i have recently come off marvelon (last pack ended at the beginning of march). my first cycle i noticed some spotting 3 days before my period. this month, the spotting lasted for 7 days. is this normal and does anyone know how long it is likely to continue?
i have been on marvelon for 6 1/2 years and i am no longer taking any form of birth control.

You can expect any number of strange side effects when coming off the pill. You were on for a pretty long time, so it wouldn't be surprising if a bunch of strange things start happening, because you're going through a drug withdrawal. I wouldn't worry about it. Most doctors say that it takes from 6 to 12 months to fully get the hormones out of your body after quitting the pill. For me it took about 9 months to feel back to normal again after having been on for about 14 or 15 years. Although my periods returned to normal right away, I still had some problems with other stuff that was pretty annoying, although I got through it!