Understanding Vaginal Bleeding: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, or Period?

Question
hello dr. rappaport, my name is april. i'm 21 years old with no children and the 1st day of my last normal period was feb.27. i'm on birth control (ortho-tricyclin)?, but i don't always take it as scheduled. i have a hectic life with school and work, so i tend to forget... a lot. like other college students my boyfriend of 2 years and i both like to go out drinking on the weekends at parties and what not and we both have a "healthy sexual appetite" for one another. we'll when we've been drinking we tend to be a little careless about protection. so now, after my period finished, about a week later i'm having my peroid all over again! and it's been going on and getting heavier it seems for like 2 weeks now. i was having a lot of breast tenderness and stomach cramps but then i got sick with the flu and now i'm fatigued, back pain and cramps all over but i'm pretty sure that's from the flu. so what do you think the deal is? just my body's way of tellin me to get back on track with my birth control or could i have very well been pregnant and not known it and now am having a miscarriage?!  

Answer
If you had a normal period that started on February 27, you would have ovulated around March 12 and could have conceived if you had sex on March 11,12,13, or 14. Sometimes, you can have some "ovulatory" bleeding around the time of ovulation. A pregnancy test will show a positive result 14-21 days after conception. The best time to take a pregnancy test is seven days after missing your next period. If you do not get your period by March 26, wait an additional week and take a pregnancy test is you do not get your period by April 2. The earliest symptoms of pregnancy are breast tenderness, fatigue, and nausea.Usually the bleeding at the time of ovulation is not as heavy as your usual period. If you have any doubts, take a blood test for pregnancy, which can show a positive result 10 days after conception.