Hysterical Pregnancy? Or a real one??

[turtleonaleash]

Hi all,

Here we go.

Been suffering with anxiety all my life. Been struggling with it majorly the last year. Life altering anxiety. It's awful.

Been with the same guy for 5 years. In July (on the 22ed) we had sex. I'm on the pill, never missed one and we used the withdrawal method as well. We had sex 4 times and then I started to experience awful cramping and I got my period 4 days early. This has never happened to me before! I freaked out. My period lasted about 5 days and I kind of started to calm down.

I went to my Dr. and he started talking about pregnancy and miscarriages and all that again and my anxiety went through the roof. He gave me a urine pregnancy test which came out negative.

Another month passed and I had my period and everything seemed normal. Then the next month my period came early again along with awful cramping.

I've also been super bloated, crazy emotional, my breasts are feeling bigger and heavier and my lower back is so sore. I'm not gaining weight (number wise.) And I am still getting my period and it's heavy and lasts 5 days.
I have been nauseous but that's not really un-usual for me. I usually feel sick (especially in the mornings) and I have for years.

I had gone off the pill and then I went back on it in June, and I know it takes a while for the body to re-adjust to the hormones. But I am still just so scared. I haven't had sex since (not really great for my relationship.)

My new Dr. recently diagnosed me with IBS which I know could account for the bloating and back pain. He felt around my stomach really well. If I was truly 10-12 weeks pregnant I'm sure he would have felt the fetus?

I'm just terrified. Every day I look at my stomach in the mirror. I examine it. I notice that my veins are sticking out more. I check my breasts to see if I'm lactating. I'm afraid to leave my house because I'm afraid I'm going to go into labor randomly or I'm going to have a miscarriage. (I also suffer from agoraphobia anyways so it's just another excuse I'm using to not leave the house.)

Everyone around me thinks I'm crazy because I don't look pregnant and I'm still getting my period and I do take my birth control pill perfectly. But I just can't shake it. I can even feel movement in my stomach.

[turtleonaleash]

Also, my breasts lately are SO sore. Even if I'm not pregnant is it normal to have such awful PMS symptoms while on the pill??

[joannap]

i cannot understand why you would torment yourself like this instead of just doing a pregnancy test? it sounds as if your fear of getting pregnant has got way out of control so know you are obsessing you are but this would be pretty much impossible. the more you focus on symptoms - the more "real" they will feel. i often get movement in my stomach which i think is wind lol - there is no way you would feel a baby moving until at least 18+ weeks and yes - you can get sore breasts when on the pill etc. i really think you should do a test and then when it is negative - work on the underlying anxiety that is fuelling this x

[turtleonaleash]

Thank you for your reply. I already have one negative urine pregnancy test under my belt. It was preformed about 2 weeks after I had sex at my dr's office. I was thinking about going to buy some more but I'm worried they won't put my mind at ease either and I'll just get stuck in another vicious cycle.

Thanks again for your reply.

[joannap]

perhaps you are worried about the result being negative and then you will have to address the anxiety? this has happened to me - i have worried about something to then be given the all clear and i haven;t feel happier because the anxiety is still there but now has nothing to be fuelled into?

at least if you do another test you will know for certain because these worries are still obviously affecting you xx

[PUGLETMUM]

:) I agree with joanne, that the way you are feeling is to do with anxiety -all of the constant worrying about your periods and your symptoms and whether you are pregnant is all to do with the fact you are agoraphobic? how can you look after a baby when you are like this, without major help and support, so you worry yourself sick about it happening? thats what i'm guessing is causing this? - if you use your birth control properly and maybe use condoms too then you wont get pregnant - i have had the same issues, after struggling to deal with the emotional fallout from 2 miscarriages, which then meant i had to examine my life and my condition (agoraphobia) i became pregant again in february of this year, but opted for a termination - which in itself is soul destroying when thats all youve ever wanted - but i feel that your first priority like joanne says is to deal wiht your anxiety levels - get some help or start to use self-help, cognitive behavioural therapy is good and also meditation and thingds like yoga and exercising are good - also you could start to go for short walks and then build up to longer ones - being out in the fresh air and walking are really good for the mind and body. im sure you will recover from this, as many of us have, but it seems that unless you tackle the anxiety, then it just returns around some other issue - agoraphobia is a very disabling condition and it should be taken seriously by the sufferer - you need to support yourself in your efforts to open up your world, so you arent in a position to obsess over things - even 'normal' ppl suffer with this, and thats why they like to be at work and keep busy - although your anxiety has turned into agoraphobia, it is still a noraml reaction for all other ppl, but like i say they have mechanisms to keep it from beoming a disorder - not sure this will help at all - just rambling really - sometimes lecturing another member helps to re-inforce what we need to do ourselves:blush:

[dodo]

OK what I will say is that it takes your body a while to adjust to the pill and beings you only started on it again in June then it will still be adjusting. The pill does cause abnormal cycle lengths as one of its side effects.

Next thing is you can get false negatives with pregnancy tests. That said it would be unlikely to have periods at the same time. It can happen but is highly unlikely.

Now having been pregnant myself I know the symptoms and one is breast changes. You won't start lactating till the end of pregnancy so get that one out of your head. You would however get blue veins on your breasts and your breasts would ache so badly you would need to wear a bra all day and all night.

If you are sitll worried I would suggest getting a cheap test and doing it just to put your mind at rest. At least this is one thing you would be certain of within a few minutes. At 10-12 weeks it would be unlikely to get a false negative, they are usually when you test too early.

[Vixxy]

I can kind of relate. I've not been intimate with my husband for a long time, then 2 weeks ago I finally was relaxed enough so we were intimate, but didn't have sex. Since then my boobs are sore and tender and have grown in size! The back of my mind is screaming "what if?". I do actually want a baby, but I know at this moment in time I'm not in the right place to do it.
My periods are a bit whacky, so I've no idea when I'll come on and can draw a line under it!
Take a test and make sure you keep a note of how you're feeling now. That way if it ever happens again you can look back and see it doesn't always equal pregnancy :)

[dodo]

And don't forget one effect of the pill is to trick your body into thinking it's pregnant so you don't conceive. The last pill i was on had loads of 'pregnancy' side effects from blue veins all over my body to extreme fatigue which is an early sign.