Whistling noise in throat, swallowed/aspirated nose ring?

[alexalex233]

About ten hours ago, I woke up choking on my septum ring (stainless steel, the shape and size of a large unbent staple, but with smoother, blunter ends). I thought I'd swallowed it and that it would just work its way through my digestive system, but upon lying down and bending over, I start coughing and when I inhale or exhale in either of these positions, my throat make a whistling noise. So now I think I aspirated it. Do you believe that is correct? Is there any way for me to cough it up? I can't afford to go to the doctor. Thank you.

[alexalex233]

Will do. Thank you so much! :)

[jemma116]

Hallelujah, Hallelujah!

I am so glad that it has come out at last.  Thanks for letting me know that you are now OK.

Have plenty of warm drinks to soothe your throat.

Best wishes.

[alexalex233]

Follow-up: it came out! I'm so, so relieved. :)

Yes; at the time I wrote the above message, I thought I could feel it somewhere in my throat/esophagus/trachea/wherever, and I felt like it was kind of loose, wherever it was. I'd been self-Heimliching several times an hour all day, coughing a lot, and coughing while doubled over (so my throat was upside down) to try and get gravity to help me cough the object back up.

Finally, just now, it worked! I was bent over coughing and it just came up, clean as a whistle. It didn't hurt at all, either, so I believe nothing got scraped or poked on the way up, thank goodness. I am just so glad this is over, because I know it could likely have turned out a million times worse. Hallelujah.

Thanks again, Jemma! I really appreciate your help. Have a great day!

[jemma116]

LOL.

Hope it comes out - one way or the other.

What do you mean when you say "it feels relatively mobile"?  Can you still feel in in your oesophagus?

Perhaps a Heimlich manoeuvre might help you to dislodge it and thrust it up and out.  But don't let anyone do this to you if they do not know what they are doing.

If you do start to feel worse or it affects your breathing, then I trust you will seek immediate medical attention.

Best wishes.

[alexalex233]

Thanks Jemma. Yikes. I think I'm going to wait and see if it works its way up on its own, because it feels relatively mobile and it is not causing any difficulty breathing. And because of its shape, there's no position in which it could obstruct my airway anyway, I don't think. I will not be reinserting it, ha. I've learned my stupid lesson. Thanks again.