Today, October 29, 2018, is my 5th explant-anniversary – the day my toxic silicone breast implants were removed from my body. I woke up from my explant surgery with the greatest sense of happiness and relief .. I REJOICED and haven’t stopped REJOICING!!!!!
I know I keep saying it every year, but this date is more important to me than my birthday. It was so important to me not to die with those freaking things still in me .. and surely if they hadn’t been removed I wouldn’t still be here.
I had RECALLED devices in me for 22 years (unknowingly) and had undiagnosed rupture for 16 years. Because I had such long standing rupture I experienced extensive silicone migration. My health is permanently impacted. The migrated silicone can’t be removed. All I can do is use my experience and voice to help prevent others from being harmed by breast implants.
If you have breast implants please be informed about the signs of device failure and the MANY ways they can ruin your health.
A couple friends that watched me get sicker and sicker suggested many times that they thought it might be my implants that were making me sick. The doctors I presented to with symptoms said my implants categorically had nothing to do with what was happening – even localized things like enlarged lymph nodes and masses. Fast forward to when I found out my implants were ruptured, I connected online with some ladies that had walked this road before me. I was shocked to learn that I had classic symptoms for rupture and breast implant related illness. Women since breast implants were introduced in the early 60’s have become sick in the exact same ways .. YET, our REAL WORLD EVIDENCE has been denied by the very people who profit from them.
Now, as the truth is emerging more and more, there are doctors that are acknowledging the correlation. Many, before becoming fully convinced, simply ‘noticed’ as their patients improved once their implants were removed. A common statistic reported is 80%-85% of patients either fully regain their health, or at least experience significant improvement. Countless women have migrated silicone that can’t be removed, which continues to act as an antagonist in our body and undermines our health. In recent years there’s also been focus on ‘biofilms’ which can cause serious illness and even death.
Breast Implant Related Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BII-ALCL) has gotten media attention in recent years, though the industry tried their hardest to minimize the incidence rate. Now that they’re testing for it, more cases are being diagnosed. I think there’s zero doubt that women have died from this, and other forms of lymphoma and other cancers, without having been diagnosed.
Healing from breast implants isn’t a straight trajectory for most women. I still have some residual issues, but many things have either fully resolved or greatly improved. My lungs and kidneys are permanently buggered, and I have multiple silicone filled lymph nodes, lesions, and masses. I have silicone deeply within my chest wall. It hurts 24/7. The nature of the pain is acute. I have limited mobility / ability / strength with my arms and hands, especially on the left side. The worst way it impacts me is in my inability to hold my grandchildren for long, and some days I can barely pick them up. THAT breaks my heart. Every upper body movement hurts my ribs because I have silicone in the muscles between my ribs (some of the muscles were removed at the time of explant, as was part of my left pec muscle).
If you have breast implants and feel you’re not being impacted negatively by them .. I’m sorry to say, you are. Even in regard to chest wall destruction. NOBODY gets out of having breast implants unscathed. NOBODY. PERIOD.
https://breastimplantfailure.net/2018/03/31/be-informed-your-health-depends-on-it/
2 thoughts on “October 29, 2018 – My 5th Explant Anniversary”
Sara Reveles Pellegrini
Hi Motherima. I stumbled across your blog when I did a web search for a woman who died of BII. Your blog is fascinating. I see you wrote monthly for years and your last one was Feb 2019. I hope all is well and you will be writing more. If you are on any of the BII Facebook pages I would love to connect, hear how you are doing and help spread the word in any way I can.
motherima
Hi Sara, thank you for your message, and your concern. I’ve certainly been facing some health challenges from the silicone against (and now possibly in) my lungs, but the main reason for not creating a new blog post in months is because I’ve been so busy. There’s lots of great stuff going on with our advocacy efforts and there’s only so much time in a day. I’ll be working on the 2019 Memorial event .. sadly there are new ladies to add :'(, so that will be my next post. I’ll look for you on Facebook.