Chemical pregnancy symptoms

[Arthien]

Apologies if this is in the wrong place but I’m hoping to get some advice as no-one in RL knows that DH and I are TTC.

I’m wondering whether I might have had a chemical pregnancy - I know no-one can tell me for sure but it would be helpful to get an idea of whether my symptoms match. This month I had boob pain which I don’t normally get before my period, and I also felt nauseous on and off for a few days. This started around 6 or 7DPO.

At 10DPO I got cramps and started bleeding a bit but it didn’t look like my normal CD1. It was also between 2 and 4 days early (my cycle isn’t completely regular but going by the last few months, it was 4 days early). It must have affected my digestive system as I also had to dash to the loo a few times and got stomach ache from that too.

I wondered if it might be implantation bleeding but the pain was quite bad, whereas it seems most people don’t get much pain or maybe just a few spots of blood?

I’m now on day 3 of bleeding, the cramps have lessened, the boob pain and nausea is gone, and it’s finally looking more like my period so I’m assuming I’m onto the next cycle, but it all just seemed so unlike my usual cycle that I’m wondering whether it was maybe a chemical or something.

I didn’t have a FRER in the house so I couldn’t test, and I’m not even sure if it would have shown so early. If anyone has experienced anything similar, it would be reassuring to know.

I had a chemical pregnancy confirmed by a positive test at around 12 DPO. I then started bleeding around my usual period but it was pretty much the same as a usual period except for more little bits of red tissue, if you know what I mean? Usually my period is liquid only for the most part and not bits. You might be able to tell if you have any difference in the bleeding. Impossible to really tell if it was without the positive test though.

Sorry forgot to refer to the symptoms you mentioned - I had absolutely none with that chemical pregnancy.

Sore boobs in the days before a period and nausea/needing the toilet more at the start of it, are normal for me on some cycles when I’m not TTC so I wouldn’t necessary pin point that to a pregnancy. At the chemical stage it’s quite early for any pregnancy symptoms to be noticeable, I think.

I’d say it’s pretty impossible to ever know if it was a chemical pregnancy without seeing a positive test.

I’ve had cycles where I’ve experienced what could be seen as pregnancy symptoms but had af as normal. Some months I get symptoms in the run up to af, some months I don’t.

When I had my chemical I had a few symptoms, sore breasts and nausea, and a positive test at 9dpo. The test lines then got stronger and darker and on 11dpo I got a 1-2 weeks result on a digital test. Exactly 1 week later I got another 1-2 weeks on a digital and I knew it wasn’t progressing. I tested again on a frer and the line was lighter. 2 days later I started af. It was late, but like a regular period. No more painful, no noticeable clots or anything.

Unfortunately without having seen a positive test you’ll just never know.

It’s definitely a drawback of being able to test so early and see a positive test. It makes you realise just how often chemicals happen!

Good luck with your ttc journey xx

Thanks for the helpful comments, it's good to get someone else's perspective on it. I was tempted to buy a FRER just to see what would happen and whether my suspicions would be confirmed, but I suspect it wouldn't show anything now anyway. The bleeding has now almost completely stopped on day 3 rather than 5, and it never seemed to match my usual cycle. I think I'll have to just put it down to "one of those things" and assume my body is just playing a trick on me. Onto the next month!

@Arthien yeah best thing you can do is focus on your next fertile window now which should be coming up very soon 🤞

Hi @Arthien, I had a similar experience to you a few cycles ago and wondered if I'd maybe had a chemical too.

I had extremely sore and tender boobs from 9 DPO for around 6 days before AF was due which was completely new for me (never really get any PMS symptoms). AF came right on schedule but it was much heavier than normal and had several clots in it early on (again not the norm for me). I had quite intense cramps also during CD1 and 2 which again was not normal for me. I did take a test just before AF was due which was negative and then when AF arrived on schedule I just assumed I never was pregnant.

I suppose it's impossible to know for sure but it's reassuring to know I wasn't the only one having unusual symptoms and that I wasn't going crazy thinking that I might have been. I hope that helps reassure you in some way too. Best wishes for your next cycle!