Will I ever feel better? Some things that helped me...

[Guest guest]

Hi Ladies,

I emailed this to someone tonight (or this morning)...and I thought maybe it

would be

good to post.

Like some others here, I wondered if I would ever feel better. About two years

ago, I was

as frightened as I have ever been. I had just found out my 20-year old

double-lumen

implants were ruptured, and I was being diagnosed with one autoimmune illness

after

another. So I started franticaly asking questions, trying to figure out what

was going on.

If there is one piece of advice that I would offer to 'new' women here, it is to

be patient

with yourself and recognize that healing takes time. This is not easy for me to

do, since I

have always been somewhat driven. As a result, I struggled with serious

depression

before and after my explant. Only in the last few months did I start really

believing I might

yet have a life.

One thing that did help was learning that what I was experiencing was neither

unusual,

nor was it likely to be permanent.

1. Statistics show that most women DO improve after explant.

I was terrified because of the decline of my health and the discovery that my

implants

were ruptured. I spoke to some women who had been far more ill than I. A

nurse who

had worked for Cronin (the implant inventor), had become so ill that she was in

a

wheelchair. She told me that an MRI of her brain had shown many 'lesions'

(which indicate

MS). Yet now, her MRI is clear! I didn't believe her. What I had read of

MS, once you

have it, it does not go away. However, a neurologist I saw confirmed this

possibility. Dr.

Weiss said that some women with silicone implants have symptoms of MS and even

MRIs

indicating demyelination, but do not have 'actual' MS. And women who have

'actual' MS

still fare better than those whose illness is unrelated to implants. This was

particularly

important to me, since Dr. Weiss was the third neurologist who told me that I

had MS

(from clinical observation, MRIs and spinal tap).

Dr. Weiss told me that he has seen far too many women with implants to believe

the

accepted wisdom that implants do not cause autoimmune illnesses, like MS.

However, the

course of these autoimmune illnesses is generally less severe with women who

have had

silicone implants and have had them removed, than with patients who never had

implants.

Dr. Weiss impressed me with his knowledge and intelligence. He certainly did

not look or

sound like a 'crack-pot'. I also looked up his record online (as I do with all

doctors now)

and found that he received his MD from Northwestern University and did his

residency at

Mayo Clinic, and has practiced for many years with no blemish on his record.

Not that

credentials are everything, but these sure are not shabby. I was beginning to

have some

hope.

2. The improvement can take time. I can't tell you how important it was to

remind myself

of this. First, it can take up to a month after surgery for the anesthesia to

leave your

system. The nurse told me to expect short term memory loss during this time -

beyond

the 'fibro-fog' that many of us already experience. Knowing that also helped,

because my

memory seemed to worsen after surgery! Secondly, Dr. Vasey, a rheumatologist

familiar

with implant issues, explains that surgery 'stirs up' the immune system -- thus

it can take

up to a year for women to feel noticeably better. I am sure there is a more

accurate

medical explanation than that, but this made sense to me. The systemic

illnesses we get

from implants develop as a result of an over-active immune system reacting to

foreign

substances. I was diagnosed with multiple autoimmune diseases, just prior to my

explant.

And it did take about a year before I could see that my health was improving. I

still have a

long way to go, but I am so much better than I was. The best way that I have

found to lift

my spirits and regain perspective is by talking with other women who have gone

through

what I have.

I sure hope this helps.. Creativity and a fertile imagination can be a

blessing, but they can

also be a curse -- especially when it comes to imagining the worst.

So turn on the 'positive' colors, and imagine yourself turning a corner with

explant

surgery. Instead of being splattered onto asphalt from 30,000 ft, you are

being whisked

into a lush garden of vibrant energy, and clear (not toxic) air.