Signs that I might be pregnant (since I'm trying to get that way)?
August 10, 2012 2:25 PM Subscribe
Questions about pregnancy: I'm pretty clear on how babbys are formed, but I don't have any personal experience about the signs that my SO and I have been successful in our no-birth-control-and-hope-for-a-new-human experiment.
I am female, 35, and nulliparous; my SO is male, so we have that complication taken care of. We have been using spermicide & diaphragm or condoms as our primary contraceptives for over a year, but have recently stopped because we would like to have children. I did have an IUD for five years previously, but that was taken out over a year ago.
I'm doing the obvious stuff: taking vitamins (including folic acid), drinking alcohol lightly (no more than one drink/day, will stop if pregnant - the coffee will be hard to give up). Given that we've just started, I don't think I should go crazy and tell my SO he can't use laptops or anything, but anything obvious missed?
I don't expect us to succeed right away. But what are some of the initial signs that I might have that we have been successful? I know that menstruation can continue (if lightly) even into the first couple of months. I don't want to be running out for pregnancy tests every month (it's expensive and will be too disappointing if it's a null result), but I also want to make sure that I'm aware of success sooner rather than later. Also, we're both a bit nervous because of my age and the fact that we have never had a pregnancy scare despite years of not-perfect birth control.
anonymous because we haven't told our parents or friends we are trying, and would rather not until we succeed, and some RL people know us on here.
I am female, 35, and nulliparous; my SO is male, so we have that complication taken care of. We have been using spermicide & diaphragm or condoms as our primary contraceptives for over a year, but have recently stopped because we would like to have children. I did have an IUD for five years previously, but that was taken out over a year ago.
I'm doing the obvious stuff: taking vitamins (including folic acid), drinking alcohol lightly (no more than one drink/day, will stop if pregnant - the coffee will be hard to give up). Given that we've just started, I don't think I should go crazy and tell my SO he can't use laptops or anything, but anything obvious missed?
I don't expect us to succeed right away. But what are some of the initial signs that I might have that we have been successful? I know that menstruation can continue (if lightly) even into the first couple of months. I don't want to be running out for pregnancy tests every month (it's expensive and will be too disappointing if it's a null result), but I also want to make sure that I'm aware of success sooner rather than later. Also, we're both a bit nervous because of my age and the fact that we have never had a pregnancy scare despite years of not-perfect birth control.
anonymous because we haven't told our parents or friends we are trying, and would rather not until we succeed, and some RL people know us on here.
(BTW, I was 35 when I got pregnant the very first month of trying, even though we had never had a pregnancy scare, even through all the young, stupid years when we did nothing but withdrawal. So neither of those things are good predictors of your potential success with conception.)
posted by rabbitrabbit at 2:30 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by rabbitrabbit at 2:30 PM on August 10, 2012
My first signs included a tiny, tiny bit of low-grade, fleeting nausea and a weird overlay to my senses of taste/smell (hard to explain). And being super tired. We were trying and actively tracking cycles so I took a pregnancy test very early on. After the positive test, the next signs were sore breasts and being even more tired - but those might still qualify as early signs if you have not been tracking your cycles closely enough to have taken a test.
I had some implantation bleeding, and actually thought it was my period - except that it only continued for about half a day. That's what prompted me to finally take the test.
posted by handful of rain at 2:33 PM on August 10, 2012
I had some implantation bleeding, and actually thought it was my period - except that it only continued for about half a day. That's what prompted me to finally take the test.
posted by handful of rain at 2:33 PM on August 10, 2012
I have been pregnant twice, and both times my first sign was crampiness as though my period were about to begin, then over the next couple days......no period. Also sore, tender breasts.
I will second the recommendation of the dollar store pregnancy tests. They are pretty accurate. If you get what you think is a faint line, you can spring for a more expensive test then.
posted by fancyoats at 2:33 PM on August 10, 2012 [3 favorites]
I will second the recommendation of the dollar store pregnancy tests. They are pretty accurate. If you get what you think is a faint line, you can spring for a more expensive test then.
posted by fancyoats at 2:33 PM on August 10, 2012 [3 favorites]
It feels to me like the responsible thing to do is test about 14 days after ovulation, disappointment or no. Buy in bulk or at the dollar store as advised.
If you haven't read Taking Charge of Your Fertility, chow down on that and start charting your temperature, you'll (possibly) see indicators of implantation and early-stage pregnancy.
Also, if you suddenly can't bend/roll over, drive over speed bumps, or walk faster than a slow march without crazy boob pain, that's also a good sign.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:33 PM on August 10, 2012 [3 favorites]
If you haven't read Taking Charge of Your Fertility, chow down on that and start charting your temperature, you'll (possibly) see indicators of implantation and early-stage pregnancy.
Also, if you suddenly can't bend/roll over, drive over speed bumps, or walk faster than a slow march without crazy boob pain, that's also a good sign.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:33 PM on August 10, 2012 [3 favorites]
I think it's hard to give you specific signs to look for, since everyone is different, and even the pregnancies of the same woman are different.
The first time I was pregnant, I felt like I had the flu. Like handful, it was nausea, tiredness and I felt feverish. My back felt absolutely wrecked.
The second time, I didn't know I had been pregnant until the doctor told me.
posted by peacrow at 2:35 PM on August 10, 2012 [2 favorites]
The first time I was pregnant, I felt like I had the flu. Like handful, it was nausea, tiredness and I felt feverish. My back felt absolutely wrecked.
The second time, I didn't know I had been pregnant until the doctor told me.
posted by peacrow at 2:35 PM on August 10, 2012 [2 favorites]
seconding Lyn Never's suggestion of reading TCOYF to start charting your cycles.
posted by scody at 2:35 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by scody at 2:35 PM on August 10, 2012
We can all answer this question but then there is a real risk you'll spend hours before a mirror trying to figure out if your nipples are paler, redder or bigger or if your abdomen is darkening in a discernible line.
Buy 50, pee every day from Day 14 to menstruation, and devote your emotional energy to something other than the time suck that is waiting.
If you conceive, it's a nice thing to pass the unused strips to a friend TTC as they will be "lucky strips."
posted by DarlingBri at 2:37 PM on August 10, 2012 [21 favorites]
Buy 50, pee every day from Day 14 to menstruation, and devote your emotional energy to something other than the time suck that is waiting.
If you conceive, it's a nice thing to pass the unused strips to a friend TTC as they will be "lucky strips."
posted by DarlingBri at 2:37 PM on August 10, 2012 [21 favorites]
Women in my family get leg cramps in the calf of one leg before any other sign of pregnancy. And it happens early - maybe at one month. I never ever have leg cramps except when I'm pregnant. (BTW if this happens to you and you are laying down, grab your toes and pull them towards your body. This will relieve the cramp.)
Other than that - throwing up in the morning when I haven't eaten anything and I don't have a fever and therefore couldn't possibly have the flu. But that's starts at about 2 months.
posted by cda at 2:41 PM on August 10, 2012
Other than that - throwing up in the morning when I haven't eaten anything and I don't have a fever and therefore couldn't possibly have the flu. But that's starts at about 2 months.
posted by cda at 2:41 PM on August 10, 2012
I know that menstruation can continue (if lightly) even into the first couple of months.
People who get pregnant can sometimes (maybe 10% of all pregnancies) have bleeding that appears to them to be similar to menstruation during their pregnancy, particularly in the first trimester. Most bleeding in early pregnancy is very different from menstruation (light spotting, etc.) and 70% to 80% of all pregnancies are accompanied by zero bleeding during the first trimester.
The likelihood that you, personally, will have that experience is obviously quite small. In general, the only reliable signs of pregnancy are missed periods and positive pregnancy tests.
Wasting time trying to suss out stuff from nausea or breast changes or whatever is far more likely to be stressful and disappointing than just taking a pregnancy test when your period is late. If you are having a period just like your usual, there is no point taking a pregnancy test on the off chance that you're among the small percentage of women who have vaginal bleeding while pregnant.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:49 PM on August 10, 2012 [8 favorites]
People who get pregnant can sometimes (maybe 10% of all pregnancies) have bleeding that appears to them to be similar to menstruation during their pregnancy, particularly in the first trimester. Most bleeding in early pregnancy is very different from menstruation (light spotting, etc.) and 70% to 80% of all pregnancies are accompanied by zero bleeding during the first trimester.
The likelihood that you, personally, will have that experience is obviously quite small. In general, the only reliable signs of pregnancy are missed periods and positive pregnancy tests.
Wasting time trying to suss out stuff from nausea or breast changes or whatever is far more likely to be stressful and disappointing than just taking a pregnancy test when your period is late. If you are having a period just like your usual, there is no point taking a pregnancy test on the off chance that you're among the small percentage of women who have vaginal bleeding while pregnant.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:49 PM on August 10, 2012 [8 favorites]
Every woman will have different signs, every pregnancy. The only way to know is to test. Tests are cheap online and the disappointment of a neg is way less hassle than the obsessive "symptom" tracking (which often comes with disappointing negs too).
posted by arcticwoman at 2:51 PM on August 10, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by arcticwoman at 2:51 PM on August 10, 2012 [4 favorites]
And reliable pregnancy tests can be ordered on the Internet for super-cheap, like for less than a dollar each, so if you do want to test regularly it's not going to be a big expense.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:51 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:51 PM on August 10, 2012
the disappointment of a neg is way less hassle than the obsessive "symptom" tracking (which often comes with disappointing negs too)
OMG yes. A friend was TTC and she was so excited when she started vomiting every morning. Turns out she had an ulcer.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:52 PM on August 10, 2012 [8 favorites]
OMG yes. A friend was TTC and she was so excited when she started vomiting every morning. Turns out she had an ulcer.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:52 PM on August 10, 2012 [8 favorites]
Yes, cheap testing strips. Buy them and pee freely. I used one of the expensive EPT ones that say "pregnant" or "not pregnant" to confirm. (FWIW, the second line on the cheap strip showed up about half an hour after it was supposed to. A fancy test the next morning said "pregnant," or as I recall it, "holy shit, it's happening.")
posted by purpleclover at 3:00 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by purpleclover at 3:00 PM on August 10, 2012
I highly, highly recommend getting some test strips instead of the really expensive pregnancy kits.
Here's a link to an ovulation plus pregnancy package. This was immensely helpful in predicting when to attempt baby making and there are plenty of pregnancy test strips so you don't feel wasteful if you use a couple each cycle and they are cheap compared to the store bought home pregnancy tests. FWIW It took us a year of trying, plus a miscarriage before something stuck.
The first time I was pregnant my boobs got HUGE and sore immediately, but other wise felt great. The second time it took them much longer to get larger and sore, but I was horridly exhausted. YMMV
Good luck!
posted by HMSSM at 3:03 PM on August 10, 2012 [2 favorites]
Here's a link to an ovulation plus pregnancy package. This was immensely helpful in predicting when to attempt baby making and there are plenty of pregnancy test strips so you don't feel wasteful if you use a couple each cycle and they are cheap compared to the store bought home pregnancy tests. FWIW It took us a year of trying, plus a miscarriage before something stuck.
The first time I was pregnant my boobs got HUGE and sore immediately, but other wise felt great. The second time it took them much longer to get larger and sore, but I was horridly exhausted. YMMV
Good luck!
posted by HMSSM at 3:03 PM on August 10, 2012 [2 favorites]
Just test. The cost of the tests on Amazon are about $0.30 each, so you could drop your Netflix subscription to pay for them and use one a day. Heh.
It's good to know. You won't beat yourself up over secondhand smoke or martinis that way.
The downside is that the earlier you find out, the longer you are pregnant (or so it seems).
posted by Athene at 3:05 PM on August 10, 2012 [3 favorites]
It's good to know. You won't beat yourself up over secondhand smoke or martinis that way.
The downside is that the earlier you find out, the longer you are pregnant (or so it seems).
posted by Athene at 3:05 PM on August 10, 2012 [3 favorites]
I agree that you should buy yourself a big pack of the cheapo pregnancy tests. But try not to test too early in your cycle, or at least don't do so if a false negative will break your heart in two. I got a negative on a Wednesday and the positive two days later.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:06 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:06 PM on August 10, 2012
Test! The only symptom I had before week 8 was slight fatigue. Which I didn't even recognize until after the pregnancy test I took at 6 weeks. I took the test because I missed my period. After week 8... bam, pretty much ALL they typical symptoms showed up.
posted by Swisstine at 3:12 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by Swisstine at 3:12 PM on August 10, 2012
I got pregnant on the first try at age 40. Two weeks after conception, I was entirely convinced that I was about to get my period, and took a home test only so I could cancel the inconveniently-located-and-timed blood test I had scheduled for the next day. 40 weeks later (he's due Tuesday!), I'm still sort of surprised at how that all worked out.
posted by judith at 3:22 PM on August 10, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by judith at 3:22 PM on August 10, 2012 [6 favorites]
I suspected I was pregnant when I noticed my boobs were like rocks. Like, you could poke them and your finger would not sink in at all. Big heavy rocks on my chest. We picked up a pregnancy test that night and little dude was born about seven months later.
posted by agress at 3:29 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by agress at 3:29 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
Definitely read Taking Charge of Your Fertility. If that is too daunting then start with Fertility Friend. I still use FF even though I have read TCOYF too. Charting your temperatures will let you know when you have ovulated and help you figure out when your "fertile window" is. It will also let you know if you're pregnant, since your temperature will fall a day or two before your period starts if you're not. I also recommend the cheapo tests that HMSSM suggests. You can also buy 50 packs of pregnancy tests from the same company.
You also might want to forget about this and just have lots of sex about two weeks before you normally get your period (e.g., around day 17 if you have a 32 day cycle), and then test if and when you're late and, like everyone says, if your boobs feel different. Too much knowledge can make TTC even more stressful than it already is. I would like to go back to the days of blissful ignorance, before miscarrying my conceived-on-the-first-try pregnancy. Unfortunately I know too much about my signs of fertility and can't ignore them even if I wanted to!
posted by apricot at 3:33 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
You also might want to forget about this and just have lots of sex about two weeks before you normally get your period (e.g., around day 17 if you have a 32 day cycle), and then test if and when you're late and, like everyone says, if your boobs feel different. Too much knowledge can make TTC even more stressful than it already is. I would like to go back to the days of blissful ignorance, before miscarrying my conceived-on-the-first-try pregnancy. Unfortunately I know too much about my signs of fertility and can't ignore them even if I wanted to!
posted by apricot at 3:33 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
My first concrete sign both times was extreme breast tenderness. It was ludicrously painful to so much as walk up and down the stairs.
posted by Andrhia at 3:35 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Andrhia at 3:35 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
Every pregnancy announces itself differently. My first, just faint nausea. My second pregnancy announced itself with an attack of gas that completely hotboxed my car. And to top that off, the pregnancy strip was a false negative when I checked! I KNEW that those farts were not normal, there was no way. So I had a blood test done at the doctor, and of course I was right.
Anyway. Buy the big bag o'strips -- they work fine, they just aren't quite as sensitive as a blood test, but nothing is -- and enjoy the adventure. And keep the car windows down.
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:39 PM on August 10, 2012 [2 favorites]
Anyway. Buy the big bag o'strips -- they work fine, they just aren't quite as sensitive as a blood test, but nothing is -- and enjoy the adventure. And keep the car windows down.
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:39 PM on August 10, 2012 [2 favorites]
I'm one of those people who had bleeding like a period, my first trimester was nearly over before I knew I was pregnant. I had, however, been feeling like crap, almost like a flu, very tired, and my appetite was poor. It wasn't until my breasts started hurting like crazy that I started to suspect I was pregnant.
posted by upatree at 3:42 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by upatree at 3:42 PM on August 10, 2012
With my first pregnancy, I was so asymptomatic (except for a lack of period), including not feeling the baby move until really late due to an anterior placenta, that at the 20-week ultrasound, my partner joked, "NOW do you believe that you're pregnant?"
With my second (which never progressed beyond six weeks), I knew I was pregnant immediately. I was exhausted, my uterus felt heavy, and I developed an aversion to coffee.
So, yeah, really a test is the only way to tell.
posted by linettasky at 4:27 PM on August 10, 2012
With my second (which never progressed beyond six weeks), I knew I was pregnant immediately. I was exhausted, my uterus felt heavy, and I developed an aversion to coffee.
So, yeah, really a test is the only way to tell.
posted by linettasky at 4:27 PM on August 10, 2012
My hips looked bigger. I can't really explain it. There was also incredible cramping for a couple weeks, like an ovary was in a vice. I tested on April 1, and it was positive. I was barely 5 weeks at that point.
He just turned 8 months on Tuesday and loves to stick his fingers up nostrils - anyone's nostrils.
Good luck, have fun!
posted by jerseygirl at 4:48 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
He just turned 8 months on Tuesday and loves to stick his fingers up nostrils - anyone's nostrils.
Good luck, have fun!
posted by jerseygirl at 4:48 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
I hope this isn't a derail, but I would love some clarification on this: for those posters who felt sore breasts as a sign of pregnancy, did this feel different from regular premenstrual breast soreness? In other words, [how] were you able to tell it was pregnancy and not PMS before taking the pregnancy test?
posted by Secret Sockdentity at 4:58 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by Secret Sockdentity at 4:58 PM on August 10, 2012
Buy lots of dollar store tests and use them. Keep in mind that even if the test is negative that doesn't mean you're not pregnant- just that you're not producing enough chemicals to trip the test. I had no idea until I took the test at 5 weeks (I had a negative test two or three weeks before) then I noticed I'd had some slight food aversion, a stronger sense of smell, fatigue, etc. The sore breasts are no joke and are my primary symptom. Much worse than PMS. My nipples also got darker and somehow huge and my breasts are noticably bigger. Good luck!
posted by betsybetsy at 5:06 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by betsybetsy at 5:06 PM on August 10, 2012
My first sign with my son was feeling really sluggish one day and then feeling a weird pulling and stretching in my abdomen. Positive pregnancy test immediately.
My first sign with my daughter was the period I kept expecting to show up and then being completely unable to open my eyes because I was so damn tired despite having had an unusual amount of good sleep. That was when I went, "Oh, shit." Positive pregnancy immediately.
So, if you start to feel incredibly tired and you can't identify any reason for it, take a pregnancy test.
posted by zizzle at 5:28 PM on August 10, 2012
My first sign with my daughter was the period I kept expecting to show up and then being completely unable to open my eyes because I was so damn tired despite having had an unusual amount of good sleep. That was when I went, "Oh, shit." Positive pregnancy immediately.
So, if you start to feel incredibly tired and you can't identify any reason for it, take a pregnancy test.
posted by zizzle at 5:28 PM on August 10, 2012
You might not feel much of anything for a while. For me it's just tiredness and very little else. I definitely recommend the cheap test strips, with whatever fancy drugstore one you want as a followup to verify a positive.
posted by waterlily at 5:32 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by waterlily at 5:32 PM on August 10, 2012
Exactly what DarlingBri said.
Or you could meet my husband. He has been able to tell a woman is pregnant, with a single look, with 100% reliability, since he was a teenager. I have never known him be wrong. It doesn't matter if he knows the person or not. Once, after he dropped something off at the escrow office and I asked him what the broker person was like, he said "we didn't really talk, but she's pregnant." She did not tell him that, but she told us (after she just found out a few weeks later) during our closing (just one example). I have stopped doubting him. I think he has some kind of vestigial brain gland related to female availability. When he told me I was, after years of infertility, I blithely decided not to believe him and went on an out of country business trip and ended up having to figure out how to use a French pregnancy test after a spending two days where everything I ate tasted like salt.
posted by rumposinc at 5:51 PM on August 10, 2012 [6 favorites]
Or you could meet my husband. He has been able to tell a woman is pregnant, with a single look, with 100% reliability, since he was a teenager. I have never known him be wrong. It doesn't matter if he knows the person or not. Once, after he dropped something off at the escrow office and I asked him what the broker person was like, he said "we didn't really talk, but she's pregnant." She did not tell him that, but she told us (after she just found out a few weeks later) during our closing (just one example). I have stopped doubting him. I think he has some kind of vestigial brain gland related to female availability. When he told me I was, after years of infertility, I blithely decided not to believe him and went on an out of country business trip and ended up having to figure out how to use a French pregnancy test after a spending two days where everything I ate tasted like salt.
posted by rumposinc at 5:51 PM on August 10, 2012 [6 favorites]
All cigarettes smelled like stinky French Gauloises within a few days of conception, with every pregnancy.
posted by mareli at 5:56 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by mareli at 5:56 PM on August 10, 2012
With mine I felt like I was about to start my period any minute but didn't. The chest pain was a more intense version of what you can have premenstrually. With one I felt I had a small stomach bug and was shocked to see a positive pregnancy test.
But seriously, I hear that the dollar store tests work great-go buy a bunch. Your brain is really really good at faking you out on these things.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:41 PM on August 10, 2012
But seriously, I hear that the dollar store tests work great-go buy a bunch. Your brain is really really good at faking you out on these things.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:41 PM on August 10, 2012
Nth testing. You may be someone like me who had zero symptoms until the ferrous started kicking. If i hadn't have seen the ultrasounds (and my period hadn't stopped) i wouldn't have believed i was pregnant.
posted by gaspode at 6:49 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by gaspode at 6:49 PM on August 10, 2012
You can get really cheap pregnancy strips in bulk on Amazon. You can also get strips that test your hormone levels, apparently there is a hormone spike of some sort 24 hours before you ovulate so you can work out the best time to start with the fun baby making activities. I am not 100% sure how they work but I know of people that have used them to good effect.
My SIL when pregnant suddenly started to eat every single thing she saw, it was a little scary, but then the nausea kicked in a week or so later.
posted by wwax at 6:56 PM on August 10, 2012
My SIL when pregnant suddenly started to eat every single thing she saw, it was a little scary, but then the nausea kicked in a week or so later.
posted by wwax at 6:56 PM on August 10, 2012
I knocked up Mrs. Plinth the first month we were trying. We knew because the first and only time she had morning sickness was coincident with conception. We figure that it was from a river of hormones getting switched on. She went to see her ob/gyn who laughed at the thought, but decided to humor the Mrs and gave her a stick to pee on. Got it in one.
posted by plinth at 7:37 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by plinth at 7:37 PM on August 10, 2012
I had absolutely no symptoms whatsoever until after I had missed a period. So I agree that you will just drive yourself insane trying to identify magical early pregnancy symptoms. Some people just know, other people have to use a test.
posted by Joh at 8:12 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by Joh at 8:12 PM on August 10, 2012
I hesitate to share this site but it may help you ( as it did me) realize that anything....and I do mean anything...has been taken as a sign of pregnancy. You never know for sure till you get the positive test.
posted by emjaybee at 8:28 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by emjaybee at 8:28 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
Some of the signs may show up for you sooner than others--my first go-round, my boobs hurt and then my period didn't start but the boobs kept hurting, and also I got crazy carsick, even if I was just moving the car on street-cleaning day, and everything smelled terrible. The second time I knew within days, and had to wait what felt like forever but was really only a couple weeks to get a positive test, and I didn't really have any symptoms at all other than "I JUST KNEW". In hindsight there must have been something I was feeling that led me to my belief that we'd done it but I truly didn't suss out any particular symptom at the time.
posted by padraigin at 8:34 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by padraigin at 8:34 PM on August 10, 2012
for those posters who felt sore breasts as a sign of pregnancy, did this feel different from regular premenstrual breast soreness?
Much more intense than premenstrual for me. Plus my jeans got uncomfortably tight very suddenly. This was probably from fluid gain. But the most memorable symptom for me was intense food-and-other-stuff aversion -- certain things I had always liked or been indifferent to suddenly seemed DISGUSTING. I couldn't be in the same ROOM with a coffeepot, drinking coffee (which nonpregnant me loves) was completely impossible. All this occurred before I knew I was pregnant.
posted by RRgal at 8:38 PM on August 10, 2012
Much more intense than premenstrual for me. Plus my jeans got uncomfortably tight very suddenly. This was probably from fluid gain. But the most memorable symptom for me was intense food-and-other-stuff aversion -- certain things I had always liked or been indifferent to suddenly seemed DISGUSTING. I couldn't be in the same ROOM with a coffeepot, drinking coffee (which nonpregnant me loves) was completely impossible. All this occurred before I knew I was pregnant.
posted by RRgal at 8:38 PM on August 10, 2012
for those posters who felt sore breasts as a sign of pregnancy, did this feel different from regular premenstrual breast soreness? In other words, [how] were you able to tell it was pregnancy and not PMS before taking the pregnancy test?
For me, PMS breast pain is a 3 on the scale of 1-10 and pregnancy breast pain is a 5 at best and 9 at worst, which is unfortunately quite often. I went from a 32C to a 32D in like 2 weeks so they have definitely had some growing pains.
This is sort of gross and TMI, but you asked. I suspected that I was pregnant because 2 weeks after we started trying, all of a sudden my urine smelled really weird and strong. And no, I was not sticking my head in the toilet and TRYING to smell it - it was just something I happened to notice. It is absolutely not a pregnancy-related super-sensitivity to smells, because I haven't had that otherwise at all - everything else in my life smells exactly like it always has.
Otherwise, I've been nearly asymptomatic (11 weeks now). Gassier and a lot more indigestion than normal, but not so much that I'd think to chalk it up to pregnancy if I didn't already know that I was pregnant. Nthing just buying some tests.
posted by gatorae at 8:47 PM on August 10, 2012
For me, PMS breast pain is a 3 on the scale of 1-10 and pregnancy breast pain is a 5 at best and 9 at worst, which is unfortunately quite often. I went from a 32C to a 32D in like 2 weeks so they have definitely had some growing pains.
This is sort of gross and TMI, but you asked. I suspected that I was pregnant because 2 weeks after we started trying, all of a sudden my urine smelled really weird and strong. And no, I was not sticking my head in the toilet and TRYING to smell it - it was just something I happened to notice. It is absolutely not a pregnancy-related super-sensitivity to smells, because I haven't had that otherwise at all - everything else in my life smells exactly like it always has.
Otherwise, I've been nearly asymptomatic (11 weeks now). Gassier and a lot more indigestion than normal, but not so much that I'd think to chalk it up to pregnancy if I didn't already know that I was pregnant. Nthing just buying some tests.
posted by gatorae at 8:47 PM on August 10, 2012
Needing to pee often - weirdly soon after the last time you peed. Feeling sick to your stomach and/or revolted by certain smells or tastes. Heartburn. YMMV.
posted by fullerenedream at 9:10 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by fullerenedream at 9:10 PM on August 10, 2012
Oh - forgot boob issues. Heavy, sensitive, bigger than usual. Stiff boobs - like they're inflating from the inside and the skin is stretched tight around them.
posted by fullerenedream at 9:13 PM on August 10, 2012
posted by fullerenedream at 9:13 PM on August 10, 2012
I've been pregnant multiple times, with early miscarriages for all but the most recent. I knew I was pregnant before the tests, HPT, blood tests or ultrasounds, confirmed them. I had HCG levels done by blood tests for some of them, and even in the successful pregnancy, my HCG levels were super-low and slow to increase early on, so I felt pregnant about 1-2 weeks before it showed up.
Buy the sticks in bulk. Get the ovulation test strips if you can afford them for at least one or two cycles so you can be pretty sure about what your actual length of ovulation is so you test at the right dates.
And don't hesitate to ask for an HCG blood test early on if you have anything complicated going on, like you're late two weeks but the urine tests don't show anything. One of the clinics I went to had the results in a couple of hours.
Truly don't rely on physical signs - I'm at one end of the curve with being early-sensitive, but there are lots of women who have no real signs until much later on the other end. The tests are sanity-savers and worth getting in bulk. Think of it as paying $1-2 a day for not losing hours to wondering if you're pregnant.
posted by viggorlijah at 11:00 PM on August 10, 2012
Buy the sticks in bulk. Get the ovulation test strips if you can afford them for at least one or two cycles so you can be pretty sure about what your actual length of ovulation is so you test at the right dates.
And don't hesitate to ask for an HCG blood test early on if you have anything complicated going on, like you're late two weeks but the urine tests don't show anything. One of the clinics I went to had the results in a couple of hours.
Truly don't rely on physical signs - I'm at one end of the curve with being early-sensitive, but there are lots of women who have no real signs until much later on the other end. The tests are sanity-savers and worth getting in bulk. Think of it as paying $1-2 a day for not losing hours to wondering if you're pregnant.
posted by viggorlijah at 11:00 PM on August 10, 2012
Tired. Sore boobs. Strange smelling pee and discharge. Positive test. YMMV.
posted by dpx.mfx at 4:46 AM on August 11, 2012
posted by dpx.mfx at 4:46 AM on August 11, 2012
The first sign for me was heightened sense of smell. My brother was eating rice crackers beside me, and I had to leave the room because of the stench. Tested next morning and it was positive.
It is so easy to make yourself crazy looking for signs of early pregnancy, so try to relax (although it is much easier said than done). Good luck!
posted by dil.emma at 6:20 AM on August 11, 2012
It is so easy to make yourself crazy looking for signs of early pregnancy, so try to relax (although it is much easier said than done). Good luck!
posted by dil.emma at 6:20 AM on August 11, 2012
Extreme tiredness, sensitive sore breasts, and constipation.
posted by Ardea alba at 6:42 AM on August 11, 2012
posted by Ardea alba at 6:42 AM on August 11, 2012
If you do want to try charting I'd recommend the OvaOva website, it's great, I really like it.
posted by blue_bicycle at 7:57 AM on August 11, 2012
posted by blue_bicycle at 7:57 AM on August 11, 2012
I took a pregnancy test that came out negative a couple days before I was due to get my period, but then my husband cooked some huge steaks and I finished a whole one, and he said, "I think you're pregnant." The next test came out positive (and then I started hating meat, but still being ravenously hungry, for about the seventh to thirteenth week.)
BTW, you don't have to give up coffee!
posted by Ralston McTodd at 11:19 AM on August 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
BTW, you don't have to give up coffee!
posted by Ralston McTodd at 11:19 AM on August 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
Yep, I am nthing to just test, and nthing to use the cheap Amazon test sticks linked above. If you don't want the ovulation prediction strips then you can just get the pregnancy strips package. They are cheaper than a dollar per test. I went through infertility and those strips saved me a lot of money (my usual method was to test first at 10DPO so that I still had a chance for a false negative but to start "letting myself down easy" so I would not be so heartbroken when it was finally definitely negative at the end of each cycle). They are quite sensitive. I tested positive with the test strip at 11DPO and then I used one of the more expensive tests as confirmation to convince my husband it was real. Maybe the expensive pharmacy HPT would have been positive even sooner, but 3 days prior to missing your period is pretty darn good. Best of luck!
posted by treehorn+bunny at 9:06 PM on August 12, 2012
posted by treehorn+bunny at 9:06 PM on August 12, 2012
I was thirstier than I've ever been in my life, and woke up multiple times a night to pee, more than a week before a positive test (which I took at the earliest possible yes-it-will-work moment). All I wanted to eat was fruit. And yes, Dollar Store tests are great.
posted by SeedStitch at 8:09 AM on August 13, 2012
posted by SeedStitch at 8:09 AM on August 13, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
That said, if you have a dollar store near you, stock up on tests! Those tests are very sensitive, and at $1 a pop you can test every day if you like, beginning around the time you would be expecting your period.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 2:28 PM on August 10, 2012 [4 favorites]