RE: Forwarded for your benefit..from the Saline Group

[Guest guest]

Patty- I just can't answer this in a short story. I am sorry for the length

here, but I think it is important to be thorough here.

My symptoms started with headaches that just wouldn't go away. I realized

once I had emptied a large bottle of excedrin that this was a chronic

problem. Excedrin or aspirin had always worked for me in the past. I have

absolutely no history of headaches or migraines (there was no light

sensitivity, no nausciousness, my headaches were absolutely not migraines).

The I started getting odd rashes on my face- not everywhere just in spots. I

had never ever had acne in the past, and a dermatologist indicated it was not

regular acne. Then the low grade fevers started and I had backaches- the

backaches came and went with the fevers like when you have the flu, my mind

was cloudy and it was hard to focus my thoughts, and oddly enough my ears

would pop when I swallowed. My sister is a doctor in another state, and she

was fresh out of med school. She was thinking very basic, and it turned out

she was on the mark. She indicated what everyone knows- a fever is usually a

sign of infection. I would just add that I had no pain in my breast areas,

no tenderness, and that my implants were put in 3.5 years ago at this point.

My sister called me in a script for Augmentin, a general antibiotic. I had a

100% recovery. I did not know why, but I didn't really care. Well, that

lasted for two to three weeks maybe, and all the symptoms came back. She

called me in another Augmentin script- maybe we didn't kill the bug, so to

speak. This went on for quite a while. Now at some point she was getting

uncomfortable with all of this and was demanding that I get tested for

everything we could think of- sinus problems, allergy problems, brain tumors,

etc. I never had any health problems of any kind, but I was so desperate to

find out what was making me sick I went through all the motions. CT scan

showed no sinus infection, MRI showed no brain tumor or other abmnormality,

allergy tests revealed what I knew- I had none. I even went so far as to

have my apt tested by the State Health Department to rule out environmental

causes, and had an aids test- that was so horrifying I can't even begin to

describe that day. Blood tests revealed nothing and this was the biggest

area of confusion. I know now that antibiotics mask blood results, any doc

will tell you that. But more importantly- the antibiotics never ever had a

chance- the source of the infection, my implants, were still in me, and that

is why the symptoms always returned.

The last straw- I went to an infectious disease doc who of course saw no

relation of my illness and the implants, nothing new, but he put in writing

that my problem " was certainly not chronic infection " and wanted me to do a

spinal tap. Enough was enough.

I really intensified my research b/c I had finally come to the realization

that most of us have come to- the ignorance in the medical community is

astounding, shocking- they have never been educated about the problems with

saline implants (and silicone for that matter), and as is so often the case

with women's health issues, they haven't taken it upon themselves to learn

about these things either. The old addage " if you want something done you

have to do it yourself " was never more true. I needed a diagnosis, and was

getting more and more desperate and sick, and not one doctor in my state

could provide me with one, not one. I called the plastic surgeons who did

implants, and found nothing but deceit- I expected that by this time. This

is their gravy train, not a one would acknowledge this known long-term risk.

And it is well known, just not by us.

I finally came across an article that was entitled " More on Microbial Growth

in Salines... " by Woolston, of Washington University. What I read

stopped me in my tracks- Saline was thought to be a nutritionally barren

medium, but after putting implants in rabbits that had been purposefully

infected with 10 common types of bacteria and fungus, when the implants were

removed 1 to 6 months later, seven types of bacteria and fungi had flourished

in their saline home.

Eventually, I also found Dr. Blais' website- put in " Dr. Pierre Blais " and

you should get there. The first page addresses the long-term risk of

infection. I also did a search within his site (there is a little box on one

of the pages where you can do a search) for " saline implants and infection "

or other similar wording, and I came across an article in Glamour Magazine.

One woman featured in the article was misdiagnosed again and again, but a

friend of hers got her to Dr. Kolb who recognized that she had a fungal

infection, among other things. When her implants were removed they were

black. I believe it was the fungus aspergillus niger. Again, I am no

doctor, I can only give you a layperson's bit of knowledge here. The article

has a picture of this woman holding the black implants in her hands. It is

disturbing, to say the least.

It was my hope in writing this that if you knew of this long term risk, you

could identify it if this happens to you, and do so much quicker than I did.

Also, if you instinctually know this is your problem after doing your

research, do not expect answers from your average doctor. You must assume a

doctor is unknowledgeable unless he/she demonstrates otherwise; expect to

travel unless you get lucky; if they discount the relation to these

illnesses, run as you have no time, nor the mental energy, for the

frustration of their ignorance- just keep searching. In my case, I didn't

wait for a diagnosis as it was abundantly clear I was not going to get one

and the luxury of time had long passed. I went on pure instincts.

If explant is what you want to do, you must from a health and legal

standpoint, do the following: 1) the doc must agree to do cultures to see

what, if anything, the implants are infected with 2) GET IN WRITING THAT THEY

WILL GIVE YOU YOUR IMPLANTS IN A TIMELY MANNER AND THAT THEY WILL NOT PUT

THEM IN FORMALDEHYDE as this kills whatever may be present (Blais can look

for dead material, but you certainly can't grow out a culture when all of it

has been killed.), and 3) inquire about their aftercare program- ie. what is

their plan for you after surgery. If they have no plan, they will just refer

you out after the surgery, and you're back where you started- still sick and

looking for a doctor.

Be strong, and yes aggressive. Dont acccept arrogance and ignorance. If you

cant find anyone, there is always Dr. Kolb- travel is the least of your

problems if in fact the implants are making you sick. She is less expensive

than most, and you can stay in an inexpensive hotel. Dont get me wrong-

traveling a long distance is a huge hardship. In all, I drove 18 hours for

her care. If you can find someone close to you that you trust, all the

better. But you cannot afford to take chances. Be extraordinarily careful

about these decisions, and be informed. We got the implants without being

informed. We trusted too much, and I am in NO way saying that was our fault,

quite to the contrary- it is horrifying that you can no longer expect full

honesty and good faith from your own doctor, but we now know this is a naive

expectation- this time there can be no blind trust. Educate yourself, and

then trust yourself- your instincts will guide you from there.

[Guest guest]

Excellent letter, Indy! Did you send this to Susie already, or should I forward it?

Patty

----- Original Message -----

From: indysurvivor@...

Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2002 9:59 PM

Subject: RE: Forwarded for your benefit..from the Saline Group

Patty- I just can't answer this in a short story. I am sorry for the length here, but I think it is important to be thorough here. My symptoms started with headaches that just wouldn't go away. I realized once I had emptied a large bottle of excedrin that this was a chronic problem. Excedrin or aspirin had always worked for me in the past. I have absolutely no history of headaches or migraines (there was no light sensitivity, no nausciousness, my headaches were absolutely not migraines). The I started getting odd rashes on my face- not everywhere just in spots. I had never ever had acne in the past, and a dermatologist indicated it was not regular acne. Then the low grade fevers started and I had backaches- the backaches came and went with the fevers like when you have the flu, my mind was cloudy and it was hard to focus my thoughts, and oddly enough my ears would pop when I swallowed. My sister is a doctor in another state, and she was fresh out of med school. She was thinking very basic, and it turned out she was on the mark. She indicated what everyone knows- a fever is usually a sign of infection. I would just add that I had no pain in my breast areas, no tenderness, and that my implants were put in 3.5 years ago at this point. My sister called me in a script for Augmentin, a general antibiotic. I had a 100% recovery. I did not know why, but I didn't really care. Well, that lasted for two to three weeks maybe, and all the symptoms came back. She called me in another Augmentin script- maybe we didn't kill the bug, so to speak. This went on for quite a while. Now at some point she was getting uncomfortable with all of this and was demanding that I get tested for everything we could think of- sinus problems, allergy problems, brain tumors, etc. I never had any health problems of any kind, but I was so desperate to find out what was making me sick I went through all the motions. CT scan showed no sinus infection, MRI showed no brain tumor or other abmnormality, allergy tests revealed what I knew- I had none. I even went so far as to have my apt tested by the State Health Department to rule out environmental causes, and had an aids test- that was so horrifying I can't even begin to describe that day. Blood tests revealed nothing and this was the biggest area of confusion. I know now that antibiotics mask blood results, any doc will tell you that. But more importantly- the antibiotics never ever had a chance- the source of the infection, my implants, were still in me, and that is why the symptoms always returned. The last straw- I went to an infectious disease doc who of course saw no relation of my illness and the implants, nothing new, but he put in writing that my problem "was certainly not chronic infection" and wanted me to do a spinal tap. Enough was enough. I really intensified my research b/c I had finally come to the realization that most of us have come to- the ignorance in the medical community is astounding, shocking- they have never been educated about the problems with saline implants (and silicone for that matter), and as is so often the case with women's health issues, they haven't taken it upon themselves to learn about these things either. The old addage "if you want something done you have to do it yourself" was never more true. I needed a diagnosis, and was getting more and more desperate and sick, and not one doctor in my state could provide me with one, not one. I called the plastic surgeons who did implants, and found nothing but deceit- I expected that by this time. This is their gravy train, not a one would acknowledge this known long-term risk. And it is well known, just not by us. I finally came across an article that was entitled "More on Microbial Growth in Salines..." by Woolston, of Washington University. What I read stopped me in my tracks- Saline was thought to be a nutritionally barren medium, but after putting implants in rabbits that had been purposefully infected with 10 common types of bacteria and fungus, when the implants were removed 1 to 6 months later, seven types of bacteria and fungi had flourished in their saline home. Eventually, I also found Dr. Blais' website- put in "Dr. Pierre Blais" and you should get there. The first page addresses the long-term risk of infection. I also did a search within his site (there is a little box on one of the pages where you can do a search) for "saline implants and infection" or other similar wording, and I came across an article in Glamour Magazine. One woman featured in the article was misdiagnosed again and again, but a friend of hers got her to Dr. Kolb who recognized that she had a fungal infection, among other things. When her implants were removed they were black. I believe it was the fungus aspergillus niger. Again, I am no doctor, I can only give you a layperson's bit of knowledge here. The article has a picture of this woman holding the black implants in her hands. It is disturbing, to say the least. It was my hope in writing this that if you knew of this long term risk, you could identify it if this happens to you, and do so much quicker than I did. Also, if you instinctually know this is your problem after doing your research, do not expect answers from your average doctor. You must assume a doctor is unknowledgeable unless he/she demonstrates otherwise; expect to travel unless you get lucky; if they discount the relation to these illnesses, run as you have no time, nor the mental energy, for the frustration of their ignorance- just keep searching. In my case, I didn't wait for a diagnosis as it was abundantly clear I was not going to get one and the luxury of time had long passed. I went on pure instincts. If explant is what you want to do, you must from a health and legal standpoint, do the following: 1) the doc must agree to do cultures to see what, if anything, the implants are infected with 2) GET IN WRITING THAT THEY WILL GIVE YOU YOUR IMPLANTS IN A TIMELY MANNER AND THAT THEY WILL NOT PUT THEM IN FORMALDEHYDE as this kills whatever may be present (Blais can look for dead material, but you certainly can't grow out a culture when all of it has been killed.), and 3) inquire about their aftercare program- ie. what is their plan for you after surgery. If they have no plan, they will just refer you out after the surgery, and you're back where you started- still sick and looking for a doctor. Be strong, and yes aggressive. Dont acccept arrogance and ignorance. If you cant find anyone, there is always Dr. Kolb- travel is the least of your problems if in fact the implants are making you sick. She is less expensive than most, and you can stay in an inexpensive hotel. Dont get me wrong- traveling a long distance is a huge hardship. In all, I drove 18 hours for her care. If you can find someone close to you that you trust, all the better. But you cannot afford to take chances. Be extraordinarily careful about these decisions, and be informed. We got the implants without being informed. We trusted too much, and I am in NO way saying that was our fault, quite to the contrary- it is horrifying that you can no longer expect full honesty and good faith from your own doctor, but we now know this is a naive expectation- this time there can be no blind trust. Educate yourself, and then trust yourself- your instincts will guide you from there.

[Guest guest]

Patty, I just hit the reply button in the e-mail you sent to me asking that I

address this issue, so I am not sure.... sorry. Perhaps you could forward it

to her. TX

[Guest guest]

No problem, I'll forward it to her. Thanks for replying!

Patty

----- Original Message -----

From: indysurvivor@...

Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2002 5:40 PM

Subject: Re: RE: Forwarded for your benefit..from the Saline Group

Patty, I just hit the reply button in the e-mail you sent to me asking that I address this issue, so I am not sure.... sorry. Perhaps you could forward it to her. TX