Missed period for no discernable reason, with no other symptoms

[mle19.livejournal.com]

Hi all!
I have a Mirena IUD, which is the only protection I use, and I'm sexually active. My periods are generally light and pretty regular (on or within 1-2 days of when I expect it), with no real cramping.

At this point I am just over two weeks late; I was prepared to start on November 20th. I've taken three pregnancy tests and all were negative. I don't have any pregnancy symptoms that I can discern, and my IUD is definitely properly in place.
I also haven't noticed any other factors/changes that might affect my period. Google tells me there are a bunch of reasons for a late period (like stress, dietary changes, weight loss or gain, new medication, drug use, etc. etc.) and none apply to me currently.

Today I had pain and cramping that seemed focused on the left side of my body and very minor brown discharge, which occurred this morning but stopped around noon. I know IUDs increase the risk of ectopic pregnancies and that these are some symptoms of that, but any pregnancy with an IUD is very rare and, again, my home pregnancy tests were all negative. I have never had discharge like this, so it is not typically a sign that I've started my period (although I know that it very well might be this time!)

It seems pointless to ask, "What's going on with me?!" because I'm pretty sure that's an unanswerable question that's better suited for my gyno, but due to a couple of unfortunate factors (leaving for a trip on Tuesday and stuck at home due to an ice storm in the meantime) I don't think I'll be able to see anyone soon. I'm just worried, and, like I always do when I research my symptoms on the internet, I've gotten myself worked up over it. Anyone deal with anything similar? Any thoughts? Anything to reassure me that I'm not going to die on my floor of a burst Fallopian tube because I'm snowed in?!


tl;dr: I'm uncharacteristically over 2 weeks late; 3 pregnancy tests were negative and I have no other pregnancy symptoms, but also no other obvious reasons why I might be late; I had some uncharacteristic discharge/cramping today and have semi-convinced myself it's an ectopic pregnancy despite my IUD and negative pregnancy tests. Thoughts?

Stacking monophasic HBC/spotting, part 2

[lily-flower-55.livejournal.com]

I posted earlier about stacking my HBC and breakthrough bleeding. I wanted to avoid the month-long spotting, so even though the bleeding was light, I took a 4 day break from active pills, and resumed last night. The "period" got a bit heavier, though still not what I would call a normal flow for me (which is usually pretty light anyway).

This morning, I'm still spotting a small amount. When can I expect the hormones to kick this in the butt completely? Is there any way to speed up this process, as I'd like to be withdrawl-bleed free as soon as possible?

Thanks!

Links Round Up: Week Ending 6 December 2013

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

Hi and welcome to the latest edition of our Links Round Up!

For folks who don't know, the LRU is a compilation of items from the past week that may be of interest to VPers and is intended to broaden the kinds of conversations we have here.

To submit articles for next week's round-up, e-mail vpteam@vaginapagina.com. If you have additional articles you'd like folks to know about this week, feel free to comment directly to this post.

As a reminder, in lieu of trigger warnings, I use keywords describing the themes of the piece. Please skim these before deciding to read the excerpt or click through for the full article. Outside sources are not safe spaces, and mainstream source's comments should almost always be avoided. The links I highlight don't necessarily reflect VP's views, or even my own, for that matter.

This week's round-up includes: feminism, motherhood, and pink collar work; gender inequality among doctors; the AIDS granny in exile; Plan B and fat shaming; eating disorders and SWAG; and food stamp policy.

( Read more... )

Also, in case you missed it, VP is looking for new SSM candidates -- and the deadline to apply has been extended to December 15.

Thoughts on any of these stories (minus the SSM candidate announcement; questions and such about that are best directed to that post)? Also, please don't hesitate to share anything I -- among other VP readers -- may have missed! What have you been reading or writing this week?

Light period after plan B

[sarah ashton]

Almost exactly a month ago I took plan b to help ease my mind more than anything else. I'm on the pill but it was my off week and the condom broke but he didn't finish. Because I'm crazy I took plan b, however, I'm on my period now and it's been pretty light. I took a pregnancy test a day before my period and it was negative. Should I be concerned? I have been fairly stressed / working a lot too. Thanks for your help.