Gaaah! Potential lost tampon horror 😳 waay tmi

[Dogno1]

Urgh! Most definately not a period troll!... But literally just been to the toilet whilst on 2nd day of period (realised no toilet roll - thanks everyone else in household for not replacing it 🙄). Loads running through my head from work today, so just auto pilot figured I'd leave tampon in place whilst flumped downstairs to pick up new rolls. Wandered back to backroom sighing, sat back down, replaced tampon, and then 'gaaah! gaaah! The did I actually remove last one question?!'. Had a good rummage 😳 but now laid back in bed freaking out about toxic shock syndrome. I'm at work at 8am so no chance of an emergency appt at the GP, and frankly questioning did I remove it or not? Obviously not a question anyone else can answer! 😒 I'm just feeling very unhappy currently. I doubt I'll sleep well tonight, and feel like the world's biggest moron!

Go back in the bathroom, remove your pants, squat down on the floor and bear down, if there’s anything in there you should be able to get at it like that.

That’s the advice we’d give over the phone at 111 for stuck tampons, and it’s the first thing we send women off to do when the present to A&E with a possible retained tampon.

Also I'd meant to post in 'women's health' not AIBU... So now there's that too 😳

Give yourself a break woman, lol.
Calm down, breath, try the squatting thing and get back to us if it doesn’t work.

Where would you have put the one you took out? Can’t you just check if it’s there.

Check the bin!

I dispose of used via toilet roll wrap, and into small bin I utilise as sani next to toilet for disposal. Unfortunately there's already waste in there over past 24hrs so I can't really tell and I was half asleep on auto pilot, so now doubting myself. I've tried squatting, but also concerns surrounding coil strings as I asked to keep longer for self checking. I'm thinking I'll just run a bath to relax and take it from there. Last intention I had at 1am ffs! Just such a daft lapse in judgement half asleep. Thank you for the replies and hand holds. OP currently on shift, and could hardly ring bff at 1am 😳 I'm sure its fine! Just momentary flap ping.

You had no toilet roll so you can't have wrapped it and binned it.

Sorry but 🤣. Squat down, put your fingers down there and cough, It should come shooting out if it's there.

@Zoobican Yes! Unfortunately that is a very good point! 🙁 I'm 99.9% sure I didn't bin it at all tbh (thought was in my head 'go fetch new toilet roll pack from downstairs cupboard first!). Set heating back on for bath so will do that next. Tbh I've had horror trip to GP nurse for pretty similar scenario approx 5yrs ago, and she was lovely and everything was fine (albeit embarrassing), so I'm pretty sure regardless it'll be okay. Plus I finish at 5pm tomorrow so can hopefully book emergency appointment for then if I can't sort it before hand. And I know it will all be fine - but.. And yes I know this is frankly insane! But if anyone ever recalls the episode of 'The Bill' in the 80s when it showed the female officer getting toxic shock, and dying on a pile of bin bags in an alley? That's my horror fear from teenage years 😳

The squatting thing WILL work, 💪 , you'll be fine. X
But slightly off topic, the warmth and womanly straight-forwardness of this thread has cheered me up hugely on an absolutely AWFUL night. Thanks all. X

The bill has a lot to answer for although it was a casualty one with TSS that scarred me
Hope your bath is erm productive or puts your mind at ease

I've done this at least 3 or 4 times. Squat, relax, breathe, dig about. You will be able to reach it, especially if it's been collecting everything and is full. No need for a GP. I once found an old one, must have been 1-2 days old!! How it didn't kill me I don't know! I just go into autopilot. Its like did I turn the curlers off? Did I lock the door? I didn't do that either
You will be ok.

Well! The bath, and hammering water like there's no tomorrow to pee like a race horse hasn't helped my current predicament. So it's over to enlisting DP to 'support' when he returns from work at 6am... He's well up for assuming a 'medical role', when it comes to dodgy chin hair removal (I'll get my kit! - tweezers & torch on phone 🙄). So hopefully he'll not wimp out when it comes to this. If not, its off to the docs for me after work. Thank you for all the replies and advice! I still feel a bit of an arse even though its an anymous forum (thank god! 😁). But it's very comforting to know I'm not the only one whose been through it & lived to tell the tale!

I recently had a retained tampon removed, it was in there for 6 weeks!!! I couldn't find it myself, dig around for hours in tears haha. I only knew because of the smell after sex it was literally like rotting dead bodies 🤢🤢🤢 I ended up seeing a nurse at my Gp in the end. It was right up the top hidden away near my cervix, and it STUNK the room out.
Good luck!!!

I wouldn't wait til after work.
could you get up early and be first in to walk-in centre.

How deep does your fanjo have to be that you can't find a tampon?? Am I missing something 🤷🏼‍♀️

Can't help you find the potentially lost tampon but wanted to post in solidarity as I once lost a tampon up there for 3 weeks. I had no idea it was up there, didn't even realise until it started to make a terrible stink 😳 I was lucky that there were no consequences. GP discovered during an exam. It was mortifying.

OP, I remember that episode of The Bill! (I think.) But, in my version, the WPC ended up in hospital and there was an awkward scene in which someone had to explain why to her male boss. She lived and all was well!

@yearinyearout As far as I'm aware my fanjo isn't extraordinary? As verified by my routine smears and via giving birth without comment placed on my 'bottomless cavern of a vulva' 😕. However, I will acknowledge a slightly titled uterus, but I don't think that's had that much of a bearing on my standard insert/extract of tampons in the past 20+yrs tbh. This is just a silly fuck up, and I doubt I'm the first (been here before & supported by other posters), nor will I be the last I imagine 🤔

I had a tampon in and put a second one in many years ago, when I went to change the new tampon I could feel 'something' and did the 'bear down' and yep, disgusting 'thing' emerged.

On the squat thing, get a mirror and squat over it, you should be bale to see something if it's in there.

Do you have any pads, your period should help flush it out but not if there is a tampon there.

I had a missing tampon a couple of years ago that had been there for a few weeks - as PP have said, was only discovered by the smell of rotting bodies. Was horrendous. GP was fantastic about it all despite the fact I was mortified. She said it happens frequently. Best to get an appt and get checked if you’re not sure still.

yearinyearout I'm with you. I find these posts baffling

I find these posts baffling

In what way is this constructive or supportive of the OP? So you are baffled. Big deal. Everyone's different.

If you haven't got anything nice to say then don't say it is a sensible mantra to live by.

OP - A&E remove 'lost' tampons all the time. It's really quite common and they are very kind and understanding in this regard. Voice of experience.

Im assuming that you throw used tampons away in a bathroom bin?

So just tip out the bathroom bin and feel the tampons, obviously the tampon you took out will feel a bit more wet from the fresh blood on it than an old tampon...if one feels wet then you took it out...if all feel old and dry then you probably left the tampon in before putting the new one in (that does happen, Google it...the old one gets push up high near cervix...)

If you are unsure op then you really need to have it checked out by maybe nurse to make sure it's still not in there.....

Try squatting (that shortens vaginal canal) and then feel around, not in random way but methodically so you can make sure you have checked everywhere