Nausea is a tricky symptom. It can signal just about anything from the flu to indigestion to pregnancy. When you’re trying to get pregnant, every bout of nausea makes you wonder if you’ve finally conceived. You debate whether to reach for the Pepto or the pregnancy test. All too often it ends up being a false alarm. Nausea is so tied to your hormones that any major change can bring it on, even ovulation. Nausea associated with ovulation can really throw a woman off, particularly if she has had irregular or absent periods. It’s easy to mistake it for morning sickness. The only way to tell the difference is to wait for more definite signs of pregnancy. Since I know that was not the answer you were looking for, let me assure you that’s it’s not so black and white.
If you’re trying to determine whether your nausea is morning sickness, caused by ovulation or something else, there are a few clues to watch out for. If you are feeling sick because you are pregnant, eating something (not necessarily anything) will make you feel better, even if you don’t have an appetite. Typically eating while suffering from a stomach flu does not make one feel any better. Another clue is the pattern of sickness. Morning sickness and nausea caused by ovulation tends to come and go throughout the day, compared to flu symptoms which come and stay until the bug has passed. Nausea during ovulation may be accompanied by minor cramps, which some women may not even notice. Nausea during pregnancy tends to come at the same time as a whole host of other pregnancy symptoms, so if you are bloated, fatigued and have tender breasts in addition to nausea, it’s more likely you are pregnant.
The more pregnancy symptoms you experience at once, the more likely it is that you are pregnant. Very rarely will a woman experience just one symptom. If you are suffering from nausea and nothing else, there may be another reason for your queasiness. Keep a pregnancy test handy, but don’t use it just yet. If you are still feeling nauseous after a week and begin to experience other symptoms, definitely take the test.