What is the difference between PMS symptoms and pregnancy symptoms?

The difference is that PMS⁠ (PMS: Short for “premenstrual syndrome”. A varying set of symptoms that many people who menstruate experience just prior to their period. ) symptoms won’t cause your pregnancy test⁠ (pregnancy test: What we tell you to take when you ask us if you’re pregnant. A test that can be done at home or by a healthcare provider to determine pregnancy. Usually a urine test, a pregnancy test measures for a specific hormone, hCG, only produced with pregnancy.) to turn positive.

Using symptoms to determine if you’re pregnant is really unreliable. If you absolutely must know if you’re pregnant, wait 10 to 14 days after the sexual⁠ (sexual: About or relating in some way to sex or sexuality.) encounter in question then take a pregnancy test using the first urine of the morning (it’s the most concentrated). False positives are exceedingly rare, so if it’s positive, then you’re mostly likely pregnant. You can go to the doctor for a follow-up blood test to be sure.

As for PMS symptoms, there are a variety of remedies out⁠ (out: Short for ‘out of the closet’. When someone’s LGBTQ+ identity is known to other people.) there to help you with that. These range from the ever-popular Midol, to various herbal teas, meditations, or chocolate mini-binges.

So, did you have a real pregnancy⁠ (pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the uterus. Medically, someone is considered to be pregnant when an egg has been fertilized by sperm, cells divide, and the fertilized egg is implanted within the lining of the uterus.) risk? Figure it out with: What’s the Risk? Easy Pregnancy Risk Assessments