Scarleteen

hi there,

so i posted recently about a scenario i thought was risky (my boyfriend came in his hands, but then wiped them with toilet paper, and also touched my skin or at least another surface before rubbing my vulva while i think i was very fertile, his hands felt dry and looked dry and he swore they were clean and im sure they were) but im really scared. so after that i got a really light period with hardly any clots, like less than 4 weeks ago, and then 2 days ago i got my period AGAIN, early, and it basically only lasted from the day it started to the next day with heavy, dark red goop, and some clots like some really firm little blobs too, and lots of fresh blood, and it started slowly and began with brown discharge like 2 days before actual blood came. is this implantation, is this normal? ive never had piv, im really terrified right now. this has been my shortest period and the last one was the lightest. the past 2 days were so painful and crampy and today it was not much, more like clear discharge with some fresh blood. am i at risk? should i worry?

Hi Daniwani2008,

I'm sorry to hear you are feeling so scared around all this! We can talk about what you've noticed--I have some thoughts that I hope will help you feel less anxious.

The first thing we should remember is that the scenario you posted about was not actually risky--sperm cells simply would not survive that trip, and there would not be enough to cause pregnancy in the first place. There is no chance that you could be pregnant from what you described. In addition, you also have a negative pregnancy test. With all this information, you can rest assured that you are not pregnant.

That means, the changes you've noticed in your period that seem unusual cannot be due to pregnancy--this isn't implantation. We can consider whether this is the normal variation of periods, or if there is some other cause that you should be paying attention to, but at this point, you don't need to worry. If there is any concern (which there may not be!), it is not time-sensitive, and likely will not be difficult to manage. You will be fine. We'll be here to help you, and we can also be a sounding board for the process of finding any additional care that you might need. Does that sound good?

Your periods are not the work of a machine, so there is bound to be some change in how they are over time. It can be useful to pay attention to the dates of your periods and how they feel generally, but you can have variation in when they happen, how long they last, and how much flow you have without there being any particular cause for concern.

I do want to ask about something you mentioned in your last conversation here. As I understand, you were taking the opill, that you stopped for the duration of your period, and your started taking it again afterwards. Is that correct?

The fact that you are taking birth control could account to the changes you've noticed in your period--if I may ask, when did you start taking it?

Also, were you instructed by a doctor/healthcare professional to take a break from the opill each month? As I understand, the opill is a progestin-only contraceptive that is meant to be taken every day, without breaks. I will check to confirm, but changing the expected schedule can also affect your period.

hi,

so i stopped taking opill completely last month, after the incident i described (which was after my period, when i stopped taking the opill) i began retaking it briefly for like 2 weeks then i got that weird light bleed from stopping it again. haven’t taken it since that light bleed and then i got this weird “period”. i did in fact get negatives but then a couple days before this 2 day bleed i took a blue dye and it had a faint line, it had sort of a thin line to one side and then filled in weird (about 30+ days post event, and after that event i havent done anything else), which really freaked me out. it was some cheap cvs blue dye. but all of the ones before with first morning pee and urine holds were negative. i don’t know if i should test again or be concerned? i’m not taking the opill anymore because im not going to be actually sexually active anytime soon but im hoping this is normal from stopping and continuing it sporadically?

Hi daniwani2008,

How do you feel reading what Latha said above about your risk? I know things can feel scary but what is helpful is looking into the reality of your risk and addressing the anxiety on its own. If you haven't read it already, here is an article that I think will be helpful -- You're Not Pregnant. Why Do You Think You Are?

The atypical use of birth control here, stopping and starting and stopping, is a likely explanation for the changes in your period. Like Latha mentioned, periods often change as our bodies do and things like stress can have a major impact on our cycles.