Did I just lose my blood clot? ?

I've never had a tooth extracted, but I've isted on many extractions at the dental office where I work. What you're supposed to do with the gauze is apply it to the socket and make pressure to stop the active bleeding and to the form a clot in the site. You would bite on the gauze for about 15 minutes and change it as often as you continue to bleed. It's not uncommon for you to bump the area and for it to start bleeding again, so I don't think you need to be scared. Stay away from hot foods and beverages and do not do anything that would cause you to make suction with your mouth. (i.e., using a straw, rinsing your mouth, smoking.) Most dentist will allow you to rinse with warm salt water about 24 hours after the extraction. Without that clot, you would end up with a dry socket, which is very painful and you'd need to contact your dentist as soon as possible. I hope that's not the case and I hope you get through the weekend with no troubles from your site.