T O P I C R E V I E W
NervousWreck
Member # 95984
posted 09-21-2012 05:03 PM
Hey, I just wanted a little clearification. I am quite the worry-wort as I do suffer from an anxiety disorder and I have been worried with school this month. I was just wondering, my period was due on Tuesday and it still hasn't shown up. I've had slight cramps for about 5 mins yesterday but other than that, no sign of it. I have never had any other form of sex other than manual sex and I have continuously read from this site that there is only a risk when a hand with semen on it is directly inserted into the vagina (correct me if I am wrong!) I just don't understand where my period is! I always get it on time, like clockwork but this month, nothing. I had been fingered on the 15th of August and got my period a week later so I assumed that I wasn't pregnant from that. Am i being worried about this for nothing? :\ Please help ease my mind! Thanks in advance!
Heather
Member # 3
posted 09-21-2012 05:56 PM
Can I ask how you chart your cycles? And when you say your period has always arrived on time, do you mean that up until now, your cycles have been the exact same number of days each time?
NervousWreck
Member # 95984
posted 09-21-2012 06:45 PM
I chart my period on my calender, marking the beginning date and the ending date. I get my period every 23 days for 3-4 days in between. Each month, I will get my period on the 23rd day and if not, a day late or early at most. I'm just really worried that I could possibly be pregnant or something is wrong with me medically. As I've said, I do have an anxiety disorder and this causes me to worry a lot more than normal so I'm very sorry if I seem like I am over exaggerating!
NervousWreck
Member # 95984
posted 09-21-2012 06:49 PM
And I am sorry for adding information, but I had also engaged in mutual sex on the Monday before my period was due, I just remembered. Could this have lead to anything if I had any semen on my hands? :\
Heather
Member # 3
posted 09-21-2012 06:51 PM
You know you haven't had any of the kind of sex -- read: intercourse -- that presents a pregnancy risk, so you know you can rule that out. (I don't know what "mutual sex" is. I assume you either mean manual sex or mutual masturbation? If so, if you don't know already, you should know those activities can't create a pregnancy.) If your period has literally always been that regular, that's actually nothing short of a miracle, especially in the first few years of having it. So, being off by a few days now? Very common, nothing to worry about, and this will probably happen with more frequency as you get older.
NervousWreck
Member # 95984
posted 09-21-2012 07:26 PM
Yes, that is what I meant. Sorry for the typo. And I have had my period since I was 9 and I am 17 now, it has just always been regular as far as I can remember. As for the manual sex, I have read that there is possibly a risk if the semen is fresh. I am not quite sure what that means.. but even then, is the risk a large one or is it still quite small? Thank you for your patience.
Heather
Member # 3
posted 09-21-2012 07:36 PM
Like I said, that kind of regularity, especially for that long and with a period starting so early is extremely unusual. So, for your own mental health, you're going to want to see what you can do to feel comfortable with less regularity than you've been used to. Here's our information about what does and does not pose a pregnancy risk: Pregnancy Scared? . As you'll see there, unless you were basically taking a handful of semen and rubbing it all over your vulva, you're not looking at a pregnancy risk, and even IN that case, a pregnancy resulting would be unlikely.
NervousWreck
Member # 95984
posted 09-21-2012 07:46 PM
Thank you for the reasurrance. I guess it will just come when it's ready. But in regards to the scenario you posed, I don't really understand why that wouldn't be considered a risk or an unlikely one. What would be the difference with puting a handful of semen and rubbing it on the vulva or if semen was just ejaculated onto the vulva or something more risky?
Onionpie
Member # 41699
posted 09-21-2012 07:59 PM
Sperm need really specific conditions to be able to function -- and those conditions include pretty much direct contact. So the difference between having a handful of semen and ejaculating directly on a vulva is the hand involved in the first situation -- it means that the semen was transferred instead of ejaculated directly onto the vulva, which makes it indirect contact, if you see what I mean. Sperm is actually pretty fragile, so as soon as it touches another surface before being transferred to the vulva/vagina, then its ability to function is more likely to be compromised. Does that make sense? For more (and uh, clearer) information on that, there's a section in this article on sperm and semen: Where DID I Come From? A Refresher Course in Human Reproduction [ 09-21-2012, 08:00 PM: Message edited by: Onionpie ]
NervousWreck
Member # 95984
posted 09-21-2012 08:08 PM
I think I am kind of understanding it. So the sperm is no longer viable as soon as it touches a hand or any surface other than the vulva?
Onionpie
Member # 41699
posted 09-21-2012 08:16 PM
Yep, that's pretty much it -- the transfer to another surface (your skin) makes the sperm no longer viable. That's why if there's a LOT of semen on your hand, then there's technically a risk (albeit a small one) as heather said -- there's the possibility that enough of the sperm managed to survive the transfer (by not being in direct contact with your hand -- as in, the sperm in the centre of a big blob of semen, if you get what I mean). You'll also see in the article that one sperm actually needs many others along the way to be able to co-create a pregnancy, which is another reason why there'd need to be a lot of semen on your hand to cause a potential pregnancy. [ 09-21-2012, 08:18 PM: Message edited by: Onionpie ]
NervousWreck
Member # 95984
posted 09-21-2012 08:19 PM
Thank you. So something like a drop of semen on my hand wouldn't have been able to create a pregnancy, I would have needed a lot more. That's very reassuring. Maybe I am just stressing out too much this month because of the start of the new school year.
Onionpie
Member # 41699
posted 09-21-2012 08:34 PM
Yep, that's exactly right! And it's definitely possible that stress and/or anxiety from other areas of life are spilling over into this, that's a pretty common occurrence. If you're having trouble managing stress with the start of the school year, you could always talk to a school counsellor if you're in high school, or a student experience office/other student support organization member if you're attending university/college, and they'll be able to help you find ways to manage the stress
NervousWreck
Member # 95984
posted 09-21-2012 08:37 PM
Thank you for the help, I really appreciate it.
Onionpie
Member # 41699
posted 09-21-2012 08:53 PM
No problem
NervousWreck
Member # 95984
posted 02-13-2013 08:10 PM
Hi, i know i made this post a while ago so im sorry for reposting. However my period is again 3 days late and I've been a little nauseated but the only risks i have had this month were the same as the one discribed here. I was wondering if taking a pregnancy test would be pointless? And also, i have a pregnancy test that was never used however the cap was taken off. What happened was, i was about to use it so i took off the cap and then i realized i had gotten my period and put the cap back on. The instructions on the package say that i should leave the cap on though.. is it still viable? Please reply! :$ Thank you in advance.
Heather
Member # 3
posted 02-13-2013 08:53 PM
Personally, my opinion is that if and when it seems like a pregnancy test will make you feel a lot better, then it's never silly to take one. It sounds like, though, you'll need to get a new one rather than using the one that was already opened when you looked at it.