Period

[Itsangie09]

Hello, I was just wondering if you guys could help me out with this, or steer me in the right direction on what to do next. So I am sexually active and the last time I had sex was a little more than a month ago. I was supposed to get my period around the early 20’s of this month and didn’t. I waited until my period tracker said I was 3 days late and took a pregnancy test and cake out negative. And it’s April now and it still hasn’t come. I’ve experienced not having a period for 3 months like 2 years ago during the summer. But I don’t know if I should be worried or what to do about this. Please help me.

[al]

Hi there angie,

I'm sorry to hear that your period hasn't come yet! That can definitely be stressful.
However, if you took a pregnancy test correctly after the day that you expected to get your period, and it came out negative, you can be sure that you're not pregnant.
I think Heather already shared this article with you before, but just in case you need a reminder, there are a whole lot of reasons that periods can come late:MIA, or Dude, Where's My Period?.

In all likelihood your period will come soon, and right now it's just a waiting-and-taking-care-of-yourself game.
In terms of this last sexual encounter - what forms of contraception were you using (if any)?

[Itsangie09]

Yes we were using a condom and just to be safer he pulls out before he ejaculates every time and we make sure to look at the condom after to make sure it was ripped or if anything could get out.

[Amanda F]

Hi Itsangie09,

It sounds like you've been taking wise precautions. Using a condom AND pulling out as a backup method means that it's extremely unlikely that you could have become pregnant. In fact, the two together are 96-99% effective at preventing pregnancy. So like Al said, if you've taken the test correctly at this point in time and it came back negative, you aren't pregnant.

Periods can become more or less irregular at different points in our lives, so it's possible that your period is going into hiding for a bit. If you want extra reassurance, you can take another pregnancy test. In the meantime, it really is time to be gentle with yourself and as patient with your body as possible while you wait for your uterus to do its thing!

[Itsangie09]

Thank you. Also could my age have something to do with it? Or can anxiety and stress be causing this too? Because this whole quarantine thing has been giving me anxiety and I’m nervous on what’s to come next.

[Amanda F]

Yes, it's very common for young people to experience irregular menstruation, so that could also be a part of why your period is late.

And absolutely, stress and anxiety can affect your cycle! This pandemic can't be helping much with that. How are you doing, generally speaking? How have things changed for you?

[Itsangie09]

Yeah it’s been pretty weird, a lot of things have changed with school. I’ve gone from being busy everyday to not really doing anything now. But yeah I definitely will say that I’ve been experiencing anxiety.

[Karyn]

It's a big change for a lot of people, for sure, and it's not surprising that you're experiencing some anxiety. These are pretty stressful times. So, as Amanda said, that can absolutely affect your cycle; I just want to mention that changes in sleep and exercise patterns - which can go along with having a different day-to-day schedule - can also affect your cycle.

Do you have some ways to manage the stress and anxiety? Happy to give you some suggestions if that's helpful.

[Itsangie09]

I’ve been drawing a lot and reading but I also wanna switch things up and try something new. So if you could give me some suggestions that would be great!

[Mo]

Karyn might have some other thoughts too, but I find that doing something physical can really help occupy my mind in a way that helps me deal with anxiety better. If the weather's nice and you're in an area where you can take a walk while keeping your distance from people, that might help; for me, a good walk plus music or a podcast that can hold my attention can be the best way to clear my mind. If I can't get outside or am tired I do a lot of knitting, handspinning, and baking, all things that keep my hands busy and hit that sweet spot of engaging my mind without overwhelming it.
Also, are there friends you could reach out to for phone calls or video chats from time to time? Right now it can be easy to feel pretty isolated if you aren't making specific plans to reach out to friends and loved ones, and having a friendly chat with a friend can be another great distraction.

[Itsangie09]

Thank you for those ideas I will definitely be trying some of them. Thank you so much also for answering my questions I really appreciate it.

[Amanda F]

Of course! Feel free to stop by the boards if you have other questions. You can also post in our user-to-user section if you'd like to talk to other Scarleteen users about anything.