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Does Norethisterone Affect Ovulation?
Question: I was taking norethisterone to skip a period. My period would have been due on the 5th of December, but I came off it on the 8th of December and had my period on the 11th of December. Since coming off norethisterone,i've been feeling very nauseated, mostly at night and had cramps. I had this the week I had the period after coming off norethisterone, however these symptoms have continued. The only thing that has got better is the nausea....however over three weeks later now, I'm still experiencing headaches and tiredness. I tried to take a home pregnancy test to determine if this was pregnancy symptoms or not, but it showed as negative, however my next period will not be due until the 7th of January, (would have been due on the 1st had i not take norethisterone) I read online that ovulation tests can help detect early pregnancy tests. I took them and it's been showing positive for almost five days now. I'm due my period in 5 days and I'm wondering if I could be pregnant, or perhaps norethisterone affects ovulation in the same way that affects your cycle?
Brief Answer:
it's possible but pregnancy test is more reliable
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
Norethisterone is a synthetic progesterone, it would have short term effect on ovulation. This is because it affects the release of hormones.
It is possible that you are pregnant but the kits are not a reliable method of testing.
Ovulation tests can sometimes detect pregnancy because of the similarity between HCG hormone (this is released in pregnancy and is used to determine if a woman is pregnant) and the LH hormone (detected in ovulation tests).
Though the ovulation kits can pick up the HCG hormone, they may also be detecting LH- this would also cause a positive result.There is a surge of LH prior to the onset of a period.
It would be best to rely the pregnancy tests, which would not pick up LH but only pick up HCG (pregnancy hormone). There are early detection pregnancy kits that can pick up low levels of this hormone and detect early pregnancy.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any additional questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
okay thank you for your reply I just have a couple of other questions if possible in regards to this
why would i be ovulating for five days? Is this normal to happen for so long? especially before a period?
also i have a discharge, which isn't a lot because I read online that a lot pregnant women notice an increase in discharge because they're pregnant. I've noticed the discharge but i think i always get this when im due my period. So does it mean i am ovulating if i have this discharge?
Also i have taken a home pregnancy test which says negative, but it's been just over three weeks since i had sex, so is it too soon to test for this since my period isnt due for another five days?
Brief Answer:
can last for days
Detailed Answer:
HI
The normal ovulation period can vary from one female to the next. It can extend up to 6 or 7 days though this period is normally from just before mid cycle to beyond ( 3 to 4 days before mid cycle to 3 to 4 days after).
The test is detecting either LH or HCG but cannot determine one from the other,this is the reason that the pregnancy test should be done because it would pick up only HCG.
The pregnancy tests can normally determine pregnancy by day 11 to 14 after conception so if it is done at this stage it would be able to determine if you have conceived.
In terms of the discharge, you are right in stating that there can be an increase in discharge with pregnancy.
This can also occur prior to the onset of a period.
It would be best to do a pregnancy test
Feel free to ask any other questions
Note: Revert back with your gynae reports to get a clear medical analysis by our expert Gynecologic Oncologist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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