Patient's question:
I tested with a pregnancy test yesterday evening, and a very faint, almost invisible line appeared in the test area much later (I only saw it under strong light, and it was still very faint when I looked at it in the sunlight this morning). In the morning, I found a little blood on my underwear that looked like menstruation, and I've been feeling aching and bloated in my lower abdomen for the past few days, like I'm about to get my period. Why is this? Since it's been two months since my last sexual encounter, can I be sure I'm not pregnant? I have very severe menstrual irregularities and want help: can I be sure I'm not pregnant?Doctor's answer:
How can you determine if you are pregnant? Urine testing is the most commonly used method. After pregnancy, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels rise and are excreted through the urine, which is the principle behind early pregnancy test strips and hospital tests. Its accuracy is over 90%, and it can detect pregnancy as early as 2 weeks after conception. If you wait until the 4th week of pregnancy to test, the results will be even more reliable. If you are testing at home, it is best to use first-morning urine for higher accuracy.