Common Causes of Heavy Vaginal Bleeding

Dear Ask The Doctor: I have been on the oral contraceptive 'Cilest' for approximately 8 months now. I have never had any previous problems with it, or experienced any 'breakthrough bleeding'. However, I started to bleed fairly heavily while I had not yet finished my pill pack (I had 5 pills in the pack still to take). This has never happened before. I have now finished the pack, and have been bleeding for 12 days straight, with a consistent fairly heavy flow. I am not in any pain, except for the usual period pain 'niggles'. I have been under quite a fair bit of stress lately as I am in the middle of exams. I have also changed my diet and cut down on refined sugar. Could this be the cause?

Stress can cause menstrual irregularities. Also there are other causes of heavy bleeding; fibroids (aka myoma) can cause painless vaginal bleeding too. Other causes are blood clotting disorders and hormone dysfunction (thyroid, reproductive hormones, etc). If the bleeding is heavy and it bothers you, consult a doctor as soon as possible, perhaps after all your exams, so that the root cause can be determined and intervened appropriately.  Always have a balanced diet (eat from all food groups) and maintain a healthy weight (not too heavy or too thin); this will help regulate the menstrual cycle. Also, remember to take the pill at the same time everyday; this will make the contraception ~99.9% effective. I do hope I have answered your question. Take care always.