Toxic shock syndrome symptoms revealed by Sydney nurse who left tampon in for a month by mistake - 7NEWS
For Sydney mum Tammy it was an innocent mistake.
Having used tampons during her period since she was a 16-year-old girl, she had become relaxed about wearing them to bed.
WATCH IN THE VIDEO ABOVE: Tammy shares her tampon story
"I'm not a heavy bleeder, I normally sleep with them in," Tammy tells 7Life.
But in October 2020 after inserting the last tampon of her period, something unusual happened.
Tammy forgot to remove it.
The nurse, 42, claims it sparked a catalogue of symptoms that left her feeling suicidal.
"I had a lot going on at the time, it happens," Tammy admits.
For days she felt no discomfort, she says there was no odour and she was feeling okay.
But one night after getting intimate with her partner he felt that something wasn't quite right.
"He claimed that he felt a lump or something and told me I should go to the gynecologist," Tammy recalls.
"But I just brushed him off and put it down to him not knowing female anatomy."
She now says that conversation was "the first sign" she should have sought help.
I was just never hungry
From that moment, Tammy claims her mental health took a dark nosedive.
She lost her appetite, she started to become delusional and was often lightheaded and dizzy.
"I was eating maybe once every four days, I was just never hungry," she says
The once happy, confident mum, who loved sharing on social media, started to close off from the outside world.
"I just wanted to sit in the same spot in my home every day," Tammy recalls. "I was just not myself... I felt like an empty shell."
Things were so bad she sought advice from her GP who placed her on anti-depressants.
But the medication didn't help.
Tammy struggled to even shop for groceries. She began having panic attacks at the thought of leaving her home.
"I just started questioning my ability to do anything, like 'could I actually go to Coles, could I do the shopping by myself?' I didn't know anymore," she reveals.
As the calendar dates ticked over, Tammy continued to be intimate with her partner with no idea the rotting tampon was still hidden inside her.
One day, after a trip to the beach, she almost fainted - and on November 5 the mum went back to the doctor to tell him she was "done".
"I just couldn't cope with life anymore," Tammy says candidly.
"I told him I was done, he needed to put me in a mental home because I couldn't live anymore."
The doctor comforted Tammy, upped her dose of anti-depressants and valium and sent her on her way.
Later that day, the nurse headed to her scheduled night shift.
My heart just dropped
It happened to also be the day she started her period so she headed to the bathroom.
But when Tammy tried to insert a tampon as usual she felt resistance.
"I felt a lump and my heart just dropped," she recalls.
Instantly her mind raced back to the time her partner mentioned he also felt a lump.
"I thought it was cancer so I started feeling around.
"It was soft and squishy... and then my mind just clicked, it was the tampon," she says.
She quickly pulled out her phone and looked at the dates and was aghast as she realised it had "been in there a whole month".
"It was so hard to get out," she reveals.
But eventually, Tammy managed to remove what had now become a "black" mass.
Instantly she went to her fellow nurses at work and explained her situation.
"Everyone just looked at me and said 'how are you still alive'," Tammy says.
"They just kept telling me I had blood poisoning and couldn't believe I was still walking," she says.
Thankfully, Tammy says she didn't suffer any further ill effects and says she began to feel better once the tampon was gone.
Gradually her black mood lifted and she got her appetite back - symptoms she claims must have been a result of toxic shock syndrome.
According to Better Health, Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a rare and potentially life-threatening illness that is thought to be caused by infection with certain types of bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes.
The symptoms of TSS include:
- fever
- vomiting
- diarrhoea
- a skin rash that looks like sunburn
- peeling patches of skin on the feet and hands
- muscular aches
- headaches
- a sore throat
- red eyes
- confusion
- a drop in blood pressure
- joint pains
- sensitivity to light
- kidney failure
- collapse.
While deterioration in mental health isn't listed, obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Gino Pecoraro tells 7Life mental health issues can be a side effect of any severe illness, including TSS.
"Whenever someone has a severe infection you can get what's called delirium, basically an alteration in the PH in your blood that comes with an infection," Dr Pecoraro says.
Tammy certainly believes the forgotten tampon was responsible for her mood change.
She hasn't used a tampon since.
Now the mum opts for menstrual underwear, an option she knows isn't for everyone.
"I'm not going to tell everyone to stop using tampons, but just don't think it's not going to happen to you - I thought that about me," she says.
"Just set an alarm or reminder to remove your tampon," she advises.
It's taken a year for her to openly speak about her experience.
Some she has told her story to have labelled her "unhygienic" but Tammy says it was a simple mistake that could happen to anyone.
Her message to anyone else going through the same thing?
"Don't be ashamed, it's okay."
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.
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