I Found a Foreign Object in My Stomach... And No One Told Me About It...

When I first posted about this on Reddit, I thought it would just be a vent. A weird gut issue, nothing major. But then the comments started pouring in—thousands of them—and I realized this wasn’t just my story. This was something bigger.

The Beginning

It all started with persistent stomach pain. Not the kind that comes and goes with food or stress. This was deep, constant, and getting worse. I went to my primary care doctor, then a gastroenterologist. They ran tests, took scans, and kept telling me it was IBS, acid reflux, maybe even anxiety. I was tired, I was in pain, and I started to believe them. Maybe I was just stressed. Maybe I was overreacting.

Then, two surgeries later, I still had the pain. Same spot. Same nausea. Same feeling of something being wrong. I stopped trusting the doctors. I started digging.

What I Discovered

After the second surgery, I went through my medical records on MyChart. I wasn’t looking for anything specific—just looking for answers. And then I found it. A scan. From nearly two years ago. And in the image, there it was: a foreign object in my abdomen. Not a tumor. Not a mass. A foreign object. And the doctors never mentioned it. Not once.

I stared at the screen. My heart pounded. This wasn’t just a mistake. This was a cover-up. They didn’t tell me. They didn’t follow up. They didn’t even check to see if it had moved or caused more damage. All I knew was that I had been in pain for close to two years, and they had no idea what was causing it.

What made it worse? The object was still there. The most recent scan showed it in the exact same place as my pain. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. But I also felt this cold, hard anger. I had been lied to. I had been ignored.

Bro wtf you talking about not wanting to sue. You might just need it to cover any eventual issue that comes from this.

That comment hit me hard. I hadn’t thought about a lawsuit. I thought this was just about getting answers. But then I remembered: they left a foreign object in my body. They knew it was there. And they did nothing. It could have been a piece of surgical tool. It could have been something stuck during a procedure. I don’t know. And that’s the worst part.

Why Didn’t They Tell Me?

Was it negligence? Was it a mistake they didn’t want to admit? Or did they think it wasn’t serious enough to mention? I don’t know. But here’s what I do know: they failed me. They failed their job. They failed their oath.

And the scariest part? I found out that the only scan they took of the object was from that first time. Not after the surgeries. Not after the pain got worse. Not even once. I had to dig to find it. I had to fight to get it. And still, no one ever came to me and said, Hey, we found something. We need to check on this.

My friend said, You don’t have to sue. But you need to know that they started this. They made choices that affected your health. And now it’s your choice to act. I didn’t want to sue. I didn’t want to be the person who sued doctors. But my dad is sick. My mom works full-time. I don’t want to add stress to their lives. But then I thought: what if it wasn’t me? What if it was someone else? What if someone died because no one told them?

The Confrontation

I reached out. I called the hospital. I asked for answers. I demanded to know why I wasn’t told. I asked for a consultation with a lawyer. The hospital didn’t respond. Not once. Not even an email. Just silence.

And I’m not surprised. They were scared. They knew what they did. They knew they messed up. And they knew that if I kept going, they’d have to face it. But I’m not going to let them hide.

One of the top commenters said: Not to scare you but I’m a paralegal in medical malpractice. We’ve had cases of foreign objects left in plaintiffs' stomachs. The patients did not turn out well.

That scared me. But it also made me more determined. I’m not going to let this slide. If I don’t speak up, if I don’t make them accountable, this could happen again. To someone else. To me. Again.

I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know if I’ll sue. I don’t know if I’ll ever fully heal. But I do know this: I deserve the truth. I deserve answers. And I deserve to be heard.

Looking Back

Looking back, I wish I had trusted my gut more. I wish I had pushed harder. I wish I had asked more questions. But I also know that no one should have to jump through hoops to get basic medical care. No one should have to fight for the truth when they’re already sick.

I’m not mad at the doctors anymore. Not really. I’m mad at the system. The one that allows doctors to make mistakes and then pretend they didn’t happen. The one that hides behind paperwork and protocols instead of people’s lives.

But I’m not giving up. I’m not backing down. And I’m not alone. So many people have reached out to me. They’ve shared their own stories. They’ve said, thank you for speaking up. That means everything.

So here’s the thing: you don’t have to be a medical professional to know when something’s wrong. Your body knows. Your instincts know. And if you’re being told one thing but your symptoms say another, trust yourself. Ask questions. Keep digging. Don’t let anyone silence you.