Fw: Having implants removed

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----- Forwarded Message ----From: Tricia Trish <glory2glory1401@...>grewal_lisa <grewal_lisa@...>Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 7:30:26 AMSubject: Re: Having implants removed

,

Thanks for sharing with us your difficult journey of illness from implants, and your recovery.

It is always sad for me to read stories of new women joining our group and realizing that their prized implants

have made them ill, but yours has an uplifting ending already, with your explant and healing!

I am so glad you are willing to help others get educated about implants. It is very sorely needed with so much

wrong information out there. We welcome every effort to help other women realize the dangers implants carry.

One question, since you went to your original implanting surgeon for removal....did you get your scar tissue out?

Just curious....as that seems to be very important for healing in many cases.

I do want to share a few thoughts of my own in response to your statement that you think all of these women

getting sick will get the attention of the FDA. I wish that were true. I really do! But having been in this issue for over 8 years,

and communicating with other women who have been involved for decades longer than me, I have to say that I think that

is not going to happen....the FDA is not on our side, sadly. They have an agenda that is more closely aligned with the manufacturer's than with the American public, and this is a suggestion that is found very prominent on websites such as Dr. Mercola (here is just ONE of many articles on the failure of the FDA: http://www.mercola.com/2005/jul/12/fda_protection.htm )

I testified before a panel of FDA Advisors in March of 2000, and I was flabbergasted at the politics that went on. The FDA has heard hundreds of horror stories about what implants are doing to women. They don't care. They speak out of both sides of their mouth.

I've seen it at my state representatives office too....they try to appease us with certain words that are spoken with supposed sincerity, but they already know what they are going to do, and it is NOT what we need.

When I got sick, I woke up. I started seeing that I was viewing the world through rose colored glasses! Things are NOT what they seem!

I wish things were different, and I'd love to believe we live in a perfect world, but, well, that will come later when the Lord returns!

Thanks again for sharing...we appreciate your participation greatly and wish you the best in healing.

Patty

Re: Having implants removed

I received my saline implants two years ago after nursing my threechildren. I explored options, researched surgeons, got a baselinemammogram and basically wanted to go back to the size that I wasprior to nursing. Thankfully, I had good result with no infection orcomplications such as capsular contracture, etc., however, over thecourse of the last two years, I have become increasingly ill to thepoint that at times it has been dehabilitating. What started with apositive ANA lead to treatment and opinions which were so unclearfrom about six different physicians, all which centered around anautoimmune disorder - I went from being diagnosed with Lupus tohaving no label or relation at all, yet being treated with toxicmedications and transfusions. I felt so misinterpreted andmisunderstood that I actually believed that I was going crazy. I amonly 35 years old and my

quality of life was that of someone that wasridden with disease. I spent 3-5 days out of the week in bed as Iwas so exhausted and depressed. I suffered memory loss, headaches,woke feeling as if I had the flu everyday, nauseated, insomnia, nightsweats, exhaustion, severe joint pain, fluid retention in myextremities, weight gain, and really there were so many otherfluctuating symptoms, I truly believe that my physicians thought Iwas someone who had an obsession with wanting to be ill, when all Iwanted was some identity, to be educated and get my life back. Everyphysician I went to I told of my implants and they stated thatbecause I had no pain or rashes and that there was no medicalevidence that there could be any relation that they would be causingmy symptoms. All along though dating my symptoms back and so on, itwas something that was always in the back of my mind.One

night, something triggered me to search the internet to see ifthere was any information and I was horrified to discover how manywomen were suffering from symptoms similar to that of mine or somethat were 100% precise. I scheduled my removal within one week, ofwhich I went back to the plastic surgeon who put them in and she wasvery emotionally supportive of my desparity. I was not medicallyadvised that this was the cause, but I had a gut feeling and I wentwith it. I am still somewhat symptomatic, but have to say I haveimprovement on so many of the symptoms that once overtook me on adaily basis. I am smiling again. I am laughing again. I amenjoying my family and most of all I love my body and I have noregrets. I encourage and support anyone who is considering thisoption, I dont know of any guarantees, but as with anything life Ibelieve that this is

a stepping stone and believe that with thereports of so many women suffering that this could be something onhorizon's edge moving to the attention of the FDA, of which I fullysupport. I have made it a priority to educate women and participatein any support network that I can as if I would have ever knownsomething that I thought could make me feel so good could make me sosick, I would have never have done it. God bless all of you who feelmisinterpreted or feel like giving up. There is hope, but most ofall maintain patience and strength. G