Hi, I'm new to the group.

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone, hmmm...I've only read a few of the messages and

right now I am wishing I could have someone take my implants out

NOW. I had saline textured implants put in in June of 1998 and was

doing relatively well until May of 2001. That's when my joint pain

started in my hands. It was horrible, I couldn't even grab the

steering wheel to drive. Of course, the docs started doing a

battery of tests after complaining about joing pain for a few

months. I was tested for RA, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Sjorden's (sp?)

disease, oral cancer (more recently), CFS, and most of the time I

just felt like my doctor's thought I was a hypochondriac. I

presented symptoms from each one of these diseases, but my blood

work always comes back okay. How frustrating...

I've had two boys since my implants and luckily, so far, they have

been fine. Surprisingly, my pain decreases while pregnant, which I

guess is somewhat normal for autoimmune disorders. However, during

my last pregnancy, I could tell that my pain wasn't decreasing as

much as it did during my first.

A year after my implants were put in, I noticed a bump in the upper

right corner of my breast. Of course, I thought, " it's a tumor " ,

but it turned out that it was my breast implant and that it

was " folded " , however, ultrasounds showed that it was not leaking.

It doesn't really hurt and it's not noticeable unless I put your

finger on it, but I knew it couldn't be that great of a sign. So,

in denial that something was wrong with my beautiful new bust, I

have never had anything done to fix them. I've just lived with them

for the last 7 years.

Here are my current symptoms: Joint pain in hands, wrists, hairloss

(pregnancy? I'm four months post-partum), rash on my upper arms,

and most troubling, my tongue is peeling from the sides and the

tip. I have constant canker sores on the sides of my tongue and it

runs a cycle thoroughout the month. That is why I was tested for

oral cancer, in which, thankfully, no cancerous cells were found.

Just reading some of these stories made my breast hurt. Not to

sound cheesy, but I know and have known for some time, that I need

an extraction. Money was probably the biggest factor. I don't

really have the money to have them extracted.

Now that I have two beautiful boys, I realize the importance of

having my implants removed. I hope that my symptoms would subside

after having them removed, however, I know that is not always the

case, but I think I'll give myself a better chance by having them

removed than leaving them in.

Anyway, really I just wanted to say hi. I have a consult with my

doctor on May 12th. I really hope he understands where I'm coming

from with my decision. Can someone tell me exactly what I need to

tell him to do as far as what to remove? Also, has anyone else

experienced problems with their tongue?

Thanks,