We Know You’re Wondering: Is It Possible To Be Pregnant And Still Have A Period
Nope, experts say. Some people may experience bleeding or spotting, but those are different bleeding patterns from the cyclical menses your body experiences in absence of a pregnancy.
Dr. Michele Hakakha, an OB-GYN and author of Expecting 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Pregnancy, told Parents that people definitely can experience vaginal bleeding during pregnancy, but that “when they bleed, they are not having a ‘period.'” That’s because your body needs to reserve the uterine lining as nourishment for the growing pregnancy.
Although bleeding during pregnancy doesn’t always mean cause for concern, it can indicate something more serious like a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
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Pms Vs Pregnancy Symptoms
If youre feeling a bit crampy and tired, and your period is almost due, you may wonder if the symptoms youre feeling mean that your period is coming or youre pregnant.
The only way to know if its PMS is if your period arrives shortly after. And the only way to know if youre pregnant is if you confirm your pregnancy with a positive pregnancy test. But there are some nuances to early pregnancy and PMS symptoms that can offer additional clues.
Everybody Poops Except You
PMS
If you feel a little less regular when youre waiting for your period to show up, you can blame your hormones.
Higher than normal levels of progesterone in the latter half of your menstrual cycle have been known to cause digestive disturbances in the form of constipation.
Pregnancy
The hormonal changes associated with pregnancy may make it harder to go number two. Increased progesterone relaxes your intestinal muscles, which can slow things down in the pooping department.
Later on, as your uterus expands and puts pressure on your intestines, it may become even harder to ahem drop a different kid off at the pool.
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Breast Pain And Tenderness
Breast changes are a common symptom of both PMS and early pregnancy. The changes can include:
- bumpy breast tissue
The severity of these symptoms varies among individuals.
However, in people with PMS, breast-related symptoms are usually most significant just before a menstrual period, and they typically get better during the period or just after it ends.
In early pregnancy, the breasts may feel particularly tender to the touch, and they often get heavier. The area around the nipple may sting or feel sore. Some women also develop more noticeable blue veins near the surface of the breasts.
Breast symptoms during pregnancy begin 1 or 2 weeks after conception and may persist until childbirth.
Key Points About Pmdd
PMDD is a much more severe form of t premenstrual syndrome .
The exact cause of PMDD is not known.
- The main symptoms that distinguish PMDD from other mood disorders or menstrual conditions is when symptoms start and how long they last.
- Symptoms of PMDD are so severe that it affects your ability to function at home, work and in relationships.
- Aside from a complete medical history and physical and pelvic exam, there are very few tests to diagnose the condition.
- Over the course of a year, during most menstrual cycles, 5 or more of the following symptoms must be present:
- Lack of interest in activities once enjoyed
- Insomnia or feeling very sleepy
- Feeling overwhelmed or out of control
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Period Breast Pain Vs Pregnancy Breast Pain: Whats The Difference
For many people, breast changes are among the earliest signs of pregnancy. Pregnancy influences the levels of estrogen and progesterone in your body. Estrogen enhances the growth of breast ducts, and progesterone supports the growth and formation of milk-producing tissue. Your breasts may feel swollen, sensitive, tender, or sore during early pregnancy because of these hormonal changes. Your breasts may also feel heavier and fuller. These changes usually occur one to two weeks after conception and may last until your progesterone levels settle.
Symptoms of PMS, such as breast pain, tenderness, and swelling, can happen during the second half of the menstrual cycle. The symptoms tend to be most severe just before your period starts. Your breasts may feel dense and bumpy, particularly in the outer region. Breast pain caused by your period may feel like a dull pain with a sense of heaviness and fullness. The pain usually gradually improves after your period.
Elevated Basal Body Temperature
Often more accurate than the rest of the symptoms, basal body temperature should be monitored for months to figure out a noticeable change. Prior to ovulation, the body temperature increases and comes back to normal after your period cycle. However, during pregnancy, the basal body temperature tends to stay elevated throughout. This is due to high levels of progesterone during pregnancy, which causes basal body temperature to rise. If your body temperature has been on the rise for over 20 days post-ovulation, it marks the onset of a new journey.
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Early Signs Of Pregnancy Before A Missed Period
While pregnancy tests and your practitioner can offer definitive answers, these early pregnancy symptoms may be clues that you’re expecting.
Keep in mind, just because youve experienced some of these symptoms doesnt mean youre pregnant. You could also have none of them at all and still go on to have a perfectly healthy pregnancy.
Although every woman is different, these early symptoms can first appear before you even miss your period.
Food Cravings And Aversions
PMS: When you have PMS, youll likely notice that your eating habits change. You may crave chocolate, carbohydrates, sugars, sweets, or salty foods. Or you may have a ravenous appetite. These cravings dont happen to the same extent when youre pregnant.
Pregnancy: You may have highly specific cravings, and you may be totally uninterested in other foods. You may also have an aversion to certain smells and tastes, even ones you once liked. These effects can last throughout pregnancy.
You could also have pica, in which you compulsively eat items that have no nutritional value, such as ice, dirt, dried paint flakes, or pieces of metal. If you have cravings for nonfood items, talk to your doctor right away.
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How Is Pms Diagnosed
There is no single test for PMS. Your doctor will talk with you about your symptoms, including when they happen and how much they affect your life.
You probably have PMS if you have symptoms that:12
- Happen in the five days before your period for at least three menstrual cycles in a row
- End within four days after your period starts
- Keep you from enjoying or doing some of your normal activities
Keep track of which PMS symptoms you have and how severe they are for a few months. Write down your symptoms each day on a calendar or with an app on your phone. Take this information with you when you see your doctor.
When Does One Start Experiencing Pregnancy Symptoms
The earliest pregnancy symptoms are revealed 6 to 14 days after conception. Once you have sex during the ovulation period, the body starts preparing itself for the growing foetus. After fertilisation, the embryo implants itself to the uterine wall. You get pregnant around ten days before your periods are due. That is when you start experiencing the early signs of pregnancy such as fatigue, nausea, and tiredness. However, the pregnancy test gives the best results only after a week or two of a missed period, as the level of pregnancy hormone in the urine is up to a reasonable level by then.
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Abdominal Or Pelvic Cramping:
PMS: Cramps or dysmenorrhea during PMS is common, and the severity varies according to genetic disposition and body system. However, as bleeding starts, the pain decreases and slowly goes away as the flow ends . The cramps and associated pain are likely to reduce with age .
Pregnancy:When the fertilized egg embeds into the uterine wall, it may cause mild abdominal cramping along with spotting during early pregnancy. You may experience cramps in the lower back or lower stomach, which continues for weeks or even months, lasting much longer than PMS cramps .
How Long Should You Wait To Take A Home Pregnancy Test
Early pregnancy symptoms show up weeks before your period, but an average waiting period of two weeks is recommended from the date of ovulation, to take a home pregnancy test. Human Chorionic Gonadotropin is a placenta-produced hormone that enters the urine, once an embryo is implanted in the uterus. This takes place about 6 to 12 days after fertilisation. hCG levels are picked up by the test, only closer to when periods are due. The ideal time to take a home pregnancy test is a week after your periods are due. There are 90% chances of an accurate result when the test is taken after the due date for the period has passed.
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Back Pain And Headaches
Pregnant women have historically reported back pain and headaches, though this varies from person to person. The spine can become misaligned during pregnancy due to the increase in weight, and poor posture and pelvic changes can contribute to low back pain and headaches. Reducing stress, stretching the low back, using a warm compress, and correcting postural changes can prevent pain during your pregnancy.
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Signs and symptoms of early pregnancy can occur before the missed period and be confused with those of premenstrual syndrome or the approaching menstrual period.It is not possible to determine if you are pregnant until a pregnancy test is positive. Not all women will experience the same symptoms in early pregnancyor experience these symptoms to.
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Answer : If you normally get PMS symptoms they are mainly progesterone effect. If your are pregnant the progesterone effect will be the same or increased . So no PMS is more likely to be no progesterone this month, no.
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At the end of the two-week wait, you may see some spotting, which could be a sign of implantation bleeding if you are pregnant, or simply the start of your period. If your period never shows up, you can take a pregnancy test and if the test is positive, you should have your pregnancy confirmed at the doctors office..
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Implantation Bleeding Vs Period Starting
The third sure difference is if you get implantation bleeding.
Implantation bleeding happens when the fertilised egg travels down into your womb and attaches to the womb lining. This could disturb some blood vessels on the way and when implantation happens as well, It could cause a tiny bit of bleeding.
This type of bleeding shows up as spotting, which is a small amount of blood and the blood is normally dark brown like a rusty colour.
Implantation bleeding will only last between 2 hours and up to 2 days, it shouldnt be longer than that. It could happen between 6-12 days after conceiving, which is a bit earlier than when your menstrual cycle starts.
I know menstrual cycles also start with light spotting, if your light spotting does turn into more red blood, then you know that your period is coming. Whereas, implantation bleeding is a shorter amount of light spotting.
It is worthy of note that not all women do get implantation bleeding.
How Is Pmdd Diagnosed
Aside from a complete medical history and physical and pelvic exam, there are very few diagnostic tests. Because there are mental health symptoms, your healthcare provider may want you to be evaluated for mental health concerns. In addition, your healthcare provider may ask that you keep a journal or diary of your symptoms for several months. In general, to diagnose PMDD the following symptoms must be present:
- Over the course of a year, during most menstrual cycles, 5 or more of the following symptoms must be present:
- Lack of interest in activities once enjoyed
- Insomnia or the need for more sleep
- Feeling overwhelmed or out of control
- Other physical symptoms, the most common being belly bloating, breast tenderness, and headache
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Pms Symptoms Vs Pregnancy Symptoms
It can feel like a cruel reality that PMS and the early signs of pregnancy are nearly identical. The reason? You produce more progesterone the week after ovulation, whether you’re pregnant or not. Progesterone is the hormone responsible for many PMS symptoms, like bloating, breast tenderness, and mood swings.
Your body will stop releasing progesterone if you’re not pregnant about 10 days after ovulation. Then, as the hormone levels wear off, your symptoms subside, the uterine lining sloughs off, and you get your period.
If you are pregnant, you’ll continue producing progesterone . “The difference between PMS and early pregnancy is very subtle,” says Helen Kim, M.D., associate professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Director of the In Vitro Fertilization Program at the University of Chicago.
What Are Some Less Common Signs Of Early Pregnancy
There are some additional signs of early pregnancy that arent as common. Just like with the most common symptoms, these signs of pregnancy may or may not happen. Its important to remember that everyone is different and experiences signs of pregnancy differently.
Less common signs of early pregnancy can include:
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When To Call A Doctor
The following pregnancy symptoms should be reported to your doctor right away:
- Cramping that is unusual or severe.
- Abdominal pain.
- Changes in your babys movement after 28 weeks gestation while sitting or lying down.
- Breathing difficulties or shortness of breath that appears to be worsening.
- Consistent tightening or pain in the lower abdomen or back
- Any bleeding in the second or third trimester .
- A fluid leak Severe pelvic or vaginal pressure .
- Fever more than 100-degree Fahrenheit and Severe or long-lasting vomiting.
Symptoms and stages of pregnancy have never been known to be common among all women. Some symptoms you experience may be due to a medical condition of which you may not be aware. The symptoms listed above do not necessarily confirm a pregnancy. The indicators mentioned above are just signs to watch out for if you are planning to start a family. It is also possible to not go through any of these symptoms and still be pregnant with a perfectly normal baby. Pregnancy can be confirmed only when you miss your periods, or by a pregnancy test kit, and in all cases, by a blood test conducted by a certified health practitioner.
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How Long Do Pms Symptoms Last
As discussed earlier, the PMS symptoms can last around two weeks to 5 days prior to the menstrual period. Once the menstrual period starts, the PMS symptoms are replaced with the common symptoms of the menstrual period. Some symptoms such as tender breasts, abdominal bloating, food cravings, headaches, etc. which we mentioned being characteristic PMS symptoms are known to continue throughout the menstrual period itself. Other symptoms, such as low back pain, vaginal bleeding, and pelvic cramping, are known to develop as the characteristic symptoms of menstruation.
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Clear Differences Between Pregnancy And Pms
Are you feeling like you could be pregnant, but its too early to know?
So many women are wondering if theyre experiencing pregnancy symptomsor PMS symptoms.
PMS, which is Premenstrual Syndrome, symptoms can be similar to pregnancy symptoms. But from my experience, there is a fine difference between the two.
Could It Be Pregnancy Signs And Symptoms
The most typical sign that you might be pregnant is if you’ve missed one or more periods in a row. There could be other reasons for a missed period so if you do miss one or more, take a pregnancy test and have your doctor do a check-up to determine if you are pregnant or there is another problem going on.
Many women experience the proverbial “morning sickness,” nausea and/or vomiting. Sore breasts or nipples may also be pregnancy signs. Headaches, fatigue, and mood swings have also been noted to be related to early pregnancy. Food cravings and food aversions have also been reported during pregnancy. You may have increased urination as well. Some women will experience aversions to particular smells.
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Strange Taste In The Mouth
Hormones could play strange games during pregnancy, and you may find yourself having a strange awkward taste in your mouth, also called Dysgeusia. You could feel like you have swallowed some unsavoury metal. This metallic taste could well be an early sign to tell you that you have started your journey to motherhood. The symptom generally disappears after the first trimester, but could last longer in some women.