Period
You Really Want To Be Pregnant
Your coffee tastes bad, you woke up with a headache, your stomach made a weird noise, you farted, you cried during a Tampax ad – these must be early pregnancy symptoms, right? Eh, maybe.
It’s called symptom-spotting and anyone whose ever Googled “Am I pregnant?” has done it and according to my analytics that’s a lot ofpeople, me included. Unfortunately, there’s nothing more convincing that you’re pregnant than really, really wanting to be pregnant. Since we’re human, and no matter how many of the right foods we eat, exercises we try out or brisk walks we take, there will always be aches, pains, hiccups and waves of nausea and dizziness. This means that if you’re looking for pregnancy symptoms, you can almost always find them – even when you’re not pregnant.
If you’re timing that baby dance down to the hour, your mind could be playing tricks on you with each little twinge.
Your Ovaries Arent Working Properly
Sometimes, the ovaries simply fail to work. Which really does suck. Especially when you dont know why.
Fortunately, if this ends up being the case, there are drugs that can help give your ovaries a boost like Clomid and Metformin.
These drugs are only available on prescription, and are usually thought of as the first step to other fertility treatments.
Read Also: Do You Still Have A Period With Iud
Causes Of Cramping But No Period Negative Pregnancy Test
Youre Not Pregnant Youre Having Drug Side Effects
If youve been having trouble conceiving and are undergoing fertility treatments, remember that those drugs are designed, in part, to elevate your hormone levels.
Therapies that increase progesterone or block estrogen can cause symptoms that mimic both PMS and pregnancy, including nausea, bloating, tender breasts, and changes in mood.
If youre not sure whether your pregnancy-like symptoms are due to actual pregnancy or just a side effect of whatever fertility treatments youre on, give your OB-GYN or reproductive medicine doctor a call. They should know where you are in your cycle and whether its possible you could be pregnant .
Also Check: Having A Period For A Month
What Can Cause Menstrual Delay
When a pregnancy test is done properly at the right time and it has even be repeated, but the result is negative and your menstruation still does not appear, it is probable that you are not pregnant. This is because there are many factors that can cause a delay in menstruation that are not a pregnancy.
Some of these causes are:
- Excess stress and anxiety
You Didn’t Follow Instructions Correctly
Read the instructions on your home pregnancy tests package carefully so that you can administer the test properlythe test is only as good as your ability to follow the instructions! Since the tests are qualitative, this makes them sensitive to the process of testing.
Most home pregnancy tests ask you to hold a test strip in urine, and pee on it while on the toilet. Some make you dip the test strip in a clean cup where you have collected the urine .
These are the main reasons for a missed period and negative pregnancy test but there are others. Periods can be late for a number of reasons.
Don’t Miss: How To Stop Period For A Few Hours
Missed Period And Negative Pregnancy Test
It is possible to get a negative result on a pregnancy test even if you are pregnant. The following reasons may be why the test is negative.
- If youve tested too early and your levels of pregnancy hormones may be too low. If the levels of human chorionic gonadotropin in your urine are not high enough then the test might not pick it up and return a positive result. If you are experiencing early pregnancy signs like nausea, tiredness or tender breasts wait a few days and try again.
- If you dont follow the test instructions properly. Take care to read and follow the instructions that come with your test.
- If the test is very old and has expired.
- If the test has not been stored properly.
- In the rare instance that you have an ectopic pregnancy that does not produce a positive result on a pregnancy test. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside of the uterus and it can be life-threatening. See your healthcare provider if you have symptoms like pain in your lower abdomen, dizziness, bleeding, spotting, and nausea and vomiting.
If your period is very late or youve missed it altogether and you still have a negative result, then its unlikely that you would be pregnant.