Starting to freak out... how much does exercise affect Aunt Flo?

Hey all...

I'm starting to get a little nervous... I really should be into a full-fledge period by now, but all I've got is about 12 hours of slight, brown spotting. I'm not on the pill or anything... I practice Fertility Awareness Method and have for 14 months with no surprises. I ovulated on the evening of April 1, and would have conceived that night (given the 2% failure rate of condoms). My temps have not dropped below the coverline yet, so technically they are still high due to the progesterone surge post ovulation. It's been 15 days, which is definitely the longest my luteal phase (phase between ovulation and period) has ever been. If I hit day 18, it's 99% probable that I am pregnant.

Now is NOT the time for us to be pregnant. I'm wondering if anyone using natural forms of birth control have noticed that as they increase the frequency or intensity of their workouts their period becomes weird and spotty or delayed... I took a pregnancy test yesterday night and it was negative, but still have no real period...

Thoughts?

To me, the spotting would be considered the start of my period. My flows are different each month depending on how I'm eating/exercising/stressing etc.

I've never heard of the Fertility Awareness Method, so I can't comment on the rest.

I don't practice natural birth control but I do a lot of reading :)

Are you on a 28 day cycle and have they been regular the entire time you've charted them? Is it possible that your body is just going through some hormonal changes?

From what I understand, increasing the intensity/duration/frequency of exercise can delay menstruation or even cause amenorrhea.

Condoms do not have a 2% failure rate.

Bier: My cycles have been around 30-31 days for the last six months or so... before that, they were regularly 28 days. I'm hoping it's just exercise changing things...

merylwhite1: It's a little besides the point, but 2 out of every 100 condoms fail to protect from pregnancy.

If you've recently increased the frequency or intensity of your workouts, that's probably it. Probably worth talking to a doctor about, eh?

merylwhite1: When used perfectly, condoms have a 2% failure rate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condom#In_preven ting_pregnancy

When used less-than-perfectly, the failure rate can be up to 12% in one year, according to the Pearl Index.

When used perfectly, condoms have a 2% failure rate over a year. Not each time.

"In one year, only two of every 100 couples who use condoms consistently and correctly will experience an unintended pregnancy—two pregnancies arising from an estimated 8,300 acts of sexual intercourse, for an 0.02 percent per-condom pregnancy rate."

http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications /factsheet/fscondom.htm#references

0.02% per time has got to be a better rate than using nothing at all. By the way, "imperfect use" statistics include couples who use condoms inconsistently, i.e., some of the time they use nothing... and therefore the pregnancy rate goes up.

I would take another test in a week, with my last baby I had brownish red spotting on the day my period was supposed to start (after years of regular periods) and took 2 tests and they came back negative.  A week later I took another test and it was positive.  Anyhow seeing as you used a condom it could just be caused by a change in your diet and exercise or if you've been severely stressed maybe...  Hope you find out soon!

I've never actually spotted when I was pregnant, I just missed my periods all together.  However, every one is different and I have heard of a lot of women who have periods, light or heavy either one througout their whole pregnancy.  Some women use this as a sign that they are not pregnant, because they have a little blood appear.  You really just need to keep a watch on it.  With my last baby,  I took 3 pregnancy tests within 3 days and I was late on my period.  They were all negative so I threw them away.  The last one I took, gave me a faint second line.  So faint I couldn't hardly see it and for about 10 minutes there was only one line which meant negative.  I had went outside to tell my husband it was still negative and came back in to see the pale second line.  I dug the other ones that I had taken the previous days out of my bathroom garbage, and much to my surprise they all had positive signs on them too now!!  The second line had just taken a while to appear.  So, don't throw away those neg tests yet, watch them!!    My husband and I have just always counted to figure out when I am ovulating and we are just extra careful during the days that I am.  It has always worked on us, and we can tell you exactly when the 3 kids were conceived. 

Thanks, everyone. I ended up getting my period. It was just an extraordinarily long cycle followed by an unusually long period. But I'm not pregnant! Yay!