Anon, Alysia is right; that level of cramping and heavy bleeding isn't usual. If your next cycle is normal, however, you can probably chalk up the difference just to stress, hormones and so on.
Let's talk about your pregnancy question, however. What was the date that your last period began? Are your cycles usually regular, and if so, how far apart are they usually? And do you know the approximate dates when you had unprotected sex?
What it sounds like, to me, is that your period came early and was slightly different than usual.
Most pregnancy tests are made to detect the hormones that pregnancy releases in your body. That hormone is never released any other time. But they usually only work when you are actually late for your period -- from 1 to 5 days late.
The normal series of events for a woman to get pregnant would be as follows:
Day 1 - period starts
Day 10-14 depending on cycle -- ovulation
Day 7-17 - unprotected sex
Day 28 - period should start
Day 29-35 pregnancy test would detect pregnancy.
From your letter, I am assuming this is what happened:
Day 1: period started
Day 10-14 - ovulation, at some point
Day 7-17 - unprotected sex, at some point
Day 21 and 22 - spotting and cramps
Day 23 and 24 - heavy flow and cramps
Day 25 and 26 - spotting and cramps
Day 28 - period was due.
Is that about the course of events?
If so, my guess would be that you aren't pregnant, that you just had an early and somewhat different cycle. (Have you started or stopped any medications in the last month, or changed your diet, exercise, etc?) My guess would be that you should count this as a period and expect your next cycle about 28 days after this one began. However, as Alysia said, since this was so very different for you, a call to your doctor -- or at least your doctor's nurse -- might be the best way to go.
Please write back if there's any more information here that might help.
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Anon, Alysia is right; that level of cramping and heavy bleeding isn't usual. If your next cycle is normal, however, you can probably chalk up the difference just to stress, hormones and so on.
Let's talk about your pregnancy question, however. What was the date that your last period began? Are your cycles usually regular, and if so, how far apart are they usually? And do you know the approximate dates when you had unprotected sex?
What it sounds like, to me, is that your period came early and was slightly different than usual.
Most pregnancy tests are made to detect the hormones that pregnancy releases in your body. That hormone is never released any other time. But they usually only work when you are actually late for your period -- from 1 to 5 days late.
The normal series of events for a woman to get pregnant would be as follows:
Day 1 - period starts
Day 10-14 depending on cycle -- ovulation
Day 7-17 - unprotected sex
Day 28 - period should start
Day 29-35 pregnancy test would detect pregnancy.
From your letter, I am assuming this is what happened:
Day 1: period started
Day 10-14 - ovulation, at some point
Day 7-17 - unprotected sex, at some point
Day 21 and 22 - spotting and cramps
Day 23 and 24 - heavy flow and cramps
Day 25 and 26 - spotting and cramps
Day 28 - period was due.
Is that about the course of events?
If so, my guess would be that you aren't pregnant, that you just had an early and somewhat different cycle. (Have you started or stopped any medications in the last month, or changed your diet, exercise, etc?) My guess would be that you should count this as a period and expect your next cycle about 28 days after this one began. However, as Alysia said, since this was so very different for you, a call to your doctor -- or at least your doctor's nurse -- might be the best way to go.
Please write back if there's any more information here that might help.
April 10, 2009 - 9:59amThis Comment
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