Thursday, April 01, 2010

Missed periods and infertility - causes and treatment

Negative pregnancy test, human subject.Image via Wikipedia

One of the most frustrating things an infertile woman can experience is having a late period and a negative pregnancy test! If you are trying-to-conceive , every time you miss your period, your hopes that you are now finally pregnant go up. You do the pregnancy test with a lot of hope - and lots of prayers. You are scared to do it, because you do not want to get your hopes up, and you are worried that it maybe negative once again . You finally screw up your courage - even if the news is bad, it's best to know the truth, you tell yourself - and then do the test.

When it's negative, you are depressed, disappointed and disheartened. But then you start hoping against hope ! Maybe I didn't do the test properly ? Maybe I drank too much water and the HCG is not showing up in the urine ? Maybe I did the test too early ? Maybe I ovulated late this cycle ? Maybe this brand is not reliable ? Aren't these tests fallible ? Maybe the test kits have expired ? Should I test again ? Should I use another brand ?

What happens if the test is repeatedly negative ? A late period and recurring negative pregnancy test results can lead to a great deal of stress, worry, confusion, and conjecture on what might be happening.... If I'm not pregnant, then where is my period?!? Have I stopped ovulating all together ? What's happened to my eggs ? Is my body going crazy ?

One possibility is that you are in fact pregnant , but the urine test result comes back negative. This is called a "false negative pregnancy test"? First, read all the instructions again and make sure you are doing the test properly. If you are, then a false negative result can occur if the test kit you are using is of low sensitivity. This means that the test is capable of detecting pregnancy only when the level of hCG reaches a certain threshold, and the test is simply not sensitive enough to yield the positive result.The best option is to do a blood test for checking your HCG level. This is very reliable ! If this is less than 10 mIU/ml, this confirms you are definitely not pregnant.If the test is negative , this means the reason you missed your periods is because you did not ovulate. This is called anovulation. You can read more about this at www.drmalpani.com/anovulation.htm !

Many factors can cause a missed period because they disrupt your hormonal balance. These include increased stress, anxiety, travel, jet-lag, weight loss, exercise and sleeplessness. The doctor may need to do an ultrasound scan to find out why you have missed your period. This vaginal ultrasound scan should check for the following.

a. ovarian volume
b. antral follicle count
c. uterus morphology
d. endometrial thickness and texture.

Based on these results, your doctor may prescribe medications for you to induce a period.

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