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How To Differentiate Ectopic Pregnancy From Ovarian Cyst?
I have pcos. I have had one child already, it took 4 years to get him. We are going on for 5 years now and still trying. I am 10 days late for my period. I do get cycts and have been in the hospital for them ( VERY PAINFUL). I am having crazy pain in my abdomen that goes to my hip. With Cyts I usally have pain for 4 days or I am late no more than 4 days late. I took a preggers test and it was negative. Retesting again in 7 days. My question is how do you know if it is a cyct or if it is a tubler preg? What can I do for pain? Could I be preggant?
Fri, 9 Oct 2015
Hello, and I hope I can help you today.
A negative urine pregnancy test combined with your history of infertility really makes the likelihood of you're having an ectopic pregnancy extremely unlikely. An ectopic pregnancy is very rare with a negative pregnancy test, as the pregnancy must grow large enough in the tube to make it swell and cause pain.
The classic symptom of an ectopic pregnancy is a positive pregnancy test with abnormal vaginal bleeding and pain on one side. Women with normal pregnancies grow a cyst in the first trimester called a corpus luteum cyst, which makes hormones to support the pregnancy, and this cyst can also cause pain on one side. So if you had a positive pregnancy test, I would encourage you to see a doctor for an ultrasound to make sure your pregnancy was in the uterus and developing normally.
But with a negative test, unless your pain becomes severe enough that you feel nausea is or have diarrhea, or if the pain starts migrating to your right shoulder, you can take any type of pain reliever such as Tylenol (Acetominophen) Paracetamol or Ibuprofen at the normal adult dose. None of these will harm you if you cave recently conceived. I agree that waiting for another week and retesting is the best option for now, and if you miss your period again you may want to see a GYN doctor who may be able to give you medication to restart your cycle.
I hope I adequately answered your question and that my advice was helpful.
Best wishes, Dr. Brown
A negative urine pregnancy test combined with your history of infertility really makes the likelihood of you're having an ectopic pregnancy extremely unlikely. An ectopic pregnancy is very rare with a negative pregnancy test, as the pregnancy must grow large enough in the tube to make it swell and cause pain.
The classic symptom of an ectopic pregnancy is a positive pregnancy test with abnormal vaginal bleeding and pain on one side. Women with normal pregnancies grow a cyst in the first trimester called a corpus luteum cyst, which makes hormones to support the pregnancy, and this cyst can also cause pain on one side. So if you had a positive pregnancy test, I would encourage you to see a doctor for an ultrasound to make sure your pregnancy was in the uterus and developing normally.
But with a negative test, unless your pain becomes severe enough that you feel nausea is or have diarrhea, or if the pain starts migrating to your right shoulder, you can take any type of pain reliever such as Tylenol (Acetominophen) Paracetamol or Ibuprofen at the normal adult dose. None of these will harm you if you cave recently conceived. I agree that waiting for another week and retesting is the best option for now, and if you miss your period again you may want to see a GYN doctor who may be able to give you medication to restart your cycle.
I hope I adequately answered your question and that my advice was helpful.
Best wishes, Dr. Brown
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