Chemical Pregnancy/Charting Question

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to get some thoughts on what happened to me last cycle. It was my second cycle TTC #2. My period came 4 days late, which, except for my first few post-partum cycles, has never happened except for the two times I've gotten pregnant (1st a miscarriage, 2nd resulted in DS). I was charting and my temperature began to drop, although it was well above the coverline, two days before my period was due; so I assumed I wasn't pregnant and stopped temping. But after my period was two days late, I took my temp again and it was lower but still not below the coverline. I took a pregnancy test the evening before I got my period and it was negative. I guess I'm wondering if I had a "chemical pregnancy," although I'm not sure what that is. I'm almost 39 and am a bit anxious about my fertility, so I guess the idea that some sort of conception took place would be reassuring . . . . Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I had something similar happen to me the first month I was TTC #2. When it happened I was convinced it was a Chemical Pregnancy...even though preg tests said No. It ended up taking us 6 months to conceive....and in that time I actually did have one chemical pregnancy - the line was a positive for a few days then went away (I still had a positive the day I got my cycle)...so I then realized that I DID NOT have a chemical pregnancy that first month TTC. Anyway, I learned that my luteal phase tends to vary a few days. It can be very frustrating. I decided then that I would just pick a day (typically 13 DPO) and test on that day for every cycle.

Everytime I got a negative I'd try to tell myself that its okay, that means I have another month to try and anticipate the joy of seeing the positive line. I would also usually buy a bottle of wine at the same time I was buying a pregnancy test....at least if it was negative I might as well have a drink

[Anonymous]

A lot depends on how regular your cycles usually are. If you're typically a 28-day-a-cycle gal, or some other set number, and this cycle was four days longer, then yes, chances are that you had a chemical pregnancy. They are very, very common, but the good news is that all the motions are in place for you to conceive.

[Anonymous]

How long have you been charting? Was you period late based on your day of ovulation or on total number of days? Remember the days post ovulation really determine the length of your cycle, that should give you a better indicator of what happened.

Poster 21:49 is right though, with a chemical pregnancy you should be able to get a positive pregnancy test. Unless of course the hormone level is so low that it wouldn't pick it up. My advice is, don't break your head about whether it was a chemical or not a chemical pregnancy - you'll drive yourself unnecessarily nuts. In some sense this early pregnancy testing and then 'knowing' about chemical pregnancies vs. not knowing it happened is causing a lot of women more grief than nature intended.

You know you can get pregnant you already have a child, so keep looking at the big picture.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP. The number of days after ovulation is fairly consistent, but the number of days before ovulation can vary due to many reasons and thus impact the overall length of the cycle. If you haven't done so, I'd suggest reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility. I've had chemical pregnancies before and when it happened I got a semi-positive result -- i.e., both lines appeared, but one was much fainter than the other. At this point it is impossible to tell whether or not it was a chemical pregnancy, but I wish you best of luck on your future cycles.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the responses. I looked at my (3) charts and turns out that last month I ovulate on day 15 but the other two months I ovulated on day 12, so that probably explains it.