A regular menstrual cycle indicates the timeliness and correctness of the processes occurring in the female body. But this phenomenon is not observed in all girls. Some suffer from a lack of cell release, others from irregular periods, and others feel all the delights of PMS. At the same time, they perceive the delay in PMS as a sign of pregnancy. Let's see how true this is.

PMS delay and its causes

Premenstrual syndrome is a complex of physical and psychological symptoms that appear 3-5-7 days before the start of a new cyclic process. Sometimes it is possible to delay PMS up to 5 days, this condition is not considered a pathology and most often returns to normal without consequences.

PMS Forms

The following forms of PMS have been identified:

• neuropsychic, which is expressed in aggressiveness and irritability;
• edematous, when there is swelling and soreness of the chest, swelling of the face, pain in the lower abdomen and lower back;
• crisis, accompanied by high blood pressure, palpitations, pressing pain in the heart;
• cephalgic, characterized by severe throbbing headache at normal pressure, profuse sweating, especially at night;
• atypical, which consists of a combination of symptoms of different forms.

There are various reasons for delayed PMS. The most common is called a violation of the hormonal balance between estrogen and progesterone. In addition, the reasons are:

• sedentary or overly busy lifestyle;
• excess or lack of weight;
• stress, difficult life situations;
• a previous abortion or miscarriage, the inability to become pregnant, or vice versa, frequent conceptions;
• infrequent or frequent sexual intercourse;
• taking contraceptives;
• various diseases, infectious, endocrine;
• bad habits.

In addition to hormonal imbalance, the reasons for the delay can be: changed activity of life, weight, experiences, surgeries, bad habits

PMS and pregnancy - signs and differences

Delayed PMS symptoms

Symptoms of PMS with a delay in menstruation can be mistaken for manifestations of early pregnancy. Now let's look at them in comparison:

• There is a change in food addiction in both cases, but with PMS, preference is given to salty and sweet foods, and during pregnancy you want something atypical and sometimes even inedible, which the girl had never eaten before.
• Aversion to food is more typical for PMS, since toxicosis occurs most often at 5-6 weeks.
• Enlargement and soreness of the breast is observed in both cases, but with PMS this condition disappears in 1-2 days, and during pregnancy it lasts the entire period.
• Constant fatigue, fatigue is typical of both conditions, but with PMS it disappears immediately after the onset of menstruation.
• Pain in the lower abdomen is characteristic of PMS, as there is a detachment of the upper layer of the endometrium, which was preparing to receive the fetal egg. During pregnancy, it is caused by the introduction of the embryo into the wall of the uterus, because here it is short and lasts no more than 1-2 days.
• Mood swings are possible in both conditions. Without fertilization, they are more negative, they manifest themselves in the form of irritability, and in the presence of a developing baby, there is simply a change in mood with a lot of positive emotions.

pregnancy symptoms

To figure out how to distinguish PMS from pregnancy to delay, signs that are unique to conception will help:

• Frequent urination, which is caused by a change in the metabolism in the body of the expectant mother. The kidneys begin to work more actively, as they also have to serve the little man developing in the uterus.
• Toxicosis with the presence of nausea, increased salivation, sometimes occurs in the early stages.
• Small brownish discharge 7-10 days after ovulation, confirming the fact of attachment of the fetal egg to the endometrium.

As you can see, it is difficult to determine: PMS or pregnancy. The difference before the delay is very small. In this case, testing to determine the level of hCG in the urine will help. The use of ultra-sensitive modern tests allows you to conduct a study on the 10th day after conception, that is, about 5 days before the expected date of the next menstruation, when the pregnancy hormone has a value of 10 mIU / ml. A positive result will confirm pregnancy, while a negative result will show that it is just premenstrual syndrome.

When treatment is needed

Against the background of PMS, a delay in menstruation may not always indicate pregnancy. Often this condition can cause some diseases, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, some inflammatory gynecological and infectious diseases, and many other factors. The true reason why PMS delay occurs in a particular case will be found by a gynecologist after an appropriate examination. He will prescribe treatment if necessary.

If PMS is delayed and the test is negative, an ectopic pregnancy cannot be ruled out. With her, there are all signs of a successful conception, but the level of hCG is too low, since it is produced in full only during normal pregnancy. You should pay attention to other sensations during this period: a pulling pain in the lower abdomen, brown discharge from the vagina, which will confirm suspicions and make you immediately visit a antenatal clinic so as not to endanger your life.

Treatment of premenstrual syndrome is to eliminate the cause that caused it.

In case of an unsuccessful attempt, the doctor prescribes:

• hormonal treatment with progesterone in the second phase of the cycle;
• intake of vitamins and microelements necessary in this case;
• sedatives, herbal remedies (valerian, motherwort tincture, etc.);
• physiotherapy, massage, water procedures, swimming pool.

Delay PMS 10 days requires testing. A negative answer may be if you were taking contraceptives. After their cancellation, failures in the cycle are possible. The body gets used to the hormones coming from outside, and it takes a certain time to restore its natural state.

PMS delay of 2 weeks also requires pregnancy to be ruled out first. Even if you are sure that conception could not occur, do the test anyway. You can wait a couple more weeks and repeat the study. A newly received negative response and the absence of menstruation require a visit to a doctor.

PMS (video)

PMS or pregnancy: differences before early delay

A woman who is of reproductive age and does not have serious problems in the field of gynecology, with regular sexual activity, has a ratio of 1:4. Knowing this and starting to plan the acquisition of offspring, the girls are so addicted to the waiting process (“it worked out - it didn’t work out”) that they confuse the symptoms of PMS with the first signs of pregnancy. It is especially easy to confuse these conditions if earlier PMS was not pronounced, and this month the hormones suddenly decided to “rebel”. PMS or pregnancy: what are the differences before the delay - it can really be difficult to determine.

• What is premenstrual syndrome and its causes
• Is it possible to get pregnant with PMS
• The difference between early signs of pregnancy and symptoms of premenstrual syndrome
• Differences before delay
• Comparison of symptoms of PMS and pregnancy in the table
• Signs before the start of the cycle
• Can there be premenstrual syndrome during gestation
• How to understand if conception has occurred

What is PMS

Rare lucky women note that the onset of “critical days” goes smoothly for them: before menstruation, the lower abdomen does not pull, there is no appearance of rashes on the face, the general condition is cheerful and active. Much more often, 3-4 days, or even 10 days before the next monthly cycle, a woman experiences ailments:

• sore chest;
• there is bloating;
• pulls the lower back;

The chest seems to fill up, swell and hurt so much that it is impossible to touch it. The abdomen increases in volume, it is impossible to retract it, you have to wear loose clothes. Periodically there are aching pains. Sprinkled on the face, as some say: on the eve of menstruation, acne appears.

There is little energy, I want to sleep, a woman notices irritability or tearfulness. This is a strong premenstrual syndrome, that is, changes in the body that signal the imminent arrival of menstruation. In one way or another, its signs are familiar to most women. They are due to an increase in the concentration of progesterone and. Regardless of how the cycle ends - menstruation or conception, the body.

Can you get pregnant with PMS

Premenstrual syndrome is not an obstacle to normal conception. It’s just that for some, the hormonal system functions more clearly and “smoothly” and the pain threshold is high; others react more sensitively to changes in the ratio of hormones in the second half of the menstrual cycle. Therefore, fluctuations in the hormonal background are manifested in them by such unpleasant sensations, a sharp change in mood, the appearance of edema and an increase in appetite.

How to determine pregnancy and distinguish from PMS

Soreness in the lower abdomen, discomfort in the chest, drowsiness and lethargy - these are. But after all, something similar is typical for the first days of pregnancy, according to experienced friends.

PMS Signs and Pregnancy: What's the Difference? Is it possible even before the first day of the delay to understand by your feelings that this time there will be no rejection of the egg, because a new life develops from it?

Until the delay

Any gynecologist will say that subjective sensations before conception, expected according to the calendar, are uninformative. Even a test performed on the eve of the expected first day of menstruation will show a false result, since the concentration of hCG is low in order to be determined by a pregnancy test. Therefore, the difference between PMS and early pregnancy is not always possible. Only if a woman knows her body well, she will understand that this time something is going “outside the box”.

Distinguishing the symptoms is difficult, but there is a difference. During gestation, there is no premenstrual syndrome, but the body of the expectant mother seems to react to the hormonal changes that have begun.

Symptoms of PMS and pregnancy: differences for comparison in the table

Let's take a look at a table that collects early non-specific signs of pregnancy and premenstrual syndrome.

Table 1. Differences between PMS and pregnancy

sign	PMS	Pregnancy	Notes
Allocations	Often become plentiful, transparent or light. On the last day (or hours) before menstruation, they become brown, smearing	Abundant, light. Occasionally 2-3 days before menstruation on the pad - 1-2 drops of blood. This is implantation bleeding, which disappears in a couple of hours and does not significantly affect well-being.	Sometimes - this happens with both PMS and pregnancy
Temperature	Normal	Body temperature may be slightly elevated	An increase in body temperature during pregnancy is associated with rising levels of progesterone. The hormone is synthesized. A woman may have a slight fever, there are symptoms similar to a mild cold due to a restructuring of the immune system
Pulls the stomach	Pain in the abdomen, lumbar region, perineum 2-3 days before menstruation	The phenomenon is caused by the attachment of the embryo to the wall of the uterus, stretching of the ligamentous apparatus of the uterus	Pain worse with PMS
Chest hurts	Pain in the entire breast	Sore nipples, mammary glands increase in volume	Sometimes there is no pain as a sign of implantation. The chest remains calm, which surprises a woman who is used to soreness on the eve of "critical days"
Nausea	It is observed at any time of the day due to hormonal surges and associated pressure drops	May occur in the morning	In the first days of pregnancy - a rare occurrence. But on
Frequent urination	Not typical for PMS	Occurs due to fluctuating hormone levels	Sometimes during PMS, on the contrary, there is fluid retention - slight swelling is observed Actual video How to distinguish PMS symptoms from pregnancy

How to distinguish PMS from pregnancy is a question that is asked by women who observe changes in their body and in their mood.

Indeed, both conditions are characterized by similar symptoms. A woman should be especially attentive to her well-being if she assumes that conception has taken place.

PMS or pregnancy? There are also differences between these two states. With premenstrual syndrome, girls are more nervous, anxiety, anxiety, constant irritation and aggression are manifested. After conception, the range of emotions is much wider, from tearfulness to joy and good mood.

And this is not the only difference. A woman needs to be not only attentive to her body, but also to control the cycle, not to lose sight of its regularity, existing delays.

Therefore, everyone needs to know how to distinguish PMS from pregnancy to a missed period. Below we consider the main signs characteristic of both conditions, and the symptoms that appear only after conception.

PMS and pregnancy - both conditions cause hormonal changes in a woman's body. Therefore, in both cases, the mammary glands become more sensitive, swell, increase in size, become sore.

The difference is in the duration of this feature:

• With PMS, changes in the chest occur before menstruation, and when they occur or in a few days, they decline.
• At conception, an increase in the sensitivity of the breast is a permanent phenomenon. It is caused by the preparation of the glands for the production of milk later, and therefore will accompany the woman throughout the entire period of bearing the baby.

In the second half of the cycle, increased production of progesterone begins, which prepares the tissues of the uterine cavity for the introduction of the embryo. There is an increase in the endometrium, which begins to exfoliate before menstruation. This leads to pain in the lower abdomen during PMS.

When conception occurs, pain is also possible. The reasons are the attachment of the embryo to the uterine wall, it seems to “burrow” into the mucous membrane. Hence the feeling of pain.

How to accurately distinguish whether a girl is pregnant or PMS, you should listen to the nature of the pain:

• At conception, the discomfort is small, the pains are mild and do not irritate, they disappear within one to two days.
• With PMS, the pain can be different: strong, weak, intense, for some it stops with the onset of menstruation, for others it lasts until they end.

Low back pain is often cited as a common symptom for both conditions. But this is not entirely true.

With premenstrual syndrome, back pain really takes place. But during pregnancy, it occurs more often already in the second trimester, when the position of a woman has been clearly and long ago clarified.

Therefore, it is not difficult to distinguish PMS from the first signs of pregnancy by lower back pain. If it is present, then this is most likely a sign of approaching menstruation.

In case of doubt - PMS or pregnancy, differences before the delay are also present in the woman's mood:

• In the first case, emotions of anger, aggression, irritation, tearfulness predominate.
• In the second case, a woman becomes more emotional, impressionable, quickly moves from sadness and sadness to joy and elevated feelings.

High fatigue is a sign that is not able to determine the condition of the girl. Both at conception and while waiting for menstruation, progesterone levels rise significantly. It is this hormone that is responsible for the constant feeling of fatigue.

Frequent trips to the toilet is a sign that is characteristic only for pregnancy. The reason for frequent urination in the early stages is a change in metabolism. The kidneys work more actively and remove more fluid from the body.

Distinguish between menstruation and implantation bleeding. The second occurs when the embryo is attached to the uterine wall. Bloody discharge is the result of damage to tissue capillaries.

Implantation bleeding is less severe than menstruation and does not last as long.

Differences between PMS and pregnancy

Taste changes occur in both conditions. The desire to taste certain products during PMS is explained by the lack of any elements or vitamins in the woman's body.

But during pregnancy, you may want not only something unusual, but also an aversion to certain types of products. The reason is the intoxication of the body with the waste products of the fetus.

This is a sign that is characteristic only for pregnancy. The metabolic products of the embryo accumulate in the blood of the expectant mother in such an amount that she begins to feel unwell due to intoxication. Nausea, vomiting, dizziness are vivid manifestations of toxicosis. Similar sensations do not occur with premenstrual syndrome.

What are the signs of PMS before menstruation? Read the article about the causes and symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, its differences from pregnancy, whether a woman needs to go to the doctor.

How can a woman deal with PMS? Useful information here.

To distinguish between the symptoms of PMS and signs of pregnancy, it is necessary to carefully analyze the well-being of a woman. And if the condition is not clear for her, you can make a diagnosis even before the delay in menstruation.

At home, this is a pregnancy test. The main thing is to purchase a product with high sensitivity, which will show the result even if there is a minimum amount of hCG in the urine.

It is worth noting that the body of each woman is unique. But each roughly imagines how her PMS goes, because this condition is regular. Deviations from the normal behavior of the body are a reason to suspect something is wrong, and in this case it is better to consult a doctor, especially if the child is not planned.

Attention - all information is presented for informational purposes only. Always consult your doctor before treatment!

Is it possible to get pregnant the day before menstruation is often determined by the individual characteristics of the female body.

The first signs of the birth of a new life can be implicit, and most of these sensations are experienced by women from month to month during PMS. That is why it is often so difficult to identify your feelings as the hallmarks of pregnancy or PMS.

Premenstrual syndrome in women is most often associated with rapid mood swings and nervousness. So it is, but that's just what immediately catches the eye. In fact, a woman feels a much wider range of emotions and painful sensations than her emotional discontent can be caused by.

Every woman should control her menstrual cycle, pay attention to its regularity, nature and delays. An unexpected hitch can be associated with both ovarian dysfunction and the conception of a new life. Therefore, sensitive control over the state of the body should be mandatory so that the signs of PMS do not abruptly become for you the completely understandable outlines of pregnancy.

PMS or pregnancy: common symptoms

Consider the most noticeable and similar symptoms of both conditions of a woman and their important, but subtle differences.

Changing taste preferences

1. An almost traditional reaction of the environment to a sharp desire for salty dishes is the question of pregnancy. Jokingly or seriously, one of the first changes that should alert a woman is a craving for completely new products and a strong aversion to the usual ones. But few people associate the same changes in taste preferences with PMS. In fact, the symptoms of a preference for sweet or salty can be observed both during early pregnancy and during PMS.
2. But women experience aversion to food only in the first stages of pregnancy. This is due to the growing toxicosis from global changes within the body. In the signs of PMS, such sensations are a rare exceptional moment and almost never occur in practice. Toxicosis - the root cause of such a feeling in pregnant women, is directly related to the onset of fetal activity. Before the maturation of the placenta at 4 months, the waste products of the unborn baby enter the mother's blood directly, which causes a concentration of decay products - toxicosis.
3. The desire of a woman to try some new, unusual food products is based on the completely natural need of the female body for various vitamins and microelements. Therefore, experiments in food are an integral part of female nature.

Obviously, taste preferences and their changes cannot distinguish PMS from pre-term pregnancy. Their differences are not at all obvious and cannot become a clear identifier of the position of a woman.

Breast sensitivity and size

1. The main reason for almost all changes in a woman's body is hormonal fluctuations. And metamorphosis with mammary glands in this case is no exception. And since both the state of pregnancy and PMS differ in fluctuations in the level of hormones, it is also very difficult to clearly identify the condition by the sensations of the breast.
2. The only guideline may be the duration of such changes and sensations with the mammary glands. In the case of PMS, the breast swells slightly and hurts for only a few days, and in a situation with pregnancy, the entire period of preparation for future lactation continues.

Chronic fatigue

1. In the early stages of pregnancy, rapid fatigue is associated with an increase in the level of the hormone progesterone. Against the background of low sugar and frequent fluctuations in blood pressure, and there is an effect of constant fatigue.
2. Before PMS, the release of hormones into the body is the same amount as in the first days of pregnancy. Therefore, in the premenstrual period, a woman's fatigue is significant. But it quickly passes when bleeding begins and the hormone level returns to normal.

As you can see, the sign of fatigue cannot be taken as an unambiguous indicator of one or another position. However, the presence of such a factor cannot be completely ignored. In any case, fluctuating hormone levels that lead to such fatigue can be a consequence of a hormonal disorder and be extremely dangerous for a woman's health.

Pain in the ovaries

1. In the middle of the monthly cycle, the woman's body prepares for implantation into the fallopian tubes of an egg ready for fertilization. This process is accompanied by an increase in the amount of mucous membrane on the walls of the uterus. Before menstruation, the mucous membrane begins to gradually exfoliate from the walls, which causes very painful sensations in the lower abdomen.
2. In the very first weeks of pregnancy, uterine pains are associated with a radically opposite process. At this moment, the fertilized egg is fixed on the walls of the uterus, thereby irritating its mucous membrane. As you can see, the presence of a painful symptom during PMS and pregnancy also coincide.
3. However, presence does not mean identity. You can distinguish the condition of a woman by the nature of such pain. In the first days of pregnancy, the pain is slight, mild and short-lived. It passes quickly and lasts only up to 2 days. In the case of pain in the lower abdomen during PMS, each woman is different: very strong or weaker, disappear after 2-3 days or last a week, and some women even suffer most of the cycle.

As a result, we can state the fact that pain as a sign of PMS is more powerful than similar sensations during pregnancy.

Pain in the spine

This sign, which manifests itself during PMS, cannot be attributed to pregnancy. Similar pains are separated by time and do not intersect.

1. In the case of premenstrual syndrome, back pain begins during the exfoliation of the uterine mucosa and this is due to the active production of red blood cells by the bone marrow. This can last up to 5 to 7 days of menstrual bleeding.
2. In the first days and even weeks of pregnancy, a woman does not have such sensations. Only by the end of the 2nd trimester, lower back pain in the expectant mother begins to gradually increase until the very birth. This is due to an increase in the size of the fetal egg and the baby, which leads to increased pressure on the internal organs and a load on the spinal column.

Sudden change of mood

Another similar symptom of PMS and pregnancy is mood swings. The source of this symptom, like most of the others during pregnancy or PMS, is the level of hormones. At first glance, the differences are not observed, but still they are.

1. During premenstrual syndrome, the nature of the coloring of the emotional background is often negative. That is, it is the whole spectrum of irritability, anger and anger. And even tears can be from anger during PMS.
2. During pregnancy, the woman begins to feel everything differently - more acutely, vividly and react accordingly. May laugh, and then burst into tears or suddenly rejoice, and then get angry. Becomes more sensitive and vulnerable emotionally. That is, it experiences both positive and negative feelings in equal volume.

PMS vs Pregnancy: Differences

Consider the main differences between the symptoms of PMS and pregnancy. These include those that a woman feels in the first weeks of pregnancy and never during PMS.

Frequent urination

This symptom begins to disturb the expectant mother at the very beginning and at the end of pregnancy.

1. In the 3rd trimester, this is due to the already rather large weight of the baby and its pressure on the bladder, which actually causes the nervous system to send signals to the brain about its filling 2 or even 3 times more often.
2. In the first weeks, metabolism and hormonal changes lead to frequent urination. In connection with the still unformed placenta, the metabolic products of the fetus enter the bloodstream and cause toxicosis in the body of the expectant mother. In order to quickly cleanse the kidneys, they work more productively and filter decay elements more dynamically, which results in the frequent fullness of the bladder.

Toxicosis as a sign of pregnancy

One of the very first reactions of a woman's body from pregnancy to delay, which immediately distinguishes her from PMS, is toxicosis. It begins immediately after the formation of the zygote and its attachment to the walls of the uterus. Its acute manifestation, of course, begins a little later - after the accumulation of a sufficient concentration of metabolic products in the woman's blood. But it also happens quite quickly. A week later, the expectant mother feels discomfort and the first signs of toxicosis. No, even remotely similar sensations, a woman does not experience during PMS.

Bloody discharge from the vagina

Not only the woman herself, but also her body begins to change and actually “knows” about pregnancy only when the zygote completes its attachment to the walls of the uterus. This process is quite specific and the egg can even damage small capillaries on the way to life-giving strengthening in the mother's body. In this case, implantation may be accompanied by small bleeding. This is considered normal and is a clear sign of a woman's condition.

How to distinguish PMS from pregnancy before a delay

From the article, we can see a sufficient similarity between the symptoms of PMS and pregnancy. This is not surprising, because the body is one and all the processes in it are similar. Apart from the fact that menstruation itself is part of the productive function of a woman, like pregnancy itself, then everything is quite logical. However, there are significant differences, and if you know how to listen to your body correctly, then you can distinguish PMS from pregnancy before a delay with a probability of 90%.

Of course, it is impossible to say that every representative of the fair sex equally tolerates PMS and pregnancy. Someone in their entire life will not tell you that they felt any of the listed signs of approaching menstruation, and someone during pregnancy did not cause toxicosis. But still, these signs are present, only individual for each woman.

1. Early terms of pregnancy for that they are early, which are poorly expressed. Therefore, the diagnosis of pregnancy, and especially independent, in the early stages is very ambiguous. Therefore, any changes in a woman's body, and especially unusual ones, require special attention and observation.
2. The surest way to determine pregnancy is, of course, a trip to the doctor. At home, a rapid pregnancy test is more effective and reliable by 90 - 99%. Possessing high sensitivity, it determines just the level of the hCG hormone in the body, which begins to be actively produced at the moment the egg is fixed in the uterine wall. Some tests even allow you to determine the position 4 days before the start of the expected menstruation.

The body of every woman is special and with an increasing number of experienced menstrual cycles, she herself feels and understands the approach of regular bleeding. Therefore, every month, experiencing the same scenario in a circle, you can immediately feel the changes. It is these changes in the behavior of your reproductive system that should alert and become a reason for additional verification in any of the ways listed above.

The abbreviation PMS is as soon as not exploited and as soon as it is not deciphered. Of all the symptoms characteristic of this phenomenon, only irritability and a sharp change of mood were entrenched in public opinion. Of course, when viewed from the side, it is the mood that is most noticeable. A woman has to go through much more unpleasant moments, among which there is pain.

And if only that, because most of the symptoms of PMS are very similar to the early symptoms of pregnancy. And how to understand what exactly a woman is dealing with in a particular case?

PMS or early signs of pregnancy?

Let's try to understand where certain sensations come from in both cases. And at the end of the article, we will compile a summary table that will help determine what is taking place: PMS or pregnancy.

Eating Behavior Change

“Are you craving salty? Aren't you pregnant? ”, - this almost traditional phrase is familiar to everyone, and often it is the change in tastes in food, craving for new products and aversion to the usual ones that are called one of the first signs of pregnancy, as, indeed. And premenstrual syndrome. Indeed, both during PMS and in the early stages, women can lean on sweet or salty. But that's where the similarities probably end.

Aversion to food, which expectant mothers often experience is caused by early toxicosis, and this symptom rarely occurs before a delay in menstruation. Usually, toxicosis begins (if it begins at all) at 5-6 weeks. This is related to the life of the fetus. The system for removing his waste products has not yet been debugged, they enter directly into the mother's blood, causing mild intoxication. Relief occurs by 4 months, when the placenta matures.

As for the craving for traditionally inedible products or products that a woman has never loved, as well as for their non-standard combinations, she is associated with the body's need for certain vitamins and elements. In addition, this condition is also characteristic of later periods.

Thus, eating behavior cannot be used as an indicator of PMS or pregnancy. The differences, although obvious, are characteristic of later periods.

Breast augmentation and its sensitivity

The reason for the changes that occur with the mammary rods is a change in the hormonal background. Since these changes are characteristic of both conditions, it is almost impossible to determine whether breast tenderness is a symptom of pregnancy or PMS. The only thing you can try to focus on the duration of the phenomenon. In the case of PMS, the breasts swell for 1-2 days, and during pregnancy, this feeling accompanies a woman almost all the time. And this is easy to understand, because the breasts have been actively preparing for lactation for all 9 months.

Constant fatigue

The cause of increased fatigue at the beginning of pregnancy is an increase in progesterone levels. In combination with a decrease in blood sugar and low blood pressure, this effect occurs. Obviously, before menstruation, the level of this hormone in a woman's body is comparable to the first days of pregnancy, and therefore fatigue takes place. With the onset of menstruation, progesterone levels drop, and fatigue goes away.

Unfortunately, constant fatigue cannot answer the question of how to distinguish PMS from pregnancy. However, this is no reason not to pay attention to it. In the end, increased fatigue can be a symptom of a number of diseases, most of which are somehow related to hormonal disorders. And such diseases should not be launched.

Lower abdominal pain

In the middle of the cycle, the uterus begins to prepare for the implantation of the fetal egg, that is, the mucous membrane grows on its walls. And before menstruation, excess mucus begins to gradually exfoliate from the walls of the uterus, which causes pain in the lower abdomen with premenstrual syndrome.

In the early stages of pregnancy, pain can also be felt, but this is due to the reverse process: the fetal egg is attached to the wall of the uterus, “burrowing” into the mucous membrane. Thus, abdominal pain is another common symptom. However, the nature of the pain in both cases is different: during pregnancy, the pain is very mild, unobtrusive and short-lived, literally 1-2 days. During PMS, the pain is very diverse, individual for each woman: for someone it is stronger, for someone it is weaker, for someone it goes away on the first day, and someone suffers until the end of menstruation.

Back pain

Strictly speaking, talking about back pain as a common symptom of PMS and pregnancy is not entirely correct, since the lower back in pregnant women begins to hurt towards the end of the 2nd trimester, when the load on the spine increases. During this period, PMS can no longer be confused with pregnancy.

mood swings

So we got to the most “problematic” symptom for many. As you might guess, the nature of this phenomenon is hormonal, it is typical for both PMS and early pregnancy. However, there is still a significant difference at this point.

For PMS, the negative part of the spectrum of emotions is more characteristic: anger, irritability, tears, and during pregnancy it is precisely frequent mood swings, increased sensitivity and stronger, more vivid emotions that take place. That is, positive emotions are as pronounced as negative ones.

This can end with the general symptoms. Now let's talk about the difference between the signs of pregnancy and PMS. The following are symptoms that are typical only for early pregnancy and have nothing to do with PM.

Frequent urination

Frequent urination disturbs a pregnant woman twice: at the end and at the beginning of pregnancy. But if everything is very clear with the 3rd trimester, an enlarged uterus presses on the bladder, then where this symptom comes from at the beginning of the term is not so obvious. This is due to the changing metabolism. The kidneys begin to work more actively, because they have to remove the waste products of two organisms, and not one.

Toxicosis

This sign of pregnancy has already been mentioned in the article. And is it worth talking about it a lot? Indeed, this is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy, but it makes itself felt a little later, already against the backdrop of a delay in menstruation.

Bleeding

Strictly speaking, the woman's body "learns" about pregnancy during the implantation of the fetal egg. Until this moment, the fertilized egg does not come into contact with the mother's body. Since, in the process of implantation into the mucous membrane, the egg may well damage small blood vessels, in some cases, implantation is accompanied by slight bleeding.

To summarize: the signs of PMS and the first symptoms of pregnancy do in many respects coincide, which makes it very difficult to diagnose the latter. And if we take into account that not always all these symptoms “gather” together, then it becomes difficult to decide at all.

The body of each representative of the fair sex is individual, not like the others. Accordingly, everyone reacts to various changes in different ways. Someone does not feel any changes at all, neither during PMS, nor in the early stages of pregnancy, while someone suffers every month.

However, it makes sense to make a table that lists and compares all the symptoms that are characteristic of pregnancy and PMS. It will help at least a little to orientate in the situation.

Symptom	PMS	Pregnancy
Changing attitudes towards food	craves sweet and salty	addictions change, pulls on salty and inedible
Chest hurts	disappears with the onset of menstruation	accompanies the entire pregnancy
Fast fatiguability	occurs a couple of days before menstruation	starting from 4-5 weeks after conception
I have a stomachache	individually in each case	mild, short-term pain
Back pain	sometimes abdominal pain radiates to the back	occurs late
mood swings	tearfulness, irritability	frequent change of emotional state
Frequent urination	—	consequence of metabolic changes
Toxicosis	—	starts at 4-5 weeks
Bleeding	—	at about 2 weeks, scanty, spotting discharge

In general, it is very difficult to diagnose pregnancy in the early stages. More or less accurate symptoms begin after the delay of menstruation, and those signs that begin before the delay are too ambiguous and require increased attention.