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[Guest guest]

If I could turn back time, I would never have done it.

Hi, form NJ (I'm in San Diego, originally from NY.)

My name is . In 1993, I was physically fit, healthy, vibrant,

and full of life. I worked out nearly every day, road bikes to the

park with my son and took day trips to the beach on weekends. I was

attractive,thin, 5'6 " tall, long dark wavy hair and crystal blue eyes

that caught everyone's attention. That wasn't enough for me. All I

could think about all the time was that I wanted to have and had to

have boobs. When God was dishing out the boodies, he totally

overlooked me. Starting out as an " A " and going to a " D " when

nursing my son then dropping down to a " A- " (which is nothing, nada,

zippo, zero) after nursing, I was devastated. My husband didn't care

much for my nothing boobs either as he started ogling and chasing

around after every other women in town. (Needless to say we are

divorced.)

Almost two years after divorce, I went and got myself a nice pair of

boobies, size C. I looked great! Had a ball purchasing new bras and

what I call " boob shirts. " Ya know, the low-cut, square neck tops

that really show them off. Man, did I stop traffic. I remember once

I locked my keys in my car at a 7-Eleven store and within 2 minutes I

had 5 men at my side begging to help me. Did I love it? You bet I

did. Wherever I went with my boob shirts/dresses, etc., I got

whatever I wanted......free drinks at dance clubs, got out of

speeding tickets......you name it. Along with the good came the

bad. There's a lot of weirdos out there. I've been followed around

stores, stalked.....etc. Very scary.

So needless to say, I got all that I had bargained for and then some

for see, it all came with a BIG FAT price tag.............

Two months after being implanted, I had mild upper back pain. That

eventually traveled to my neck which eventually turned into severe

neck stiffness. Soon to follow was the infamous unexplained " brain

fog " and memory loss (remember the locked keys in my car...) My hands

something didn't work right when trying to type. I started to suffer

from eye strain/pain and blurred vision. This went on for years and

years. I would get so dizzy and out of it that I'd run into things

with my car. I traded in my Camry for an SUV in the hopes of less

body damage. One day as I was at the gas station pumping gas, I sat

in the driver's seat waiting for the car to fill up. I was very

dizzy, disoriented, ya know, brain foggy. And all of a sudden I

forgot I was pumping gas and drove off with the pump hose still in

the gas tank. I ended up ripping the hose right off the machine.

(Actually, I did that twice in one year) So embarrassing.

In 1997 for no apparent reason, a tooth died on me. I was

devastated. My dentist just said, " Well, sometimes that happens. "

I would run to my chiroprator 2,3,4 times a week sometimes 2 or 3

times a day begging him to " FIX IT! " Saying, " God, what's wrong with

me? This cannot be normal. "

I lived on Advil.

I would go in to work (I was a waitress while getting through

college) wearing a clavical brace to hold back my shoulders in an

attempt to give me support and prevent further pain. It worked.

People thought it was weird...I could tell by the looks on their

faces. But they were still my friends, I mean why wouldn't they be, I

had big boobs!

People I knew also found it odd that I took so much Advil all the

time and when I really was in a lot of back pain, limping and in

tears, my chiro would always say first thing, " What did you do? Did

you pick up something heavy or turn the wrong what? " Etc. My answer

was ALWAYS the same. " No, I swear I did nothing! "

9 years almost to the month (this past November), I fell alarmingly

ill with joint pain, muscle pain, tingling in the hands and feet,

hands becoming cold at random sometimes at the same time, sometimes

just one hand at a time. I had night sweats, depression........on

and on. I even had bone pain. I was tired ALL THE TIME.

But it was the apthous ulcers in the mouth and esophogus that put me

in the hospital as I could not eat or drink....lost 25 pounds in 2

and a half weeks. I lay in the hospital at death's doors, doctors

not knowing what was wrong with...they feed me morphine every 2 hours

round the clock for the first week and a half.............

I was 27 years old when I was implanted in 1993. I just turned 37

and I feel as if I'm 77.

This once vibrant, healthy, active mom now spends her days laying

around at home in her PJs in pain. My son makes our meals often,

helps me walk up and down the stairs in our home and just tonight he

rubbed my feet and my upper back as we watched TV because they

hurt. We don't ride bikes anymore as I get winded very easily. And

last year his first year in marching band I missed all his feild

shows because I was simply too ill to go.

But hey, man, I've got big boobies. Isn't it great!

I'm now of the opinion that breast implants are way to risky. If you

do not get an autoimmune disease as I have and a lot of other women

have, you can suffer from necrosis, capsular contractures and many

other complications. It is literally a game of Russian roulette.

Unfortunately, some people don't believe us and have to find out on

their own the hard way. I believe you have not done it so far

because you know in your heart of hearts that it's too risky.

Remember, you will not take them to your grave; therefore, you will

eventually have to deal with them one way or another down the road.

Do me a favor. When you wake up in the morning tomorrow, lay in bed

for a minute or two and think to yourself how as you lay there you

have no pain. Think to yourself how fortunate you are that you can

spring out of bed and make your children's breakfast, hug them, and

love them as a mother should, go to their soccer games and help them

with their school work. Then think about me and how I'm on the West

coast laying in my bed with tears in my eyes, riddle with pain from

head to toe struggling to get my body up and out of the bed praying

that I can at least make it through the day until 6:00 p.m. before I

get so weak and tired that I have to go to bed.

Don't do it, . Love yourself as you are. You are beautiful!

I wish you luck, health and happiness.

Below are some websites you can visit.

Explantation support www.explantation.com

Currently Understood Risks of Saline-Filled Breast

Prostheses by FDA & Medical Journal Articles on Problems

http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/8689/saline/s40.html

Update on Clinical Problems Associated with Saline

Implants also the website of Dr. Kolb, M.D.

http://nweb.plastikos.com/newsletter/img1.gif

Breast Implant Horror by Collier

http://www.humanticsfoundation.com/glamour-saline.html

Health Report: Breast Implants Kill Mice

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/277602.stm

Center for Policy Research - FDA Panel SLAMS Breast

Implant Safety Data

http://www.cpr4womenandfamilies.org/bi070902slam.html

http://members.tripod.com/jeena3/siliconedevices.html

--- In , " ltiedeken " <ltrn449@a...>

wrote:

> Hi. I am scheduled for surgery on June 19th, bur your testimony is

> haunting me. I am healthy, 33, the mother of three children.

> Although I want to change my 34AA, I just dont know if its worth

the

> risk. Also, I am an RN and have always had a respect for health,

but

> it seems so many women are getting implants and everyone seems to

> think (including my ob/gyn and family doctor) that the implants are

> safe now. I don't hear anything on TV like with the silicone

> implants. I have read over Mentors book and statistics, and even

> though I'm a nurse, I can hardly understand all of the studies. I

> strongly feel that silicone implants can cause illness, but Im not

> sure about the saline. I keep telling myself that I should get the

> implants, because it is so hurtful for me to look at others

> with " normal " breasts. My daughter is 13 and has bigger breasts

than

> me! Two months ago my best friend had implants,and I feel so self

> consience when I am around her, and especially when my husband is

> near. I feel deformed. I keep telling myself that I should take

the

> risk, but something is holding me back. I already scheduled

surgery

> last year and cancelled the day before (lost $450.00 for doing

> that). I hope to hear from you soon, as I am so confused right now

I

> really dont know what to do. Thanks for anything you can share

with

> me.

> Sincerely,

>

> New Jersey