Not pregnant... need reassurance

[taterbug160.livejournal.com]

Hey there, I can't really find anything that is going to make ME feel any better.

I'm sexually active, on the patch, and use condoms every. single. time. I just had my period two weeks ago (this sunday is a new patch day, third week). Lately though, I've been having serious stomach ailments. Even though there is a stomach virus floating around, I'm still concerned.

Because everytime you mention "nausea, stomach ache" whatever, people automatically assume you're pregnant.
I realize the chances are super slim, but still... a girl freaks. So honestly, do I really have any need to worry?

Comments

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Patch + condoms? Probably not.

The patch alone is pretty secure, even without condoms (which are good for safer sex, of course). Look how many doctors prescribe drugs like Methotrexate and Accutane, knowing they cause horrible birth defects, to sexually active folks on HBC or who use condoms properly. They're relatively trustworthy.

(I'm somewhat boggled at the sheer number of people who use both HBC and condoms and will still use Plan B when they think pre-ejaculate has gotten on the vulva or in the vagina.)

[taterbug160.livejournal.com]

Well, I hear on this community a lot about trusting your birth control. I haven't been having sex for very long, so I haven't learned to just be content in the fact that we are very safe.

Ironically I was on accutane for about 3 years... my ovaries are probably fried anyways!

Thank you!

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Accutane doesn't fry ovaries, it damages fetuses. They can't handle overdoses of non-carotene vitamin A. Methotrexate, which I took for rheumatoid arthritis, causes "spinal cord defects," which include spina bifida, but with a drug like that, also causes aencephaly -- babies born without brains to speak of.

I've known people who have been very careful about birth control and gotten pregnant. I know someone who had an IUD removed from alongside her fetus while she was pregnant, because it failed. I know pill babies and condom babies and diaphragm babies. If you can not get pregnant, it's a good idea to use a backup, like a diaphragm with condoms. Also, condoms are important for safer sex, so using condoms to keep from picking up some STDs, then the pill for backup to avoid pregnancy, isn't a bad idea. But most of us aren't fertile all month long, and pre-ejaculate rarely contains sperm, and even then, hardly any, so added all together, with two forms of birth control, knowing when we ovulate (for people who are mostly regular, that's 14 days before the start of the next period, I spent years thinking it was 14 days after the start of the last one, my ob/gyn corrected me a few months ago -- I don't ovulate every 28 days, so I don't ovulate 14 days after the start of my last period), it means that the chance of our getting pregnant two days before a period starts, with even one form of birth control, and pre-ejaculate, is almost impossible.

After the woman I knew got pregnant with an IUD, I decided that I should only have sex that doesn't get people pregnant -- oral, manual, etc. -- if it would be the end of the world if I got pregnant. There's a LOT of fun to be had without PIV.

Right now, I'm polyamorous, and it would be a bad thing if I got pregnant with the partner who's not the life partner I'm living with. He and I use condoms because we're not fluid-bonded, but beyond that, I don't have PIV intercourse with him for about a week before ovulation and a couple of days afterward. We don't want to make a baby together.

[whitneythegreat.livejournal.com]

And of course, using hormonal birth control, most likely you're not ovulating anyway, so you can't really predict when it's happening.

[taterbug160.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Stupid stomch issues!

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, there are just germs that get into guts, and there are things-we-eat-that-we-shouldn't-have. Boys get nauseated, too, and usually aren't pregnant when they do.

[poledradog.livejournal.com]

*usually*???
;)

[slow-awakening.livejournal.com]

Nah. Chances of pregnancy are nill. Like you, I use both HBC and condoms and even though I've only been doing that for a year, I trust it pretty good. Hasn't failed yet! I also often get nauseated and get these hot flashes kind of feelings. People think I am pregnant, but it's never the case.

It's the flu and cold season, you're probably just coming down with something.

[taterbug160.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I thought the same thing but still... paranoia.

[utenafreak.livejournal.com]

If you are using condoms correctly, AND using the patch...the chances of pregnancy are very, very slim. I totally understand what you mean about paranoia- my partner and I check before, during, and after the act to make sure the condom didn't slip off or break, and I still freak out (on BC pills now, hopefully they'll ease my mind!)

[utenafreak.livejournal.com]

oh yeah...and I'm sure a slight illness...even your paranoia can convince you that regular symptoms are those of pregnancy.

[taterbug160.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I hate freaking out. But still, why must every single condition have a symptom of stomach aches and nausea? Definitely doesn't help!

Thanks. :)

[grimalkinrn.livejournal.com]

Anything going on in the abdomen is likely to cause the same symptoms, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea because the abdomen does not have the same amount of nerves that the rest of the body has. This is why it's so hard to pin point exactly what is wrong.

I'm not sure where you are, but there has been a NASTY stomach bug floating around, which is extremely painful (I thought I had appendicitis, because of where and how badly it hurt). Pepto will usually help with it.

I doubt you have to worry, honestly. I would just like to remind you that if your stomach pain becomes severe and localized to your lower right abdomen, or you begin to run a fever, have cold sweats, diarrhea and vomiting, or if your abdomen becomes rigid, you should go to an ER. While most stomach pain is just viral crap going around, it's good to be aware it could be an indicator of appendicitis.

[taterbug160.livejournal.com]

True, I would definitely go if it were THAT bad. However, it's just minor pain with nausea and diarrhea... hopefully I wont vomit. Thank you, I hate that this stupid bug is going around!

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

There's nothing wrong with taking a pregnancy test.

[taterbug160.livejournal.com]

Well, I would have to wait about a week and a half before I would know if I had a missed period. And just reading that gave me a cold sweat. lol

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

LOL I'm sorry. It's probably the best way to relieve the fear.

[areawoman.livejournal.com]

*Everything* is a symptom of pregnancy! Using two types of birth control correctly is more than enough to prevent pregnancy. I wouldn't worry if I were you.

[taterbug160.livejournal.com]

I know right. The PMS syptoms I have could be pregnancy, it's really annoying.

Thank you

[theycallmebitch.livejournal.com]

It's nearly impossible for you to be pregnant. I totally understand, though. Any kind of abnormal abdominal pain I feel automatically sends me in to a tizzy. I would have 30 kids by now if I was actually pregnant everytime I freaked out and thought I was.

[taterbug160.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I just have not been sexually active for very long at all, and I freak out very easily.

[xxchloroform.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't worry about it. But hell, I get the same types of fears and fits. I keep pregnancy tests in my vanity just in case I start to suspect something's up. But, for the most part, I trust my HBC. I've used it as my only form of birth control plenty of times with perfect results. But I still use back-up most of the time... if not for peace of mind, then for STDs.

[taterbug160.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I just hate that people put that fear in me when I know I'm being safe! My boyfriend (who is my only partner ever) and I take extra precaution, cause we don't need no babies!

[h0rsegurrrl.livejournal.com]

Hah, when I had a stomach virus back in October EVERYONE thought I was pregnant, even though there was no possibility (I was on birth control, used condoms and had two perfectly normal periods during the time I was having symptoms). My parents, my sister, my boyfriend's parents, my professors, my advisor, my voice teacher, my doctors - everyone thought I was pregnant. When I'd describe my symptoms, they'd all say, "...You're not pregnant, right? You're sure?" It was frustrating, yes, but if you get your period when you're supposed to and it's nothing out of the ordinary, you know that you're not pregnant and there's no reason to worry.

[taterbug160.livejournal.com]

It's so rude and annoying, especially when you don't WANT to be pregnant. I still have a week and a bit before my period is supposed to arrive, and I'm hoping I'm OVER this whole stomach thing by then!

[h0rsegurrrl.livejournal.com]

PS, if you need some more reassurance that you're not pregnant: most pregnant women are plagued with constipation, not diarrhea. I have IBS-C so I don't get diarrhea - my stomach flu manifested itself solely through severe nausea, a bit of vomiting, acid reflux, and woeful lethargy, so it didn't help my case when people thought I was pregnant!

[swept-away113.livejournal.com]

I think you're fine :) It is scary though, especially when you first start having sex. This community is really helpful though and has always eased my fears.