6 days late but spotting

[j&a]

My fiancee and I have been trying to get pregnant. I was supposed to start my period sun. aug. 21, today is fri. aug. 26. I'm 6 days late. I have been having all the symptoms of early pregnancy. So today I bought a couple of pregnancy tests. I took one of them, it said i wasn't pregnant. I didn't take the test first thing in the morning so I don't really know if my hCG levels were strong enough to show. I was also wondering if I should wait a few more day. Did I take the test to early?

Also, after I took the test I noticed some light bleeding. Is the bleeding my period or implantation?

I really need some good advice...hopefully some that will reassure me, but I do want honesty.

[Brandye]

Each test has its own instructions. Many now say "effective on the first day your period is due." Take this last with a grain of salt but, no,l you did not take the test too early. hCg levels begin to climb at the moment of implantation and, even with late in your cycle implantation, the reading should trigger the test 99% of the time.

The earliest symptom of pregnancy is a missed period. Sometimes the others are more imagined than real. Do another test exactly following the instructions in the packet. The "time to tell" is the critical metric: if not exposed to the urine long enough, a false negative results; if exposed too long, a false positive.

My recommendation to patients is: two tests of different brands twelve hours or more apart following the instructions exactly.

Reassuring: I do not know; honest: there it is.