Am I pregnant?

[Adorableadora]

If I experienced withdraw bleeding a week after taking the plan b, does that consider I’m not pregnant? Also month and 3 weeks later since the incident I got this period but it was heavy but light than my regular heavy period.

[KierC]

Hey there Adorableadora, and welcome to the boards

Yes, that is a good indication that the Plan B did its job — too, it sounds like you had a period since, which is another indication that you’re not pregnant. Plan B can impact the consistency and amount of bleeding in your periods, so this is all in line with normal things to expect with Plan B usage. If you’re still concerned, though, sometimes taking a pregnancy test and seeing the negative result staring back at you can help ease concerns. Is that something you’re able to do?

[Adorableadora]

I took the plan b on August 30 and had withdraw bleeding on September 6-10, didn’t get my regular period that month of September, and took a pregnancy test on October 23, 3rd day of my bleeding and I did the test at the doctors, it came out negative. I was only worried bc the bleeding I had at October was what I described, I was worried it was implantation but people keep telling me it’s too late for implantation.

[KierC]

Thank you for providing those details! Taking two tests with negative results is also an excellent indication that you are not pregnant. And you’re right, that is a bit late for implantation bleeding. How are you feeling now about all of this?

I forgot to send this earlier, but we have this great resource for pregnancy scares and the anxiety that comes with it; there’s one specifically for when you have had a negative pregnancy test but you’re still worried: Pregnancy Panic Companion: When A Pregnancy Test Is Negative. I also want to send you this, it goes through very clearly how pregnancy occurs; it might be helpful in mitigating any pregnancy scares like this to understand how reproduction works: Human Reproduction: A Seafarer’s Guide.

[Adorableadora]

I feel a bit better, yesterday I started bleeding (I’m an anxious person and I was a bit happy but also worried because it came earlier than how I usually get) yesterday it was very light bleeding but painful cramps, today the same thing it’s painful cramps and it’s more heavier than yesterday with a lot of very small bloody clots. Just that like I’ve mentioned my normal period before the plan b it would be super heavy flow for the first 3 days rn it’s not as heavy like I used to get but it’s heavy enough for spotting

Thank you for these links, I’m sorry for being very paranoid, I really want to test again but I’m scared of the results and the only person I’ve mentioned about this is my mom, she went with me to the doctors that day and ever since that negative urine test at the doctors she keeps telling me to calm down and not over think no more also before the bleeding I’ve been experiencing tender chest that lasted for maybe a week or two? and ever since the testing I’ve been having constipation and acid reflux (maybe it’s bc of the stress and anxiety, I have gastritis) also I didn’t have that egg white discharge, indicating ovulation I’m 21 and I just recently found out about ovulation so I never kept in track of my ovulation.

But thank you again for responding and checking up on me 🩷 I really really am grateful for the work yall put in this website

[Adorableadora]

I know I should try my best to let my anxiety go, I need to tell myself that I had a negative test a month and 3 weeks ever since the plan b was taken so I should tell myself that that’s a definitive negative result, I’ll try my best to beat my anxiety bc this isn’t good for me either ‍

[Adorableadora]

Also I know this might sound dumb of me, because I’m still a virgin that’s why I’ve been worried, me and my boyfriends plan was wait until marriage so all we would do is fool around. The reason I took a plan b is bc there was a possibility that my boyfriend had precum/cum on his fingers when he inserted his fingers inside (I was supposed to have my period around that week because I usually bleed the last week of the month and I was already having pre menstrual cramping, so I believe I was probably one day of maybe two days before my period started) and again people keep telling me it can be possible but not likely to cause pregnancy.

[KierC]

Hey there!

No need to apologize, and you’re not stupid: You’re doing all the good things by talking about how you’re feeling in a safe space. It sounds like your period came, which is a great indication that you’re not pregnant (on top of the Plan B), but I hear you when you say you feel paranoid and anxious about this. You’re not alone in this: anxiety is something that can often latch onto material things like sex and pregnancy, and we’re here to help untangle those things and see if we can help you access some support for this anxiety. How does that sound to you?

Just a quick note on ovulation before we get into the deeper things: Tracking ovulation is really tricky, it doesn’t always happen right on time and it doesn’t always look the same way, so it isn’t a *great* measure of whether or not you’re pregnant. I’ll say, too, if you’re struggling with anxiety surrounding this, limiting the amount of “things to look for that could indicate pregnancy” can certainly be a step towards limiting triggers that cause anxiety, so I would gently set aside ovulation as something you don’t want to concern yourself tooo much with.

Onto the main stuff! So, it might be helpful to think about anxiety in a different way: I hear you that you want to “beat” it, and it is certainly the goal when you’re feeling such anxiety to make it go away, but sometimes it can help to see anxiety as less something you want to “beat down” or hush out, and more something you want to understand in order to lessen. Anxiety can be an indication or cue to listen to that tells you you may be in need of some more emotional care.

I also think a wonderful place to start with that idea is your mom. From her taking you to the doctor and trying to help you calm down, it sounds like she might be amenable to helping you work through this anxiety. Would you be comfortable talking to her about this, perhaps asking her if she’d help you in finding a therapist to talk more deeply about your anxiety with? Alternatively, would you be open to hearing some ideas here about ways to access professional care for anxiety?

Last thing for this post: I want to offer some tools for times when you feel worse about pregnancy anxiety. Do you have any self-care things you like to do to ease your mind, or are there any routines you have in place in times of more acute anxiety?

[Adorableadora]

I really do feel safe to talk to my feelings without feeling judged, when I talked to my feelings to my doctor before I took a urine test she looked like she was judging me and I wasn’t feeling comfortable, so really I appreciate you for listening 🩷 I’ll start to believe that this is a medium to light period and not some sort of pregnancy spotting or implantation! And I would love to see the support for anxiety I would be very grateful!

I never really knew what ovulation was sadly until I took that plan b that day so all I did was research about it and it terrified me if I possibly ovulated before the possible day of my period, since I’m irregular. But I’m glad to see that ovulation isn’t that simple to even track! I’ll also try to avoid the whole “pregnancy symptoms” cuz YES I’ve been searching non stop sadly

Me and my mom have a good connection when I had that weird period in October I was panicking on the inside and my mom was noticing my emotions all day and I just opened up to her about everything with no details of course and so she told me to make an appointment the next day, and I was happy to tell her I was negative. I would also love to hear your ideas on accessing profesional care for anxiety! I’m sure that can help me!

One self care I know is that I use my breathing mechanism to calm myself down bc my anxiety are very bad I feel like my heart is coming out to my throat and it’s very scary, I’ve been having anxiety WAAAAYYY before all of this pregnancy scare happened, so it has always been a struggle to me my boyfriend also has anxiety too, his is very bad to the point he pukes and this really effected us since we are both virgins and we don’t know much about sex. We both talked ever since that incident to prevent doing any sexual activities that can cause any kind of risk pregnancy, since we are both virgins we were very afraid that fingers with precum/cum inserted inside me was gonna cause me to get pregnant and we aren’t stable enough for kids either

But let me just say thank you soo much for trying to help me feel better about all of this! I’ll stop researching the internet, I’ll try to believe that this is a heavy-light period and not some sort of implantation bleeding or spotting bc of pregnancy, and I’ll try to believe that what we did is less likely to get me pregnant 🩷 I really really appreciate you sooo much 🩷 YOU ARE AMAZING 🩷🩷

[aarija]

Hey Adorableadora,

So glad to see that you're feeling better about this! Its great to hear that you have your mother's support - Having someone to talk to about these fears can be a really useful outlet. Also love that you're using breathing mechanisms to self regulate, that is another great tool!

As far as finding professional help for anxiety, we can start with this article that has a few resources:
Anxiety and Other Mental Health Resources

I agree that its a good idea for you and your boyfriend to shy away from penetrative intercourse until both of you have some solid routines for settling your anxiety. This is territory you can navigate together, but I encourage both of you to find tools that you can use independently, as well as some things you can do together.

Too, since you said you don't know much about sex, I encourage you both to explore our website and read up on the things you are curious about. Having medically accurate information can also be a powerful tool in moving through anxiety.

[Adorableadora]

Yesss I really am thank you soo much! And yes my mom has been someone I really am comfortable speaking up my feelings too, she doesn’t want me to get pregnant before marriage or at age 21 but she really was there to comfort me during the times I was very very anxious. My breathing mechanism does help depending on how bad the anxiety is but it somewhat helps ‍

Thank you soo much for sharing this article to me I will definitely read it!

Yes for now we will try to avoid any kind of sexual activity just for our sakes of our mental health bc it got soo bad these past months. And we will find those ways!!

I will most definitely check your website with my boyfriend! Bc we don’t want our mental health to go everywhere when we haven’t done any kind of penetration, so imagine how that would go with our anxiety if that were to happen if we got super anxious with what occurred it would be worse with any penetration involved it’s best when we do it when we both can accept anything if pregnancy were to happen in the future! But for now it’s more about our relationship and to work on our anxiety too

Thank you!!

[KierC]

I am SO happy to hear this has been helpful for you! Also really glad to hear about your mom and your boyfriend: navigating anxiety with a supportive community alongside you can really help with managing anxiety symptoms long-term, because you’ll have a space to bring the inner anxieties into an outer environment that can help you process them in a different light. Too, if at any point you want to seek professional anxiety support with a therapist, that’s another space where you can bring these concerns and learn tools to manage the anxiety. Is that something you’d like to explore?

I totally agree with straying from sexual activities that trigger your pregnancy anxiety for the time being, and I think it’s a great idea to educate yourself on our website too! If I may, this is my favorite resource to share and could be helpful for you as you go through our site: it’s our Sex Readiness Checklist, and it goes through not only your emotional needs surrounding sex, but also physical needs; like access to birth control and healthcare, knowledge of anatomy, ability to relax, and more. I find this checklist to be a really great grounding tool to use as you learn about sex and reproduction, especially if you’re struggling with anxiety, because it can help you remember that you have what you need to have safe and pleasurable sex, and if you don’t, you at least know what you do need, and how to find it. I hope that helps a bit as you peruse the site! Too, if you *ever* want to talk about anxiety as it shows up in your relationship or how to communicate about this with your boyfriend, we’re happy to talk with you about that as well.

[Adorableadora]

Yes it really has!!! Thank you again for taking your time to answer all these questions!!!! I’m super grateful 🩷I have been thinking on doing therapy for my anxiety bc I feel like there is more that can help other than breathing mechanism. So yes I’m very interested!

Thank you for the link I’ll be reading everything you have sent me! This will definitely help me for sure!

HAVE A GOOD REST OF THE DAY/NIGHT!!! 🩷 I’ll keep everything in mind!!’ 🩷

[KierC]

Hey there!

I’m so glad this has been helpful for you! We can totally talk about therapy for anxiety and how to get started on finding someone who can help.

I want to start by sending you this: Sound Counsel: A Conversation With Lynn Ponton because it’s a wonderful conversation about starting therapy as a young person, and can give you some details on what to expect out of a consultation and a first session with a therapist. There’s a few different ways to find a therapist, the most straightforward being PsychologyToday which you can search by location, specializations (like if they specialize in treating anxiety, that would be important for you!), insurance, and more so you can find someone well-suited to your needs. Though if that doesn’t yield much, let me know, because there’s more databases out there of therapists that may help (some for BIPOC therapists, LGBTQ+ therapists, and trauma-informed therapists). If you feel comfortable, too, asking your mom or an adult you trust to support you through finding a therapist may help, because you’ll have an extra set of eyes on the more concrete details like insurance so you can focus on finding someone who you personally want to work with.

I’ll stop there for now, but how does that sound to you as a start?