Can you have gotten your period, and had an at-home pregnancy test be negative, but really be pregnant?

Possibly. Doctors will be able to confirm.
Just in case – congratulations!

Chances are you are not pregnant if you have had a negative home pregnancy test and you got your period.

The symptoms you describe can just happen sometimes.

To be absolutely certain, you need to have a pregnancy test from an official source first thing in the morning. Either go to a doctor or call Planned Parenthood.

The problem is, you can’t always be sure that you’ve gotten your period. There are other causes of bleeding, and early pregnancy can cause some of them. The combination of bleeding and a negative test makes it unlikely that you are pregnant, but a professional checkup is in order.

@marinelife So if it isn’t pregnancy, why would I feel that way?

“Nipple tenderness doesn’t necessarily mean that you may be pregnant. It is believed to be caused by an excess or imbalance in the female hormones estrogen, progesterone or prolactin. Women experiencing it say it tends to get worse with emotional stress or prolonged activity. Excessive amounts of salt, fat & caffeine can also aggravate it. It could be caused by fluid retention in your breasts, which may make them swollen and quite tender. Many people experience nipple and/or breast tenderness on a regular basis around the time of ovulation.”

Source

It is likely you are not pregnant. But if you are a “little bit pregnant” you could bleed and feel odd and it might not register on the at home test, only a blood test would let you know for sure. There is the risk of ectopic pregnancy also. Are you cramping like a normal period?

Are you very young and just starting your period? Your breasts might be growing in general causing them to be painful.

@JLeslie I’m cramping a bit more severely, but not like when they used to make me almost pass out. I’ve had my period for about a decade now. I’m not sure what a “little bit pregnant” means, cuz I’ve always thought it was more of a binary thing, but I guess I don’t really know much about the whole reproductive system.

@marinelife Well, that’s hopeful. It’d be nice if this was just an extremely unfortunate side effect of finals.

Go to your doctor and request a blood test if you are really concerned about it. Hormonal fluctuations can cause the symptoms you have mentioned. There are women that bleed during pregnancy, so the presence of bleeding doesn’t always mean you are not pregnant.

Do you keep track of your normal cycles? When did you start your last period? Was it normal (as far as duration, amount, and length between it and the one before it)? What about the period before that? Are you regularly having unprotected sex? When did you take the home pregnancy test and get the negative? If it wasn’t recently, perhaps you could just take another one and go from there. Maybe you took the first one too soon.

Yes, it’s possible. With my second I was pregnant for 2 months before I found out and I had my periods.

@TheLadyEve Contrary to what most people think, there is a such thing as a chemical pregnancy. Your HCG levels (the pregnancy hormone) can be so low the urine test does not detect it, but a blood test will. It happens very early in pregnancies, and in failing pregnancies.

If I wouldn’t have taken my pregnancy test, I would have went about my normal life thinking all was well for at least a couple months. I had cramping, breast tenderness, nipple soreness, and I bled heavily like a normal period when I was 8 weeks pregnant. The only reason I took a test early on was because I woke up one day and randomly threw up. I wasn’t sick. I thought it was strange so I went to the store and got a test. It was positive. But home tests are usually very accurate. Wait a couple more days, take another, and if you’re still not convinced, see a doctor.