"THE BITTEREST PILL ( I Ever Had To Swallow)" Anna's Story One thing I want to make clear before you read my story:I NEVER RELATED ANYTHING THAT WAS HAPPENING TO ME TO MY IMPLANTS...I thought I was just an unfortunate individual. July 2nd, 1985 - I was 26 yrs old when I got my silicone breast implants. Up until that date I only had one surgery to list on patient forms; Wisdom teeth removal 1980. I was healthy. Just an occasional cold or menstrual cramps would cause me to miss work. The implant surgery went fine. Although it marked the first lie I was told: I learned when a doctor tells you "you'll experience mild discomfort" that translates to "hurts like hell." I remember coming home from the surgery & telling a friend from work on the phone, "Mark my words; I will NEVER have this surgery again. I am in so much pain. My chest feels like it is on fire. I am so glad these things last a lifetime, because I would never go through this again. And if these things deflate or something, I will not have them replaced because this hurts so bad." I was in real bad pain for about 5 days; then it started to ease up. Whoever says "oh you forget about the pain" is crazy in my opinion. In the future, I compared everything I went through to this pain & nothing was worse. I went from a 32AA to a 34B. My breasts looked great. Before Implants With Implants I had some pain in my breasts in November of that year, but the doctor said not to worry. Scar tissue would form around the implants for awhile & it wouldn't hurt the implants or me. I was given a set of instructions to do. One was to push / massage my breasts to the left,right,up & down. The other was for me to lay on the floor, on my stomach, and roll on the floor back & forth. All this was to keep the implants soft. I was to do these exercises for the rest of my life. I also was to take 400mg. of natural vitamin E & 10,000 mg. of vitamin A. PUTTING OUT FIRE WITH GASOLINE 1984 - My Father passed away in. I went to church with my Mother every Sunday until she passed away in 1988. 1988 - I was 29 yrs. old, single and had no children at the time my Mother passed away. I got mad at God for taking my parents away from me at such an early age. It just didn't seem fair. My Mother always said she asked God to not let her die until all of her kids were taken care of. My 2 brothers and one sister were married and had families to take care of them. They were all very successful. Then there was me. The "kid" who loved music & made it my career; even though the pay wasn't "all that"! However, I knew, in my heart, I was doing what I loved, so I was fine with the money aspect. But as the saying goes..."For the want of a nail...I left out one thing..someone to love...someone to love me." The holidays were the worst. I quit going to church. I also quit praying. I thought "who is listening to me anyway?" I got 2 little shih-tzu dogs & bought my first (and only house): only to have to sale it later because of hospital bills. I went through all the surgeries and sickness you read about in the first part of my story without praying. 1997 - I met up with an old high school friend who told me he had been through some rough times also. We swapped battle stories. He told me how his life changed when he started praying again and tithing to his church. He told me to try it. "Try God again," he urged. So I did. Things did start to change in my life. But I was STILL ALWAYS SICK with the allergies and chronic sinus and teeth infections. 1985 until May 2001- I promoted breast implants whenever friends would inquire about having the surgery. But I always told them, it hurt like hell & I would never go through it again. I referred so many people to that doctor. I never got any money or even a "thank-you" letter from him. Around 1988 - I received a call from his office telling me NOT to do the "floor" exercise anymore. I asked why not? The voice on the phone said the doctor saw no reason to do this anymore and wanted to save me some time. I do remember hanging up that phone thinking to myself, "Now here's a doctor that really cares about hs patients." (Yeah, right. Keep reading.) INFECTIONS AND SURGERIES 1988 - Teeth infections start. My dentist & endodontist can't understand why I am not responding to antibiotics or treatment. Between 1988 & 2001 I went through 4 root canals, 3 apeoectomies(same tooth); 2 teeth pulled; Dental Implant; Failed dental implant; Removal of Dental Implant:Bridge work. .Allergies develop. I had allergy tests done. Diagnosis: Indoor & outdoor allergies; Food allergies included peas, mushrooms & milk. Other allergies included; Mold, dust. dogs. cats. At times my lymph nodes would swell so bad in my neck, I could not swallow. (Very painful! ) I also had chronic sinus infections. Honestly, I never had a sinus infection before 1988! Two of the sinus infections I had lasted 5 months. The doctor was stumped as to why I was not responding to the antibiotics. I was on 4 different allergy medications at the same time. 1991, I had my bunions removed; both at the same time. The doctor found 4 neuromas also. 1992 - After having 2 laproscopic surgeries for endrometriosis, I had a complete hysterectomy. That surgery, done with the "big" incision, was NOT as painful as my breast implant surgery. I told friends visiting me in the hospital that I'd rather go through a hysterectomy again than go through getting breast implants. 1988 thru 2001 - I had anxiety attacks. I was on Xanax .25mg ( 3x a day for the first few years; then reduced down to at least 1-2 a day) 1992 - .I went to see my plastic surgeon to inquire about what all the hype in the media was about. I wanted to get the FACTS from my OWN doctor concerning my silicone implants. I never really believed anything I heard on the news about alot of things (implant related or non-implant related); so there I was in that doctors office getting the TRUTH. He examined me and told me I had nothing to worry about; just a few women that were unhappy with their implants. "Most of the women that were complaining, went to doctors who really didn't know what they were doing. They weren't board certified doctors." I asked him what some of the problems were. He said some of the implants leaked/deflated. He never mentioned anything about infections, allergies, rashes, numbness in hands, etc. Nothing, just leaking & women who went to the wrong surgeons. So why would I bring up my sinus and allergy problems to him? I did not. In fact, I never THOUGHT to bring it up at the time. I may interject here: We did not have internet then to really research this and communicate the way we do now. That's why you who are reading these stories have no excuse to ever say you were not warned or did not know. 1993 - I was in a car accident that hurt my left hand. The last 3 fingers became numb. I had ulnar neuropathy surgery to try to correct this. After the surgery, the feeling started to come back, then it went numb again. The last 3 fingers did not move like the other fingers did either. 1993 -I went back to the plastic surgeons office to inquire about my implants, as I was concerned about the seat belt that went across my breasts, might have done any harm. He ordered a mammogram; Implants were fine. He also said not to worry; it would take a bigger impact than that to cause a rupture. He also reaffirmed that the implants would last a lifetime. I also asked him about why silicone implants were taken off the market; he said not to worry; the FDA is just doing some checking because of those "few women who just won't let up." He said , "you just watch, silicone implants will be back in a couple of years." GOD MOVES IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS February 2001 - A friend I hadn't heard from in 3 years called to use me as a shoulder to cry on because of her marriage problems. She also wanted information on getting a breast enlargement. I referred her to my plastic surgeon. Mid-February, 2001 - I went to a healing service at my church and asked God to please help me with the allergies and sinus/teeth infections. I prayed to be relieved of them and/or please help me find the cause in order to find the cure, so I could enjoy life. I did not ask for strength, I asked for healing. Mid-March,2001 - I was driving home from work one afternoon when I suddenly felt an extreme fatigue come over me and a sharp pain in the area along my bra band below my right breast. I thought I was going to pass out. I prayed, all 22 miles home on the freeway, to get home safely and not run my car into someone else's car. I made it home safely. I changed into some loose fitting clothes and thought I'd better lay down and nap because I felt like this was the worst flu that I'd ever had coming on. I woke up 4 hours later with the same stabbing pain. I had no nausea or fever - just pain. I could not stand up straight without pain. I called the helpline on my insurance card and spoke with a nurse who went through all my symptoms. As we talked for an hour the pain started to ease up. She advised me to call my PCP first thing in the morning. I called Dr. Todd's (real Dr., ficticious name) office in the morning; he sent me to the ER. I listed every surgery I ever had ( The list had grown quite large by 2001). The ER doctor did X-rays, Sonogram and a heart test. I described the pain to him about 4 times in that 5 hour visit. I said, "The pain is along my bra band under my right breast, it goes directly through to my back. It also goes from the right bra band breast area to about a half inch into my cleavage area". When asked "Can you describe what the pain felt like?" I told him "sharp, stabbing, outward pain, not inward, but outward." I said "It feels like an alien is trying to come out of me." I had no nausea or vomiting. His diagnosis was GERD. He sent me home with Prilosc and Zantac and told me to see my PCP in a few weeks. He never once considered my silicone implants as to the cause of this severe pain. And I DID list it as a surgery on my patient forms. After I got a copy of the ER report, I noticed he had written that I had implants on his form also. So why didn't he check the implants? I went back to work 2 days later. I took the Prilosec and Zantac meds the ER doctor gave me. The two together gave me terrible headaches; I complained to Dr. Todd & he said I should not have been given those 2 meds together. Take one or the other. He told me to only take the Prilosec. I still kept having the same pains, very bad at night when I was trying to sleep, then it would ease up during the day. I told Dr. Todd this and he increased the dosage of Prilosec. After a few days, I started having migraine-like headaches and double vision. I called Dr. Todd again and told him I was stopping the Prilosec because of the side effects I was having. He ordered an upper EGD test. The hospital's first available appointment was April 30th and it was now March 26th. He also gave me Lortabs for the pain. April 2, 2001 - my boyfriend's dad passed away from complications due to pneumonia. I struggled with him aand his family through that; all the while barely sleeping at night due to the pain I still had. April 6, 2001 - my boyfriend and several friends moved me into another apartment in my complex. My friends knew I was sick and did everything. I was down to one dog, Barney aka Bubba. The other one (Crissy) had passed away (from a stroke) on Oct. 18th, 2000. She was 12 1/2 yrs. old. I had her since my Mom died and she had my Mom's birthday. I took it very hard; but not as hard as Barney did. He loved the new apartment because he had a better view out the window. My whole life revolved around those 2 dogs. Barney was diagnosed (in Feb. 2001) with a tumor on his spleen that they could not operate on. He had major health issues since he was 6; now it was just a matter of time. I did not want to let go of him yet. His vet., Dr. Ericson, said I would know when the time came to let him go. April 18th, 2001 - I was awoken by an outward stabbing pain in my chest amd back at 4 am. I called my boyfriend at his house and he was upset that I called and woke him. He said he needed his sleep because of a big job he was working on the next day. He told me if I wanted to go to the ER he would take me. I told him I just wanted someone here with me and he said "What good would it do to have me there?" He stopped by on his way to work in the morning around 7am to check on me. I had called the doctor around 5am and he said to come in at 8:30am when the office opened. I could not stand up straight at that point. I don't know how I did it, but I drove myself to his office that morning. I was able to sit. The doctor's office was about 1 mile away. I got to his office and they put me in an examining room immediately. My blood pressure was sky high, indicating that I was in extreme pain. Dr. Todd gave me a shot of Toradol and it relaxed the pain quite abit. He sent me to the hospital to get a Catscan & blood tests. The tests showed nothing. April 20th, 2001 - I went to the hospital to have a barium-drink test. Upon arriving home, Barney came running to me, smelled my hand (where the band-aid was from the IV) and ran away from me. He sat in a corner looking very worried at me. He would not come near me for the rest of the evening. The test, by the way, showed nothing. At this point, I could not lay down on my right side; could not lay down flat on my back or on my stomach without severe stabbing pain. I was taking 2 Lortabs every 4 hours; it would help for about 2 hours, but would not entirely get rid of the pain. I could only sleep about 2-3 hours at a time, sitting in a fetal position, leaning on my left side on my couch. If I tried to lay down on my bed, on my left side, I would feel this sharp pain go through the right side of my upper back (shoulder area). Laying on the couch was my only choice. Dr. Todd wanted me to see a gallbladder surgeon the next week. I inquired about short term disability from work, thinking I was going to have my gallbladder removed and I would be off work for a month or so. I thought as soon as this surgeon saw me and the pain I was in, he'd surely do the surgery ASAP. I remembered a song I heard about 10 years ago and never knew back then what the title meant until I experienced the pain I was going through. The title was "Cure Me or Kill Me." CLICK TO CONTINUE TO PART 2