Progesterone, Pregnancy, or PMS?

The three P's in my life currently. I have been experiencing tons of freaky things in the last week and a half. The cause could be any of the three P's. Unfortunately, the side effects or symptoms of all are almost identical. It's enough to drive anyone crazy!

Luckily, I know that anything I felt prior to around 7 days after ovulation had to be the progesterone. Anything earlier than that would be much too early for pregnancy symptoms or PMS.

So far, this is what I've been experiencing-

1-3 DPO: Ovary pain, and sharp stabbing pain (which ended up being a bladder infection, so throw that in there and it makes it even more confusing). Conclusion: Ovulation pain and an infection.

1 DPO - Current: Sensitive nipples. Conclusion: Progesterone.

5 and 9 DPO: Big wave of depression. Seriously, like weeping all day, not being able to get out of bed, and no appetite. I was diagnosed with clinical depression in college, and that's exactly what it felt like. I even told John that I needed to go to the doctor and get my Zoloft back. I read online that women who have a history of depression can experience a new episode once they start progesterone. I have a long history of off and on depression, so that doesn't surprise me. Conclusion: Progesterone.

5-9 DPO: Backache. Conclusion: ???

6 DPO: A quick, sharp pain, and then tiny little cramps that I hardly noticed. Conclusion: Progesterone.

6-9 DPO: Nausea. One day I couldn't eat anything at all besides ginger ale and Ritz crackers. Conclusion: Progesterone.

7 DPO - current: Cramps and bloating. They started small and left me wondering if they were even cramps at all, but today they are definitely noticeable. Are they a good sign? A bad sign? Do they mean anything at all? Conclusion: Progesterone, PMS, or pregnancy. Who knows!


There is a reason why it's silly to track symptoms or think that a certain symptom means something. It's easy to talk yourself into thinking you are pregnant when you're not, and it's easy to let yourself lose hope when you feel PMS-like symptoms. Currently, I am trying really hard not to think too much about them. I'm telling myself they are all because of progesterone. The only thing that has been worrying me are the cramps. They feel so much like PMS cramps that I can't help but just know that Aunt Flo is right around the corner.

I ovulated on March 11, either in the evening or at night. When I had my ultrasound at lunch time that day, my egg was still there, and we could see that I had not ovulated yet. So, technically, when I tested this morning, I was only 9 DPO. That's still really early to test. So I need to pick up my chin and not count myself out yet! I just can't get over this nagging feeling that it's just not my turn this month.