I need help identifying something.

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

I was put on Loestrin 24 by my gyno for PCOS. I never cramp when I'm on my period (when I'm not on the pill). Today was the first day I started my period on the pill and I was cramping like I've never cramped before. I couldn't move and the pain as unbearable. It felt like diarrhea and cramps at the same time only when I would try to use to bathroom nothing would come out. After pushing so much, something came out of my vagina. It looked like a clot at first, but it was huge. I fished it out of the toilet with an instrument and put it into the bathtub. I washed the blood off of it to see what it was but everything I've researched comes up empty. Could you please help me identify it? I put my finger next to it to show its size. The picture was taken while it was still under water.

Comments

[missmofo.livejournal.com]

Looks like uterine lining, which would explain the cramping.

[fireaphid.livejournal.com]

Ditto, and shedding even pretty big chunks of uterine lining is not dangerous.

[pahraydolliah.livejournal.com]

it looks like an old tampon. I can't really tell from the distnace and lack of detail.

[thedastardfunk.livejournal.com]

I thought it looked like a tampon too. I zoomed in, but that didn't help much.

[extraneousrooot.livejournal.com]

I thought it looked like a tampon too, but I can't really tell either.

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

[pahraydolliah.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking uterine lining but it still looks like soggy shredded cotton from a tampon. I would save it and show it to your gyno.

[thedastardfunk.livejournal.com]

At first glance, it really looks like a tampon to me, but I don't think that's possible, especially if you had been to the gyno - They would have seen it. Is it possible that you were pregnant?

Even though it might seem weird, do you think you could save that and take it to your Dr? They might be able to tell what it is.

Sorry I can't be more help :\

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

I took a pregnancy test last week due to nauseau and fatigue but it came out negative. At first, I thought it was a miscarriage because I read that sometimes pregnancy tests can fail if you have PCOS, but when I looked at pictures of miscarried babies, they looked nothing like that.

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

Oh and I was thinking about saving it and taking it to the doctor but how would I preserve it until I'm able to get an appt?

[thedastardfunk.livejournal.com]

Boil some water and let it cool off and then keep it in the jar with the sterile water. That's what I'd do.

[thedastardfunk.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, well, if you still have the clot-like specimen, I'd put it in a jar with water and take it to the Dr. I know that sounds really weird, but it's your best bet for finding out what it is.

[arularia.livejournal.com]

Just for the record, the bit about pregnancy tests being less accurate for PCOSers isn't right. It's ovulation testing strips that we get funky results for because our luteinizing hormone levels can be out of whack.

[nickeldeuce]

is there any way you could give us a bigger/clearer picture?

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

[nickeldeuce]

Yeah, it definitely looks like uterine lining to me. But I agree with everyone else about preserving it and taking it to the doctor. I'm sure you'll be just fine! (:

[belleforbass.livejournal.com]

After my D+C I passed clots/lining bigger then that.

But yes its lining! (its kinda a relief to hear that right?)
I went to see my doctor a few days after the D+C and she had a look up there and told me I was going to pass some clots, then hours/a day later it was terrible!

Hope the cramps go away!

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

How often will I be shedding lining this large? Will it eventually go back to normal?

[belleforbass.livejournal.com]

I believe everyone is different. I passed quite a bit after my D+C and this was post op bleeding. Last period I passed a few but they were quite a bit smaller and this current one I haven't passed any.
But I was in the position that it was all 'loosened' and I'd actually had mine scraped away so mine was the left overs...

Is this the first time you've been on the pill?

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

no but i was off of it for a year and a half

[x-memoirs.livejournal.com]

Does everyone pass linings that big (or any at all) at some point in their lives? I'm 23 and have never passed anything like that. A few small itty bitty clots here and there during a really heavy flow period.

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure but I believe mine was from being built up so much. I didn't have my period for almost a year and sometimes can go for 6 months without having one, leading me to believe that what I passed was just the shedding of all of that.

[belleforbass.livejournal.com]

I believe everyone is different. I often would go months without periods and would get uterine lining coming out when I did have a period.

[book-rapport.livejournal.com]

It's possible it could be lining from your uterus. It could also be an early embryo if an egg was fertilized and didn't attach to your uterus, although I don't know how plausible that is.

I would definitely at least call your doc though-- sometimes women have life-threatening reactions to birth control and this could signal a blood clotting issue.

Good luck, and I hope you feel better.

[tokio.livejournal.com]

Did your gynecologist perform a papsmear or have a look around? Do you use tampons? Did they do a pregnancy test first? How long have you been on the pill?

If the answer to the former is "no," it honestly looks like it could be two tampons fused together or a tampon completely ripped open, which happens when the tampon becomes soaked and/or gets left in too long.

If the answer to the third question is "no," then question one obviously does not apply.

There is a chance that you miscarried, but, with a clot that large, someone would have noticed either through a pregnancy test or symptoms. Sometimes tests can give false negatives.

There is also a chance that you simply passed a very large piece of uterine lining, and the increase of hormones in your system was the catalyst that knocked it out, as though it were cleansing your uterus so that no more (or very little, actually) uterine lining could build up.

Regardless, I think that you should preserve the clot, and take it to your doctor as soon as you can. You could put it in a plastic bag in the fridge if it won't be too long. Or, if you can't get in soon enough, you might ask them how to preserve it in the freezer without messing up the texture.

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

Yes he performed a papsmear and the results came back negative for HPV but I have precancerous cells so I had to make another appt. I do use tampons but I don't think its a tampon because I just recently went to the doctor and I'm sure he would have noticed that. I took a pregnancy test last week but it came out negative.. I started the pill 3 weeks ago. I started the sugar pills today and started my period right on time.

Thank you and I'm going to call tomorrow and make an appt.

[thedastardfunk.livejournal.com]

Yeah. The Dr. would have certainly noticed that if he'd done a pap smear. Hopefully you get an appt. soon!

[poppleshatesyou.livejournal.com]

Looks like uterine lining to me! Check out this (http://community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina/13324012.html#cutid1) photo or this (http://community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina/12402944.html#cutid1) photo to see other examples of uterine lining.

The severe cramping is probably from passing such a large clot, since you are on HBC you aren't really having a "period," you are having a withdrawal bleed. The different formula of hormones that you are taking and then stopped taking, could be behind the more painful withdrawal bleed, and/or cause your uterine lining to shed differently then it did before. I wouldn't worry about it too much, but it might be worth mention to your doctor.

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I was freaking out. I thought maybe I had miscarried, or something important had fallen out of me haha.. I'm pretty sure it's uterine lining after seeing so many people say so and after looking this picture up...



That's practically the EXACT shape of what came out of me so I can conclude that's what it is.

[poppleshatesyou.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! Definitely doesn't look like you miscarried nor lost anything vital, just some uterine lining, which is what should be happening during your withdrawal bleed. The size of the clot might be worth mentioning to your doctor though, PCOS could likely have a hand in that.

.I'm not really sure what that picture shows exactly...but i think the pictures i linked you to above will lessen your fears a bit as well.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

Isn't it interesting? Apparently it's quite normal -- I've read some studies calling it "very rare," but we actually get lots of questions on VP about a similar phenomenon, so I suspect it isn't as rare as some experts think.

It appears most common in females taking progestin (i.e. in hormonal birth control), especially when starting -- I can't dig up the link now, but progestin was linked to a certain process in the uterus that makes shedding the uterine lining cast more likely.

[brigittefires.livejournal.com]

*hugs* First, take a deep breath.

I'm pretty sure you'd know if you had a tampon stuck up there for a month, and while passing big clots like that can be scary (even when you're used to it!) it's totally normal. Some versions of HBC make my clots larger than others, and the biggest ones are usually accompanied by cramps and the feeling like I have to BM but that's what happens instead.

It definitely just looks like uterine lining. But you know, that's the type of thing doctors are trained to deal with--if you're very concerned, or even if that's just not an effect of this version of HBC that you are comfortable with, maybe a different formula would help. You could always wait to see if more stuff like that comes out to have something to compare.

[natane.livejournal.com]

yes, seriously, i don't know why everyone kept asking about tampons. i don't know anyone who would be so un-self-aware.

[chiyo-no-saru.livejournal.com]

It's actually not unheard of for people to leave them up there, and it's a situation that's come up a number of times on VP before.

[mangofandango.livejournal.com]

There are definitely people here who've left a tampon inside for longer than intended and forgotten about it. It actually comes up with some frequency. I have a feeling those people might feel a little hurt by your comment! People make mistakes/have a really busy few days/don't notice for whatever reason. It happens.

[brigittefires.livejournal.com]

I think she's referring to my reference of not finding it until a month later, more than forgetting it at all--and she did say she was talking about the people she knew personally.

I will say that for so many of us who are so self-aware (and especially for those of us who always have been, and who were raised to be very body-positive) it is hard to conceive of and understand some of the situations that come up from being so unaware of one's own body. Even body-negative self-consciousness makes so many people nervous and hyper-aware of what's going on down there.

But I do see where you're coming from, as far as how that statement could hurt someone's feelings.

[brigittefires.livejournal.com]

Oh, it happens. my mom's a nurse, and friends in the ER say they get about one woman a week who forgot she had a tampon up there. However, it's usually (very anecdotally) obese women who are using two at a time, and don't realise they didn't get both. But it's always within a week of the end of their period, not like a month later. You'd get toxic shock before then.

[0embryo.livejournal.com]

I actually once heard about the mother of a friend of mine, who works as a nurse for mentally handicapped people. At sompe point, a woman was brought to them complaining about vaginal pains and smelling really weird down there; turned out she'd had a tampon in for almost a month but forgot all about it. No toxic shock though, but I suppose this woman actually got lucky.

[necromance.livejournal.com]

I'm just going to give you a hug because I would have freaked the f out pushing that out of me. So lots of internet loves and please update us on what happens at the doctor.

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[arularia.livejournal.com]

I tried to scare up some links, but no go on searching through the tags. Maybe someone else will post them, but I've seen several posts in the community where members had pretty much an identical crazy, unidentified mass fall out of their vaginas and the consensus has always been that it's just a random hunk of your uterine lining exiting en masse.

[tornattheelbo.livejournal.com]

OMG i just have to say, that is the MOST impressive clot i've EVER seen. congrats on passing it. the cramps must have been unbearable!

I might make an appointment with your doctor and show him the photo, if you have PCOS it's possible that your lining is getting really bulky, and that's bad for your uterus, because you can develop fibroid tumors.

then again, if you're passing these huge clots, that's probably good but they might reccomend and ablation.

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

thank you!

[xevv.livejournal.com]

Yeah, looks like uterine lining to me. Personally, I would feel damn proud about passing that!

Also, when you say you fished in out with an instrument, I just thought of someone dipping a violin into the toilet and fishing the clot out of the f-holes with knitting needles.

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHA!! It was actually one of the really long candy canes that was leftover from Christmas. I knew it would come in handy.

[queen-emily.livejournal.com]

LOL!

[justadreameruk.livejournal.com]

Just thought I'd say thanks for this post. It's amazing how open people are happy to be, and quite a relief too! I had the same issue last weekend but just ignored it and prayed I was okay seeing as there's no possibility it could have been a tampon or miscarriage as has been mentioned. I also had the symptom of the most severe cramping I've ever had in my life and have now put it down to the fact that I went on Norethisterone to delay my period for over a week whilst on holiday so I must assume it was just coz it built up for so long.

[katelynsuzanne.livejournal.com]

You are so very welcome! I too am on Noresthisterone and chalked that up as to why this happened.