could my gf be pregnant?

[tornado0121]

my girlfriend has been on the pill for a year now, but we have always had protected sex (lubricated with spermicide).

 

anyway, her periods always start on monday and goes till friday. it's been that way virtually every single time. but it's been two days now and she still hasn't had her period yet. all she has are these really faint (but still clearly blood) marks on her otherwise clean tampon. there are faint streaks running down the tampon and some more developed spots of red towards where the string is. she's alarmed because she should be having fully saturated tampons and even cramps by now. it's been this way every single month for the past year.

 

now cause of concern arises because she's been on antibiotics (erythromycin） recently for bronchitis and apparently this particular type of antibiotic can negatively act with the pill somehow。 further complicating all this is the fact that i entered her unprotected for the first time during the last three occasions we had sex for maybe about 2-3 min before properly putting the condom on. i was nowhere near close, but isn't there always a possibility to get pregnant with pre-ejaculate?

 

my gf is particularly worried cause it hasn't started yet. but what are the chances, right? with the birth control, a physical barrier (condom), and spermicide... or am i just overly naive? she has been stressed out in a while, but her period has always been so punctual, it's a cause for concern.

 

i swear, i'll never enter her unprotected ever again. i would do anything for her to be not pregnant. if not from the very immediate problem of having to tell our parents, we're both still in college with long careers in mind. and most certainly not financially independent or anything. ahhh help!!!

[justpaisley]

A pregnancy test would be accurate right now, so quit worrying and go to the drug store and get two of them. If the first one is negative, while it's probably true, have her take the other one in a week just to rest your minds. The good ones are between $10-15.

 

Far more likely is the fact that the antibiotics messed with the birth control, which is now messing with her period. But go get a test just to be sure.

[tornado0121]

thanx for the quick reply. but i'm wondering: what's with the spotting/streaks on the tampon? clearly, this is an indication that she's on her period, right? i don't understand how there'd only be blood towards the bottom (the string end) of the tampon and not the top

 

...is it possible to have a period while being pregnant...? ahh idkkkkk

[justpaisley]

Stop freaking out, it's not necessary. Take action. Do either of you have $15 and a nearby 24-hour drug store? You could have your answer in half an hour.

 

And she could be spotting for any number of reasons. It's only Tuesday, so if she normally starts on Monday, spotting on Tuesday is not a big deal. She could start her full flow tomorrow, or the next day, or because of the antibiotics messing with her system, she could only spot and not have a full period at all.

 

The vaginal canal is not smooth by any means. It's filled with bumps and curves and pockets and folds. Blood can travel through or get trapped in any number of those folds and still travel south and soak into the tampon anywhere. That's probably why blood was toward the bottom of her tampon. That's also why many women use pantiliners as well as tampons, because they don't catch everything.

 

Are you still reading this? Would you go to the drug store already?

[CharmedphoenixRising]

Agreed, stop freaking out.

Get a pregnancy test kit if you're really worried about pregnancy. And why's she wearing a tampon when she doesn't have a period anyway. Duuuh.

[arwen]

Agreed with Paisley. In addition, if she's on the pill, periods tend to be lighter. But I do wonder, I read so many posts about the pill and antibiotics in retrospect affecting the pill, don't you guys get this information BEFORE you take antibiotics? Here, the pharmacist AND the doctor will tell me that the antibiotics will influence the pill or interact with other meds I have. And antibiotics are never over the counter here, that also might help. Just wondering.

 

Anyway, the risk is pretty small, just get a test to be sure and re-test if her period continues to be just spotting.

 

Ilse

[kellbell]

Hey there,

 

Like the others have mentioned, antibiotics usually hinder the effectiveness of oral contraceptives. It even says on the bottle and the prescription literature. But I also know, antibiotics can delay a woman's period. I know it has happened to me on a few occasions.

 

Give it a day or so. But going crazy and worrying about it is doing you nor your girlfriend any bit of good. Go and get a pregnancy test to find out for sure. Good luck and keep us updated.