[BethCooper]

So I started Alesse (28 day pack) birth control in December, on the 24th (which was the first day of my period/first day I bled - this was the way I was told to take them). I assumed it would stop my period, but it did not, I didn't think much of it, assuming my system needed time to sync up with the new hormone changes.
Usually my period lasts maximum 5 days because I'm very athletic, this time however it was still very heavy on the 5th day, but I have had longer periods (up to 8 days) in the past so I ignored it. By the 12'th day I started to worry, and did some research, it seemed like these symptoms (or rather side effects weren't to worry about, so I was frustrated dealing with what ended up as a 13 or 14 day period but accepted it and continued).
Then there were about 4 days without bleeding, maybe more like 5 or 6, and then a few days before my inactive pills I began to get brown-ish pink dischagre. This developed (within a day) into heavy spotting, then into light and constant bleeding, and then into heavy bleeding. By the heavy bleeding I was on my inactive pills, and about 3 days before the end of the placebo pills the bleeding stopped. (yay!)
I was happy, and figured my body had sorted it all out well enough already. My second month seemed to be going well, I was taking them all on time each day, and no spotting or breakthrough was even remotely evident. But then, around the 6th day I noticed some cramping, I assumed it was just some random effect, and hoped a breakthrough would not happen, the cramping was very light and came and went until the 9th day, on the early morning of the tenth pill (second cycle still) I noticed some light bleeding, but it wasn't like menstrual blood, it wasn't thick, more like regular blood, and very very light. (I had been sexually active with my boyfriend, but we still had not had sex, I just assumed his nail had cut me inside and went to bed, not worrying about it).
On the 11th day I had to wear a liner, and on the 12th day I woke up with it spilling down my leg, it had become very heavy overnight and now (the 13th day) it has become even heavier. It's presenting itself like my period, but I really really don't want breakthrough bleeding to last this long, (as it lasted 12 days last time) and I'm worried it will last that long again.
Is this something to be concerned about, or is it relatively normal? My boyfriend thinks I should go to the doctor as he's worried that it's not right I've bled as much as I am. I don't want to start over on a new type of pill, because then I'm back to square one. So I have chosen to wait until the third month to see if this happens again.
THAT SAID, I have read recently that heavy breakthrough's lasting past 3 days are something to speak with a doctor about; is my pill not working? Is there something wrong with ME?

Other information; I have been dealing with extreme levels of stress and grief lately, and the peak of my stress was the day before the most recent breakthrough began - could it be linked to that?