My husband and I have been using condoms as our BC method since I quit breastfeeding in October. Since then I have had very regular cycles beginning my period on day 29. I was supposed to start my period today, and this afternoon I did start bleeding. A few hours later when I went to change my tampon there was only a small amount of the brown-ish colored "old" blood. I put in a new tampon anyway, and when I changed that one there was still hardly any blood. Normally my first day I bleed very heavily.
My husband and I had sex one time this month where we didn't use a condom, but he pulled out. So, my question is Do I take a pregnancy test to ease my mind or do I wait it out a few more days and see what happens? I really don't want to spend money on a PT if it's not needed, but I googled "abnormal bleeding" and read that if you have an ectopic pregnancy you can have light bleeding, so now I'm a little freaked out.
I would wait 2 or 3 days and then get the cheapest test that you can find (They have them at the dollar store, and they are only $5 at wal-mart). You could also go into a free clinic and get one done.
The same thing happened when I was pregnant with my daughter. I thought I had my period and then it just stopped. Do a pregnancy test to ease your mind. For future reference I am sure many women on this forum now have children from using the pull out method. Big joke between hubby and I. My husband told me don't worry I have great control. LOL!!!!! She is about to turn 22!! Good luck!!
It's impossible to tell you for sure but I did have that exact same type of bleeding with my first pregnancy. In my case it was implantation bleeding. It doesn't necessarily mean an ectopic pregnancy, nor does it mean that's even positively a pregnancy. You could still have some strange hormonal things happening. Anyway Target carries a pregnancy test (Up and Up brand) for about $3 or $4. I'd take a test if I were you.
You can have light bleeding while the zygote attaches itself to the uterine wall. You can have this kind of bleeding when you have a fibroid.
Ease your mind and while you are at it get a real method of birth control and do not have sex unless it is in use 100% of the time.
The pullout method is like playing Russian Roulette. The bullets are real. You and your husband have proven fertility together. You know you can make babies.
If you had sex without a condom even if he pulled out you could still get pregnant, a small ammount of semen can "leak" before he pulls out, I know that is TMI! A little bit of bleeeding can also indicate a normal pregnancy, it's a little early to think that you have an eptopic pregnancy, esspecially if you have no other symptoms like intence flank pain. Take a pregnancy test, in fact buy several from the dollar store so you can re-test in a couple of days. Chances are you are not pregnant at all, but it's best to just take the test so you can stop worrying about it.
Dollar Tree carries perfectly good pregnancy tests for $1 apiece. no need to spend money on anything. Do take a test, after a couple of days, when you have a better idea of what is going on with your body. And do keep in mind that there is not one single 100% effective bC method outside of abstinence during fertile periods, so if you're VERY concerned with getting pregnant, why not learn to track your fertility in the future? That way you avoid all the risks.
Updated
Dollar Tree carries perfectly good pregnancy tests for $1 apiece. no need to spend money on anything. Do take a test, after a couple of days, when you have a better idea of what is going on with your body. And do keep in mind that there is not one single 100% effective bC method outside of abstinence during fertile periods, so if you're VERY concerned with getting pregnant, why not learn to track your fertility in the future? That way you avoid all the risks.
First of all my husband and I have used the pull out method for many years, and we have never gotten pregnant from that. We have 5 kids, but they were planned. Next, after my last babies, my period has started to change. Sometimes I start really heavy, sometimes I start with a tiny bit of old blood. I even will stop for a day or two and start again. I asked my ob and he said it is totally normal. Sometimes there is just old blood that needs to come out, then I usually start heavier bleeding in a day or two. So I would totally wait and see what happens. Esp. if your hormones are still adjusting from breastfeeding, I swear that takes months and months. Good luck!
Do you have dollar stores there? Ours has pregnancy tests and for a buck I could find out if I was going to shell out 100,000.00 for food and education or not. Sadly I will never get pregnant again, but those tests work pretty well from what I told. I spent a lot of lifetime waiting things out and that's not always good. By the way, I do know that sometimes people tear a little inside or have other reasons so don't panic.
If you have any doubt, stop using the tampons until there is more need. I would wait another day or two and take a test.
M.
That sort of bleeding can occur for a variety of reasons. It's not uncommon during pregnancy but that doesn't mean ectopic pregnancy. Ectopics don't occur in the uterus, obviously. An ectopic pregnancy is often accompanied by shoulder pain - the phrenic nerve refers pain to the shoulder, so anything going on in the area of the ovaries/Fallopian tubes irritates that nerve and sends the pain to an unrelated site. The uterus can expand with a fertilized egg, but the tubes cannot.
However, there is also something called implantation bleeding that occurs normally when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus. And sometimes women just have irregular periods with a little light bleeding - if a lot of fresh blood doesn't come out in one "normal" period, it can sort of drip out slowly which means it's a dark color by the time it works its way into a tampon or pad.
As you know, condoms aren't totally reliable, and withdrawal isn't reliable at all. However, there's no harm in waiting to see what happens before you take a pregnancy test - it's a question of waiting vs. cost.
A positive or negative test won't tell you one way or another whether there is an ectopic pregnancy. A positive test doesn't tell you where the pregnancy is, and a negative test could mean you are still pregnant but without enough hormones to register on the test. That happens with ectopic pregnancies sometimes, and with normal pregnancies many other times.
However, ectopics are extremely rare and the bleeding by itself doesn't indicate that one way or another. If you develop shoulder pain on one side or the other, see your doctor immediately. Do not wait. Otherwise, waiting isn't dangerous, it's just hard on your emotions!
Hope this works out for you.
