A woman who accidentally left her tampon in for a whole month has laid bare the gruesome symptoms that she endured while doctors struggled to figure out what was wrong with her.
Reality star Savannah Miller, 24, who is best known for starring in season seven of Netflix‘s The Circle, opened up about the ‘traumatizing’ ordeal during a recent chat with the New York Post.
She explained that despite feeling sick and developing a horrific smell in her private area, medical professionals failed to uncover what was causing it across multiple visits.
The TV star said it began after she put in a tampon during a night out with friends near the end of her period.
But the next morning, she had ‘forgot she put it in’ so she never took it out.
‘There was no blood and the string had disappeared, I didn’t see it,’ she told the publication.
Savannah said the first thing she noticed was that a strange smell started to come from her vagina… and as the days went on it got so bad she compared it to a dead animal.
‘It smelled like a rat crawled inside of me while I was sleeping and died,’ she confessed.
Reality star Savannah Miller, 24, who is best known for starring in season seven of Netflix ‘s The Circle, accidentally left her tampon in for a whole month
She laid bare the gruesome symptoms that she endured while doctors struggled to figure out what was wrong with her
She thought the smell meant she was still on her period so she ended up putting in another tampon, which likely pushed the other further back.
She soon started to feel run-down and itchy down there, so she went to her college clinic.
Doctors tested her for STDS but everything came back negative.
‘They thought it was just [bacterial vaginosis], but I knew there was no way people walked around with BV smelling like this,’ added the 24-year-old.
It wasn’t until her third visit when the doctor noticed traces of cotton in her urine that they realized what was causing her mysterious illness – nearly a month after she initially put the tampon in.
‘It was so far up in my cervix there was no shot I was gonna see it. The doctor had to fish it out of my ovaries,’ she said.
In the end, she said she’s grateful she didn’t develop Toxic Shock Syndrome, and she hopes that speaking out about it will help prevent others from suffering the same fate.
Back in June, Shannon Toner spoke exclusively to the Daily Mail about how she almost died from using a tampon at age 15 after developing Toxic Shock Syndrome.
The TV star said it began after she put in a tampon during a night out with friends near the end of her period. But the next morning, she had ‘forgot she put it in’ so she never took it out
It wasn’t until her third visit when the doctor noticed traces of cotton in her urine that they realized what was causing her mysterious illness
‘It put me in a coma and nearly took my life – I hadn’t even had my period for a full year yet,’ Shannon, who was on a family vacation at the time, explained.
Shannon revealed she began to feel ill in the evening after she landed, but she assumed it was just jet lag and tried to sleep it off.
But she woke up the next day with extreme symptoms, including: vomiting, diarrhea, a fever, and fatigue.
‘I was brought to the doctor that afternoon, given a shot for nausea, and sent home,’ she continued.
‘I continued to deteriorate and was brought back to the doctor later that same day.’
‘My last memory is collapsing in the office and laying on the ground because it hurt too much to sit up,’ she recalled.
‘My heart rate was extremely high, my blood pressure was dangerously low, and I was rushed to the ICU. I didn’t wake up until a few days later.’
Toxic Shock Syndrome is a ‘rare complication of certain types of bacterial infections,’ according to MayoClinic. It can be fatal.
‘Risk factors for toxic shock syndrome include skin wounds, surgery, and the use of tampons and other devices, such as menstrual cups and birth control sponges or diaphragms.’
Shannon was given a 50/50 chance of survival and while she ultimately recovered, she suffered from the after effects for years.
‘I dealt with memory loss, anxiety, attention issues, and depression. My periods also became extremely painful,’ she explained.