Explanted Two Year Old Silicone Implants for Health Reasons - Pepper Pike, OH

Since so many countless women on this site have helped me arrive at my decision to explant, I really felt inspired to share my story to hopefully help others. So, here is my story. Prior to implants, I was a working mother with three kids leading a super active life. Other than a mild case of Hashimoto's disease (underactive thyroid) I was the picture of health. I ran and worked out at the gym, and even though I worked in the healthcare profession I rarely got colds and never got the flu. My kids even joked about how the whole house would get some virus and I never would. That is my health history. As far as getting implants, I was always very comfortable being a 34a (almost B) They were perky and proportionate for my frame. I am 5'6" 125 1bs. After nursing three kids and gravity hit, my perky breasts weren't so perky. I thought a BA would help me feel better and more confident in myself. My friend
is a nurse working for a ps and she highly recommended the ps I used for implants. I went in to my consult letting him know I only wanted to be what I was faking with a padded bra and that was a full B, small C. Well, I trusted this doc and wound up being a 34D! I hated them from day one! Instead of looking for clothes and bra's to make me look not so flat, I was looking for clothes to hide the size of them. Two weeks post op I also got a very strange illness unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was like a flu on steroids. I could hardly function. Eventually recovered from this flu but was left with very strange neurological symptoms. I had muscle spams all over my body, tingling in my legs, feet, muscle weakness, joint aching, fatigue and ringing in my ears. This was not normal for me and I began seeing a variety of doctors. My bloodwork looked normal and I was referred to a neurologist. After extensive testing he diagnosed "ASIA" syndrome. It is a disease following exposure to silicone. He pointed out also that women with autoimmune disorders should not have silicone implants and that is why I may have had such a reaction. At this point I was only 6 mos post implant and decided I would give the implants a full year to see if I needed to just adjust to them. I ate clean, continued to work,
exercise lightly but the symptons persisted. Sometimes they would get a little better but then would come back. I started researching this site as well as some FB explant support groups. There I found thousands of women with the same symptoms as me. That's when I got more serious about explanting. I interviewed a total of five plastic surgeons and decided on Dr Feng from Cleveland. She took her time explaining to my husband and I that the silicone does not have to be ruptured to cause problems--it can bleed from the moment it is placed in the nody. She also spends a great amount of time in surgery to remove the implant and entire capsule. She repairs muscles that have been cut during the implant process. So, surgery was done with Dr Feng on 9/9 and all went well. Can't say enough good about the care I received at Dr Feng's clinic. I am feeling better each day and know I made the right decision. My biggest wake up call to myself was when I was standing in Dr Feng's office the day before the surgery looking at the photo's in my file. She had pics of my breasts pre-implant as well as post implant. I almost cried realizing my small boobs prior to implants really were okay the way they were. I am now almost one week post implant and am very happy I did it. I feel better each day and know I made the right decision for me. Thank you to all the women on this site who supported and encouraged me along the way. It helped more than you know!

Hi all! Well, I am at the three week mark post surgery and I feel better each day. The symptoms that have gone already are brain fog, neck and back pain, joint pain and muscle tremors happen less often. Muscles still feel weak (mainly in quads and arms) but I also have not been as active since I'm on lifting precautions and in the healing process. Overall, I am happy with how my breasts look. I actually thought they would look much worse but it turns out I had a little bit of breast tissue to work with. Hoping the nipples don't stay permanently caved but time will tell.
One thing Dr Feng did say is that my pec. muscles atrophied quite a bit causing loss of tone in the upper pole. She said once I begin working out with weights, I can improve the tone/strength and hopefully appearance of the breasts. I also may consider a small fat transfer down the road but will give it a year to see how they ultimately wind up looking. Thanks
for the support everyone! I really am glad I did it. I feel so much lighter and healthier.