vaginapagina | irregular bleeding and bc.

Soo... I'm not too worried, but figured I'd post to see if anyone had any input.
About a week ago I took myself off my birth control prescription (Mircette). I'd been on it for about 8 - 9 months, after short hiatus from being on b.c. for a few years.
Obviously, I expected to start my period a few days after I stopped taking it... I'm usually a VERY light bleeder and only bleed for about 3-4 days. I was suprised that I started after missing only one pill (I was mid-cycle, so I wasn't really expecting it to be that quick) and it's been HEAVY since. I realize 'heavy' for me might be different than for someone else, but according to this 1-6 scale, I'd say I'm at a 5.5-6... whereas I'm usually around 1.5. Big difference for me. Also...it's a different color... it's more of a raspberry color (forgive the comparison) than a blood color. The smell is different, as well. Not bad, just different.
Am I being overly sensitive to the changes? Obviously, messing with hormones will do some funny things to your body... AND I've been majorly stressed over the past couple of weeks (moving, new job, boyfriend moving across country... FUN!)... but has anyone else had a similar experience? Thanks!!