Pregnancy and period

[iamnotonfire]

Ok, I've been reading EVERYWHERE that when you're pregnant you do not have periods. Quite funny, that three weeks ago I had sex (with protection) after that I took plan B, got my period at estimated time and it was heavy, I bled for like 5 days (longer than supposed to). So it's not implantation because it does not match the definition that "spotting or when you do not fill pad or tampon" because sure I did fill A LOT of tampons and pads on my first days. Now, what's really funny, I took a test a week after my menses just to be sure - it showed clear negative. Ok and now, after three weeks of my last sexual act I took another test and at first it showed negative, but after 10mins another line appeared. Can you guys tell me what this bs is? Is it because the test dried out or it's an evaporation line or smth? I know my stupid head that I checked the test 10mins after when I shouldn't because it says to check results after 3 mins. After that 3 mins the test was negative. Is it safe to say the real result is negative? Should I take another test tomorrow? Or if I wasnt pregnant no other line would show and that means I am actually pregnant? Thanks for answers

[Sam W]

Hi iamnotonfire,

You actually answered your own question when you said you should trust the results you saw after 3 minutes, given that the instructions on the test said to check after 3 minutes. The general rule is that once the appropriate time has passed, throw the test away. The results of a pregnancy test are only valid for a set amount of time. After that time, sometimes an "evaporation line" can appear in the test window. This is essentially a line that appears as the urine in the test dries, but it does not mean that pregnancy has occurred. Does that help clarify things some?

[iamnotonfire]

Yeah, thanks!
I was also wondering that this is nonsense. Because: a) we used protection (even though nothing is 100%, but giving that a girl is fertile only for a week and we did it on infertile days), b) I took Plan B not long after one intercourse (there were three in that month), c) my period (I guess it was my period) came on time, looked like a real period cuz it was heavy and painful as always. So it would be illogical for me to be pregnant and I guess the test would show definite positive after so much time. Am I right?

[Alice M]

You are correct. Having your period and then having a negative pregnancy test means that you are not pregnant. If someone were still concerned after those two solid confirmations, then we'd be getting into pregnancy scare-anxiety territory.

[iamnotonfire]

Just wanted a clarification because I also asked in some other page where a lot of doctors work and they answer online, so they were like "oh, you know maybe the bleeding you had after plan b is just side effect not your real period". Why wouldn't it be my period? It looked like one, felt like one, I was like 2 days late but maybe because I stopped birth control pills and took the plan b, but I am 100% sure it wasn't some strange long bleeding.

[Sam W]

We can't say for certain why they said that, since we can only account for our answers to questions and not other peoples'. But, this is one of those moments where your own knowledge of your body and how it feels during a period is important; since you said it looked and felt like a period, then you can assume that's what it was.