This piece of advice may never apply to you, but it’s something you should know just in case: if you’re going to have an MRI scan, take out your metallic butt plug beforehand. It’s a harsh lesson a 22-year-old woman learned the hard way in April 2023.
I mentioned the date specifically because this is one of those news stories that gets rediscovered every once in a while, and passed around as if it happened yesterday. Luckily, the woman’s anonymity has been protected. Who would want the whole world to know they had a metallic butt plug magnetically dragged through their insides in front of hospital staff? The original incident is punishment enough.
The FDA’s report on the incident says the patient went in for an MRI and either purposely did not mention or straight up forgot to mention that she had a butt plug in.
Why have one in when you’re out and about in the world? This Reddit thread from someone explaining why they like to wear their butt plug during their day-to-day activities sheds some light on that mystery.
The short version is that it just feels nice and if you care maybe consider not caring and just let people do their own thing. The Shepherd Express, an alternative newspaper based out of Milwaukee, reached a similar conclusion.
All that said, wearing a butt plug in an MRI machine is still inadvisable, nay dangerous. MRI machines are magnetic — very, very magnetic, which is why MRI techs will tell you to remove any jewelry before they flip on the machine.
Maybe the woman thought she had a 100% silicone butt plug inserted? Or maybe she was fully aware it was metallic and just wanted to see what would happen? Or maybe she just plum forgot? There aren’t many details available.
The only details we have come from a 111-word-long event description on the FDA’s website. Here’s the entire entry:
“Patient was screened for a MRI and did not disclose that she had a “butt plug” inserted. She went in for the MRI and when the MRI was over and the tech was pulling the table out the patient started to scream. The patient stated that she felt nauseous, was in pain, and felt like she was going to pass out. An ambulance was called for this patient and she was sent to the hospital. The patient was checked out by the radiologist at the site before transport to ensure the patient was doing okay. The patient has not returned any of our calls yet to try and follow up to see how she is doing.”
We’ll never know the full story, but we know enough to let this be a cautionary tale. If you’re going to have an MRI, leave the butt plug at home so it won’t get tugged around your insides by a giant magnet in a machine that kind of looks like a huge anus.
The post Woman Learned to Take Her Butt Plug Out Before an MRI the Hard Way appeared first on VICE.
