anyone??? please help!!!!!!! please... any advice would be appreciated...

(I pasted this info directly from a website. I hope this helps.)
If you’re considered about home pregnancy test accuracy, you may want to purchase a test that has a higher sensitivity to detect HCG levels earlier in your pregnancy.

Typically, HCG levels are measured in milliInternational Units (mIU) or amounts equal to 1/1000th of an IU per milliliter. This means a home pregnancy test with a sensitivity of 20 mIU/ml is more sensitive than a test with 50 to 100 mIU/ml.

A 20 to 25 mIU/ml test allows for earlier detection of pregnancy, possibly as soon as eight days after conception. However, it’s important to remember that conception may take place several days after date of intercourse. Do not use the date of sexual intercourse as the day of conception when determining which test you should purchase.

Tips for Improving Pregnancy Test Accuracy
If you’re concerned about getting your pregnancy test accuracy, remember the following tips as you’re completing the test:

Wait until your period is at least one week late, particularly if you’ve had irregular menstrual cycles in the past. Testing on the first day of your missed period results in pregnancy test accuracy rates of about 80%.
Store your test at the proper temperature and never leave it in a hot car. Extreme heat or cold can damage your home pregnancy test.
Follow the test’s timing instructions. Waiting too long to read the results or reading the results before the specified time period has passed can cause a false positive or false negative result.
Take the test right away in the morning, when your pregnancy hormone levels should be the highest.
Don’t consume large amounts of coffee, soda, water, or other beverages before the test. This can affect the levels of HCG in your urine.
If you don’t understand how to take your home pregnancy test, call the customer service number listed in the instruction pamphlet for further assistance.
Never use a test that has passed its expiration date.

hi deteragram, thank you for your info.

the problem is i am unsure of my menstrual cycle, so i don't know if i have missed my period or not. although i stated that i expected it to come when the brown spotting happened, i am still not sure because sometimes i can be irregular..

right now i am eating more than usual and feeling bloated and some stomach cramps. i am peeing more than usual (i dont know if i notice this only because im paranoid). but i dont have tender breasts. however, these symptoms are very similar to PMS too..

im really afraid and although the HPT was negative, im afraid it was a false negative. I took the HPT 16 days after sex. how accurate would it be? could someone advise me please? also, if i were to take another test, when should i do it and how much can i trust the results of the second test?

i would like to avoid a blood test if possible because i am in a foreign country and i don't know what to do... i know i was really stupid to have unprotected sex.. i really regret it... please someone advise me i would appreciate it... thank you!!

I wish there was something more I could tell you but your situation is a tricky one. You don't chart your periods so you don't know how late you are. That in itself messes things up. There is an optimal time to take a test after your last missed period but since you don't know when that is... There is one pregnancy test that claims to detect pregnancy earlier than other HPTs so you could try that one. I think it's Clearview. I know this is the last thing you want to hear but it looks like you'll just have to wait it out, give your body another week or two to either have or miss a period. Wish I could be more help to you.

If you are sometimes irregular, that could indeed be your problem now. You should get another pregnant test and take it in a few days with FIRST MORNING URINE. Trust the results.

The symptoms you are talking about are the same for a variety of issues, even PMS can cause what a lot of women mistake for early pregnancy symptoms.

When your pregnancy test turns up negative, get some birth control and condoms. Its always better to be safe.

Good luck!

thank you for your replies.. i guess i will take another HPT on saturday with first morning urine.. that would be 20 days after sex..

if it turns out to be negative, should i trust the result then? will 20 days after sex be enough to detect pregnancy? thanks.

Girl let me tell you! I have been researching this topic a lot! And it is very possible that you may be pregnant! I have read where some women did not know until they were 7 mos!!! -Because all of their tests show up negative! I have had some of your same symptoms a month ago, and I was running a slight fever for about two weeks, and I STILL haven't started my period!!! I have an appointment though on Nov 24, so I'm hoping they will schedule an ultrasound! Let me know what happens!?

i think i am going to take a blood test.. do you think i should wait till later? because in september, i started my period on the 16th.. and in october it's the first week.. so it's possible that i ovulated early for october.. if so, that would mean i might have my menses around the 16th of this month.. and that im just paranoid about everything..

well but i don't wanna risk anything.. so prolly ill take a HPT this sat/sun again.. and if my menses doesn't arrive by the 20th, i will go for a blood test..

what do you think? thanks.

That sounds like a good plan!

i have a question im in the same boat!! only ive been having unprotected sex and using no method of bc except for the "pull out method" for the past 2 years with my husband. im young and if we are pregnant then we'll be happy with it =) but i should've started my period last friday and i still havent started it at all and im having no signs of it starting. i took a hpt about a week and a half ago and then a blood test last tuesday but they said if i still hadnt had my period in 7 days to come back for another on ebc its possible my HCG level is to low. so whats the possibility i am pregnant??

Blood tests are very accurate, so I'd say the chances are slim.
But it is an obvious possibility if you haven't been using protection.

I still haven't started my period. I go to the gyno next Monday, the 24th. Please read my post- it tells my full story. I would really like to get some feedback. Let me know what's going on coffee.

i still haven't started my period too! took another HPT 20 days after sex. negative again. i guess ill wait till the end of month..

let me know what happens jane!

Coffeeortea, are you sure the brown spotting wasn't your period?
Every once in awhile I'll get a period thats really just a light brown discharge.

Been stressed lately? Change in diet or exercise? Did you move or anything?

So...I went to the gyno- and I am NOT pregnant! My uterus she said was tiny tiny. Still don't have a period though. I am confident that she is right- except for her opinion on a miscarriage just b/c the symptoms I was having in the beginning. All in all, she gave me birth control to start my period again! So....worries for nothin.

so were you pregnant afterall, since its march now!?